Brassicas

dbltree · Oct 22, 2012

October 22nd, 2012

My friend John Komp believes as I do that we shouldn't have to pay exorbitant prices for "Buck on a Bag" seed packaged in flashy bags, so he is offering good quality seeds at very reasonable prices and you can contact him thru his site: Northwoods Whitetails

John isn't sure if this is a Samson or new York turnip but either way it's a whopper with great top forage to boot!

One thing I have learned in a lifetime of building habitat is to keep it simple....deer aren't as fussy as we sometimes think they are so having tried all the hybrids and buck on a bag seed mixes, i returned to the old standby's that include Purple Top turnips...like this one!

The PTT's that followed rye did very well despite the extreme drought in our area

Regardless of what variety you use, turnips are an important winter food source

My friend Brad sent me this pic of his GH forage radish from his farm in Missouri

our forage radishes have also done very well

Once germinated they are pretty drought tolerant and they are the first plants to be heavily grazed by whitetails

Every plant has much if not most of the top already eaten which helps prevent them from decimating the entire plot

The combination of turnips, rape and radish extends the grazing with a great combination of forage and root crops that also help break up hard pan and scavenge soil nutrients.

Dividing the plots into strips of brassicas and strips of the rye mix allows us to rotate crops yet allow us to have ALL the crops in the same field and the combination enables us to feed whitetails year around

Even with clover, brassicas and the rye mix...some plots are already getting hit hard and turnips meant for winter feed...being eaten before November!!

In areas like this we fertilize heavily to do our best to grow high yielding crops to keep up with the grazing

Growing crops in well screened, secure feeding ares immediately adjacent to heavy cover insures deer will quickly adapt to feeding there and only there...standing corn is only a short distance away, yet these deer refuse to leave their comfort zone and the copious amounts of clover, brassicas and rye mix they find here.

Corn stubble and standing beans aren't enough to draw these bucks out our combination plots!

If you are not having this kind of success....then it's time re-examine your entire habitat program...NOT just your food sources

The answer is in the quality of cover and the proximity of the food source to the cover

Too many refuse to acknowledge this and will never achieve the kind of hoped for success that we do by putting cover first

Food is important...but the answer does not lie within a shiny and expensive bag of seed

But rather in a lot of planning and hard work creating optimum cover and then...they will eat nearly anything you plant for them....

Look over the timber management, hinging, tree planting and native warm season grass threads and see what you can do to improve your cover and then add combination crops to keep your whitetails fed year around...you'll never regret doing so...

dbltree · Oct 29, 2012

Forage Radish

Forage Radish (Daikon) seems to be one of the few plants that whitetails can not resist although there always exceptions in cases where they have more food then they know what to do with! I have planted nearly all of them now including Groundhog, Tillage, Trophy, Sodbuster, Graza and now...Tiller radish and the only thing I have found different was the...price. Whitetails love them all and each grew well and often yield tremendous roots which deer seem to love nearly as well as the tops as the season grows colder.

Pics of Tiller forage radish from various farms, all of which was planted as part of a turnip/rape/radish mix in mid July and received no substantial rainfall until late August.

Nearly every radish plant has had the tops heavily grazed

All of it was fertilized with 400#'s 6-28-28 and 150-200#'s 46-0-0 urea

They have been starting on the roots already and dragging some clear out of the soil as they forage on the tops!

Once they get a taste of the root...

They finish it off!

Forage radish (regardless of the "name") are a hit with whitetails and in every field here, they hammer them despite being next to corn, soybeans and alfalfa! I would add here that the growth you see was during an extreme drought and the plantings were successful ONLY because I planted into what was previously winter rye and red clover.

Where I planted into sod or oats...we had almost complete failure or at best growth like this...

The advantages of planting winter rye as part of your rotations then have far reaching impacts that many of you may not yet realize and in years with very difficult weather conditions, having included winter rye as part of your habitat program will pay huge dividends!

Every field then is divided into strips of the rye combination and the brassica mix with clover around the outside which helps prevent deer from decimating an entire crop. They move thru the brassicas right now foraging on the radish tops and the rape tops now

and this time of year it's a no brainer that where there are does....there will be bucks!

Whitetails will eat almost anything and will likely eat everything planted in a hidden, safe area once the have adapted to feeding there so by planting a combination of crops that are easily rotated we can provide food sources year around in one place.

jerred44 · Oct 31, 2012

I know the growing season for sugar beets is longer, but, could i plant some with the brassica mix in late july? I know they wont get to their full size or produce as much folliage,, from what i hear about them though deer like them no matter the size or when they were planted

Michael504 · Oct 31, 2012

Welter delivered my order this week in 20 hour. No kidding! At my steps in 20 hours. That is some kind of service.

mshm99 · Nov 12, 2012

I've said I can grow good tunips. Here's a couple of my trophy turnips.

