Radishes?

[BuckNazty]

Anyone have any luck planting radishes in their plots? I've read a lot on different types but have yet to find a definitive answer other than "trophy radishes" which are a subspecies of daikon. Any personal info would be great on what's worked and planting rates/mixtures.

 

[AllOutdoors]

I planted some radishes from the local feed store. They were in a zip lock bag and labeled soil buster. The deer liked them and the boy kil)ed 2 off them?.

 

[barkscraper]

Go to qdma website and there is a lot of info on them there. I have planted turnips for years with little luck and switched to radishes and it has been great. You are right about the kind you want to use cause the forage, ground hog , and the daikon are all the same kind. There is a good article on what to mix with them there and a lot of info that will work on your food plots. Look for the articles with lickcreek .

 

[BSK]

When it comes to brassicas, experiment, experiment, and experiment some more. That is the only way to know what will work best in your plots. Try some radishes, and also try different varieties of turnip. I would recommend Purple Top Turnips. Rape is another option, with Dwarf Essex Rape one of the better varieties.

 

[Boll Weevil]

Last year was my 1st time planting any and this year might be my last if I don't see some usage...deer never touched'em. Family and friends ate more radishes than the deer.

 

[ADR]

My experience has been deer didn't eat them the first year or two I planted them, at any point, no matter how cold it got. Once they started eating them, they now seem to prefer them. Nothing like watching late season deer chewing up bulbs when it is really cold to cement the reasons I plant food plots.

 

[Mike Belt]

Just speaking for the brassicas, when I started planting them it took a couple of years before the deer "acclimated" to them and really started working on them. I would imagine there are plenty of other plantings that would follow suit.

 

[spoon]

Been planting diakon radishes for 4 years deer in my area will eat them until acorns start falling then leave them alone until Jan. they will nibble in them as they walk across the field.

Plant them more for a cover crop

 

[Vermin93]

Last year I did a plot with a mix of daikon radishes and turnips (Whitetail Institute Tall Tine Tubers). Both came up really good. The deer hammered the greens on both of them in late November. Then they ate the radishes. The last thing they touched was the turnips, and many of them were not eaten. This season I'm skipping the turnips and mixing radishes with something else.

 

[dgolden]

I planted them in a mix. They really didn't come in until after the season was over, but the deer hammered them! Every time I walked across the plot shed hunting you would see half eaten bulbs everywhere. Trail camera maxed out on pictures too. Just wish they would have done that in December instead of January/February!

 

[BSK]

All of the divergent answers posted above are the PERFECT example of why it's so important to experiment. What works on one property or even in one field won't necessarily work somewhere else. Tiny differences in soil composition can change the taste and/or nutrient content of the same species of plant growing in those slightly different soils. Try some of everything you can get your hands on, and plant them in separate sections until you figure out what works best. The perfect situation is to develop a mixture of plants from a wide variety tested in that ground. This mixture should include plants that mature at different times and are preferred by deer at different times. Mixtures almost always outperform single-species plantings.

 

[PillsburyDoughboy]

When it comes to brassicas, experiment, experiment, and experiment some more. That is the only way to know what will work best in your plots. Try some radishes, and also try different varieties of turnip. I would recommend Purple Top Turnips. Rape is another option, with Dwarf Essex Rape one of the better varieties.

I like rape (Blazzing Saddles) :tu: :super: :super: :super:

 

[muddyboots]

I'm with bsk. I have 2 leases. One in northern and one in southern part of county. The one in the southern the deer will eat radishes until nothing left but dirt. The other lease they don't eat them much I also think it has to do with what kind of land. Farmland with lots of food I don't think they will get much usage there.

 

[BSK]

I like rape (Blazzing Saddles) :tu: :super: :super: :super:

That made me laugh! :D

 

[PillsburyDoughboy]

I like rape (Blazzing Saddles) :tu: :super: :super: :super:

That made me laugh! :D

Lol

 

[deadeye 77]

Anyone use sugarbeets

 

[Ballerski]

I usually put a beet/radish/turnip/rape mix... Relatively cheap, but varies from year to year how they hit it. Some years, they hit early and keep grazed down from the start, other years they will hit after frost and into the winter. I like adding variety and keeping an eye on what and when they hit the plot.

