Food Plots Radish and turnips

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swhackmaster

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knox co.
So when will the deer start to eat these? They are eating the greens from the radishes but what about the large roots and they aren't touching the turnips yet.

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Chances are your turnips are never gonna get eaten by the deer. I'm surprised they are eating on the greens much yet as the greens are quite bitter till the first solid frost. They usually eat on the greens after the first frost as they provide quite a bit of protein the deer need for survival. Radish on the it her hand once other food sources dry up you will see a feeding frenzy on. Probably late November or early Dec well into DEc depending on the size of your crop.


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Forget the turnips they will attack the radishes until they are killed by the frost then they will start on the root. This is my first year without turnips they just will not eat them in my food plots. The deer will start on the radish top as soon as they figure out what they are. The acorns are already gone where I hunt so they are living in my radishes, oats, wheat, and clover plots. This is my 2nd year planting radishes and it has made a big difference in the number of deer in my plots.
 
barkscraper":11bhh37s said:
Forget the turnips they will attack the radishes until they are killed by the frost then they will start on the root. This is my first year without turnips they just will not eat them in my food plots. The deer will start on the radish top as soon as they figure out what they are. The acorns are already gone where I hunt so they are living in my radishes, oats, wheat, and clover plots. This is my 2nd year planting radishes and it has made a big difference in the number of deer in my plots.
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. This!


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I hope they figure out what the radishes are. Because if they do that's alot of food sticking up out of the ground. First frost put a hurt on the radish greens

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Frost doesn't hurt radishes a sustained temps of 20° kills the head. As for the radish, deer started eating them in late Jan on my place. Radish doesn't need a frost like turnips and rape for deer to start eating, they like them as soon as they start growing. I planted over 4 acres if radishes ony place
 
They've been hitting my radishes since they came up. This picture was on 10/18. The radishes in the exclusion zone are 8"- 10" taller. Just hope some are still around on 11/7 when black powder opens.

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At my place forage radish are one of the first to get hit, dwarf essex rape as well. Turnips are later on in December.
 

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I did some more evaluation of my brassicas. Most of the "Groundhog" Forage Radishes have the greens nibbled, some of the Dwarf Essex Rape, but none of the turnips as of Friday.

More action that the typical brassica field this time of year.

Virtually no acorns in Roane county to speak of. Fields will be important this fall.
 

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I haven't researched the subject of radishes....Is a a lot of soil preparation necessary? I also take it that deer are digging for the radishes later in the plants life cycle?
 
Last year was the first time trying them but best I can tell the radishes I planted were untouched. We didn't get our beans out till late in the year so that may have been the culprit, but radish plantings in numerous different areas around the farm had little to no sign of browsing. I might try some next year but if the deer don't eat them, my radish planting days might be over.
 
Boll Weevil":11luzyun said:
. . . . in numerous different areas around the farm had little to no sign of browsing. I might try some next year but if the deer don't eat them, my radish planting days might be over.
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Don't give up on them too quickly.
The first year I started using brassicas, nothing happened much until very late season.
Each year thereafter, seems they like them better and hit them earlier in the year.

I think if they've never seen any before, they may be a little hesitant to try 'em, and may have to develop a taste for 'em.

Took me a long time to try black coffee, and I didn't like it at first. The taste will grow on you. :D
 
I planted radishes this year for the first time. The deer hammered them and they seemed to do well with moderate sunlight on a a dry ridge.
 
AllOutdoors":3eb3db48 said:
I planted radishes this year for the first time. The deer hammered them and they seemed to do well with moderate sunlight on a a dry ridge.
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What a fine program! Just what I was liking to hear.
 
It seems to be mixed with us at one farm we have deer don't touch radishes but kill our turnips at another its vice versa and then another we can't plant enough of either it seems they love both.
 
I mix the dwarf essex rape, forage radish, and purple top turnips. The deer took a few years to warm up to the greens, but now they hammer them. They tend to eat the tops of the DER and Forage (Groundhog) radishes early and then later hit the turnip greens (late NOV). When everything cools down in DEC/JAN they pull up and eat the turnip bulbs.

One issue is that rotting forage radishes stink.
 

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