The deer never touched mono crops of PTT. Now that I've planted the GHR,DER and PTT together the deer are now tearing up the plot.

Thanks Paul , You're making me look way smarter than I really are.

Mike

dbltree · Nov 12, 2012

That's what I discovered also...well done Mike :way:

dbltree · Nov 24, 2012

November 24th, 2012

Many of our brassica plots, if not already destroyed....are getting hit hard!

I would prefer that they not focus on the turnips until later

But many places they show no interest in "waiting"...and I might add that there is standing corn (some of it combined) in a field immediately adjacent to this one...

they have grazed the rye mix portion hard and are working over the brassicas with equal fervor

The forage radish tops have been ravaged sometime ago which helped protect the rape and turnips and the mangled tops are freezing now while the rape plants are still lush and green...an example why I mix the plant combinations I do.

as the weather turns colder then start to feed on the roots themselves

Hopefully there will be plenty of big turnips left for December and January

There is a reason I plant in mid July in my area (90+ days ahead of average first frost)...because it allows me to get maximum growth yet not have plants mature to early. These were planted in mid August and will provide only a fraction of the food necessary to keep this landowners deer fed all winter

A healthy stand of brassicas with plenty of rye and clover to help keep deer fed will still have plenty of foliage

Properly planted and fertilized the foliage will completely canopy...my hat is under these plants

For this reason I never add clover seed to a brassica mix...it has zero chance of surviving (again that is assuming proper planting time, seeding rates and fertilization)

Brassicas are only one part of the program, they must be rotated with another crop each year and they cannot provide a year around source of food by themselves....so every feeding area is planted half to brassicas and half to the winter rye mix with 10-15% of the plot in white/ladino clover

The feeding areas are screened with Egyptian Wheat and immediately adjacent to thick bedding areas

Wherever possible we try to include tree orchards with a mix of fruit, chestnut and oaks trees

Terry from Nova Scotia sent pics of his combinations plots...brassicas...

and the rye combination

Bill sent pics of his notill/no plant brassicas...he just sprayed, broadcast seeds, fertilized ahead of rain and....

He had outstanding success with this but please note that it can also fail miserably without rain both in getting seeds to germinate and getting nitrogen into the soil before it's lost.

These deer are feeding in brassicas only yards away from a corn stubble field....which does not imply they ignored the corn...they did not! Whitetails will almost always take advantage of freshly harvested crops which however do not last. These deer fed thru the rye and brassicas, into the corn during the night and back to the green forage on their way to bedding. As time goes by, the cornfield will be picked clean and the planted crops in the feeding area will keep them fed all winter....

Whitetails are opportunistic feeders taking advantage of nearly any and all food sources close to their bedding area and other then times of deep snow and cold they will rarely travel far from bedding. Knowing these we can adapt them to feeding on our property by providing thick bedding areas, a safe, well hidden feeding area and food sources that provide for their daily needs....year around

Bucks adapt by checking these feeding areas on a daily basis during the rut

and after the rut...weary gaunt bucks will re-focus on the food itself making for some exciting late season hunting

We'll revisit these feeding areas and more over the coming winter months and on into spring...and I'll share how deer...in large numbers will focus entirely on them even and especially when heavy winter snow and cold makes it's way into our area...

dbltree · Dec 8, 2012

December 8th, 2012

So far winter 2012/2013 has been relatively mild and dry though we have had temps as low as 11 we have had far more days in the 60's and even 70's which means deer are not exactly stressed or forced to eat anything we plant for them. That said, all of our feeding areas are being decimated...rye grazed to the ground and both forage and roots being hit hard in the brassica areas.

I am always amazed at the growth of brassicas despite the fact we had a near record drought!

Having already grazed every single forage radish top to the root...they are now happily munching on the root itself!

Not only does the root provide a source of food for hungry deer but the radish roots help break up soil compaction, bring up sub soil nutrients and scavenge nitrogen much as winter rye does. Using crops that feed our deer and our soils is a win win for us as landowners managing our habitat for whitetails.

The drought this past year caused complete failure of untold thousands of acres of corn and pitifully poor yield of soybeans and anyone who planted those crops for deer found that they were quickly wiped out, in most cases before hunting season....same drought but very different results with our rye and brassica rotation feeding areas! The Purple Tops got huge with next to no rainfall!

The mix of radish, rape and turnips works perfectly with deer focusing on the radish plants early, allowing the rape and turnips to grow and in effect stockpiling feed for this time of year. The rye mix also helped keep deer from wiping out the brassicas and this well worn runway thru the brassicas...

leads to the rye/oats/peas/radish/red clover mix...

the oats served their purpose by providing lush palatable growth very quickly in early September, again keeping deer from decimating the brassica portion. The forage peas are succulent, tender, irresistible morsels that are the candy in the mix and also keep deer focused on our feeding areas...even during ah crop harvests...