 

[dogtown]

I use a similar mix Ballerski. They hit the DER early, forage radishes in Dec and turnips late in Feb. In no a corn years they love them.

 

[BSK]

Anyone use sugarbeets

I've seen them used both successfully and unsuccessfully. You would have to experiment with them in your location.

 

[landman]

I planted daikon last year
I think 8 lbs per acre with notill drill
Deer ate them well and after season all the radishes got dug up and ate.
I had some thin soil ridges I planted them on, they can get 18" deep, they are being used heavily by farmers
as a cover crop and helps with soil compaction too.

I'll plant more this year

I know of a guy who sowed an acre of them to sell, they are used in stir fry and by Asians in cooking
he sold $15,000 of them off the acre

 

[PcDeer]

I've tried about every type of radish and turnip on the market and couldn't get the deer to eat any of them. I've tested soil and fertilized accordingly but the deer won't eat them. Finally last year I planted WI wintergreen and the deer ate them pretty good after deer season. Planting radishes has definitely helped my soil though.

 

[BSK]

I've tried about every type of radish and turnip on the market and couldn't get the deer to eat any of them. I've tested soil and fertilized accordingly but the deer won't eat them. Finally last year I planted WI wintergreen and the deer ate them pretty good after deer season. Planting radishes has definitely helped my soil though.

My place is very close to KY Lake, on the eastern side in the cherty clay soils of the Highland Rim. In that soil, Austrian Winter Peas (AWP) are the most attractive "candy" plant I've found for drawing deer in fall. However, go to the other side of the lake, the western side, that is the sandier Coastal Plain soils, and AWP are nowhere near a candy plant. In fact, get into the very sandy soils of the Deep South and deer won't even eat AWP.

Slight differences in soil composition can make a HUGE difference in which plants growing in those soils deer prefer.

 

[PillsburyDoughboy]

I've tried about every type of radish and turnip on the market and couldn't get the deer to eat any of them. I've tested soil and fertilized accordingly but the deer won't eat them. Finally last year I planted WI wintergreen and the deer ate them pretty good after deer season. Planting radishes has definitely helped my soil though.

My experience has been with turnips in our area has been that they don't really eat the tops until after the first good frost. I am not a deer but i suspect the reason is the tops are very bitter tasting to the deer until after the first frost.

Deer generally speaking will not go for the actual turnips till most other natural food sources have been exhausted. Because our winters are generally MILD here in TN the deer are not in a survival mode like they might be in the Northern states where you you will see them needing them to dig for turnips to survive. We seem to have plenty of browse and other natural resources to keep our herd in tact and healthy.

Lastly by the time the deer DO get around to eating the turnips our season is either winding down or is over. So I really see turnips as wasted time and money in our neck of the woods. Others mileage may vary.

 

[PcDeer]

BSK my property is right beside the river and yes winter peas are browsed very heavily from the time they first germinate. As for brassicas they don't eat them at all. They leave the greens and the turnip/radish to rot over the course of winter. I have pretty much abandoned them after years of mixing it up in favor of planting larger quantities of clovers, oats, wheat, and peas.

 

[BSK]

I've tried about every type of radish and turnip on the market and couldn't get the deer to eat any of them. I've tested soil and fertilized accordingly but the deer won't eat them. Finally last year I planted WI wintergreen and the deer ate them pretty good after deer season. Planting radishes has definitely helped my soil though.

My experience has been with turnips in our area has been that they don't really eat the tops until after the first good frost. I am not a deer but i suspect the reason is the tops are very bitter tasting to the deer until after the first frost.

That is correct PillsburyDoughboy. Once turnips have experience a hard freeze, sugars in the root/turnip are mobilized up into the leaves, making the leaves suddenly taste sweeter. You can actually test this yourself by eating a leaf just before and after the first hard freeze. There will be a noticeable difference in bitterness.

Lastly by the time the deer DO get around to eating the turnips our season is either winding down or is over. So I really see turnips as wasted time and money in our neck of the woods. Others mileage may vary.

If a food plot is being used purely as a hunting season attractant, I tend to agree with you PillsburyDoughboy. So many more attractive plants are available that I would probably recommend other mixtures. I recommend mixtures that include brassicas (turnips, kale, rape, radishes, etc.) more for the hunter/manager that is trying to provide a cold season nutritional source for deer.

 

[BSK]

BSK my property is right beside the river and yes winter peas are browsed very heavily from the time they first germinate. As for brassicas they don't eat them at all. They leave the greens and the turnip/radish to rot over the course of winter. I have pretty much abandoned them after years of mixing it up in favor of planting larger quantities of clovers, oats, wheat, and peas.

Thanks for posting that PcDeer, as it is a perfect example of why it's so important to experiment with different food plot plants in your soils. Every location is different.

But just so you know, I rarely plant brassicas in my food plots anymore either. So many better attractant plants exist for that soil type.

 

[landman]

BSK my property is right beside the river and yes winter peas are browsed very heavily from the time they first germinate. As for brassicas they don't eat them at all. They leave the greens and the turnip/radish to rot over the course of winter. I have pretty much abandoned them after years of mixing it up in favor of planting larger quantities of clovers, oats, wheat, and peas.

Daikon radishes are mainly used by farmers as a soil enhancer and to prevent soil erosion in no-till crops
With the no till compaction of soils over time it great due to it not being worked. Those 18" radishes are breaking the soil
up and rotting gives back organic matter, my thin soils need in, I'll continue to use it and the deer seem to like it

 

[BSK]

Daikon radishes are mainly used by farmers as a soil enhancer and to prevent soil erosion in no-till crops
With the no till compaction of soils over time it great due to it not being worked. Those 18" radishes are breaking the soil
up and rotting gives back organic matter, my thin soils need in, I'll continue to use it and the deer seem to like it

Great tip landman. I'll remember that and pass it on.

 

[PillsburyDoughboy]

I've tried about every type of radish and turnip on the market and couldn't get the deer to eat any of them. I've tested soil and fertilized accordingly but the deer won't eat them. Finally last year I planted WI wintergreen and the deer ate them pretty good after deer season. Planting radishes has definitely helped my soil though.

My experience has been with turnips in our area has been that they don't really eat the tops until after the first good frost. I am not a deer but i suspect the reason is the tops are very bitter tasting to the deer until after the first frost.

That is correct PillsburyDoughboy. Once turnips have experience a hard freeze, sugars in the root/turnip are mobilized up into the leaves, making the leaves suddenly taste sweeter. You can actually test this yourself by eating a leaf just before and after the first hard freeze. There will be a noticeable difference in bitterness.

Lastly by the time the deer DO get around to eating the turnips our season is either winding down or is over. So I really see turnips as wasted time and money in our neck of the woods. Others mileage may vary.

If a food plot is being used purely as a hunting season attractant, I tend to agree with you PillsburyDoughboy. So many more attractive plants are available that I would probably recommend other mixtures. I recommend mixtures that include brassicas (turnips, kale, rape, radishes, etc.) more for the hunter/manager that is trying to provide a cold season nutritional source for deer.

Good way of putting it. Cold season nutrition source . Problem is our winters are generally pretty mild and natural resources... Browse ,..greens ..weeds ...mass and agriculture crops seem to be just enough to sustain the herd and keep them healthy.

If we were to get hit really hard one year with some early heavy snows like we had back in the 70s and 80s it might be different.

 

[BSK]

Good way of putting it. Cold season nutrition source . Problem is our winters are generally pretty mild and natural resources... Browse ,..greens ..weeds ...mass and agriculture crops seem to be just enough to sustain the herd and keep them healthy.

If we were to get hit really hard one year with some early heavy snows like we had back in the 70s and 80s it might be different.

I think much depends on the location and whether there is a good red oak acorn crop. Lots of woodland areas in TN have little in the way of browse due to a lack of timber removal, nor agriculture due to a lack of level ground. In those situations (and when there is a minimal red oak acorn crop), deer can start digging up and eating root crops (like turnips), in mid-December. I've seen situations where an entire field of root crops was dug up by the end of the winter. In those situations, the root crops are providing significant quality food volume.