I know...many people still don't get it and miss out entirely on how this combination of soil building, drought resistant crops that are easily rotated can provide year around food sources and worse yet...can not see the reason for providing year around food sources in each feeding area ....but increasingly many do get it and I get reports from all over the country.

This pic is from Mark in northern Missouri where they had a successful hunting season and are actively improving their timber/bedding areas while utilizing year around feeding areas that include both rye and brassicas...again these suffered thru extreme drought conditions...

My friend Tim also was delighted that his combination food sources not only survived the drought...(note rye combo in background and brassicas in front with a strip of clover separating them...perfect!!)

but they thrived...while corn and beans withered in the fields...guess where all the deer are?

There also still many people who don't understand that they are shortchanging themselves, cutting yields and the number of deer they can hold by planting to late in the summer...mid July in my area, even earlier in the north for best results. I had a little left over brassica seed in the drill when I planted my rye mix in late August which you can see here in the "strips"...no root growth and very little forage production...

Whitetails love these combination plots and eagerly feast on the crops planted

They wiped out an entire crop of corn planted here two years ago yet the very same field if feeding the same deer with no problems at all

They would have also wiped out soybeans...most likely before they got a few inches high but not the combination of crops planted here now

It is a common myth or misconception that one must plant corn or soybeans to attract deer but nothing could be farther from the truth, deer are opportunistic feeders and will readily feed on the food sources closest to their bedding areas with very few exceptions

That doesn't mean corn or soybeans are bad, deer will certainly eat them but it takes far more acres to feed the same number of deer and those acres are better off in cover because cover is the limiting factor...NOT food.

The drought situation is worsening in much of the U.S., something unfortunately many landowners not involved in agricultural interests are oblivious too. The likelihood of a continued drought in the summer of 2013 is very high...we need 16" of rain to rebuild to normal levels with very low prospects of anything but a trace in my area. Under those conditions conventional crops have a high probability of failure. Brassicas and the rye mix however, while not impervious to drought have a much much higher odds of providing reasonably high yields. Brassicas rotated to the rye/red clover portion of the plot will find that the moisture retaining rye roots will in most cases allow them to grow right thru hot dry conditions...food for thought when making your 2013 decisions....

dbltree · Dec 15, 2012

December 15th, 2012

Brassicas are a part of my habitat program for a number of reasons but first and foremost is the sheer tonnage of dry matter that brassica can produce via both tops (leaves) and roots....

These were knee high and though not a large area and the rye combo accompanies it, they have fed a lot of deer since September!

Yields of course are highly variable and subject to soil type, weather (rainfall) and landowner inputs but they are relative to any other crop that could be grown there. In other words if you could grow 50 bushel or 200 bushel corn per acre you could potentially grow nearly twice as much food on the same acres with brassicas. Brassicas have the potential to produce anywhere from 4 to upwards of 12 or more tons per acre for a fraction of the cost of producing an acre of corn.

Not only are they high yielding but high quality and turnips for instance could have 15 to 24 percent protein in the tops while roots may contain 8 to 15 percent protein. A whitetails maximum protein needs depending on the time of year range from 8-15% max making brassicas a perfect crop.

Occasionally whitetails are slow to adapt to brassicas but once they do...they hammer them steady!

I use a mix of forage radish, rape and turnips and the rape plants are usually the last to be eaten...part of a perfect plan! You see the rape plants are the most winter hardy and ours have repeatedly frozen with temps down to 11 degrees yet remain lush and green! Rape alone can easily produce 6 tons per acre...more then 200 bushel corn!!

I use no herbicides and less fertilizer then for corn and eventually with a proper rotation following legumes I hope to lower or eliminate the need for fertilizers and brassicas can be easily planted with even very small or even no equipment if necessary...tough to do with corn....

Deer tend to wipe them out where they first enter the field...

By spring this area will be bare as they glean every leaf and root possible...

Beaten paths around the field are always apparent...part of the adaptation process whereby they learn to count on the combination crops year around, thus making them very predictable....and far easier to hunt...

The problem I encounter most in helping landowners is not convincing them to grow brassicas but rather convincing them not to plant ALL their feeding areas to brassicas year after year. Two main reasons....

Brassicas are subject to disease and pest problems so need to be rotated yearly if at all possible, secondly like corn and beans they alone do not provide a year around source of food. It is impossible to manage your herd if they leave for greener pastures when food sources disappear so adding crops like white clover and the rye combination allow for easy, simple rotation as while as providing the missing links to year around food sources.

All of our feeding areas are divided into strips of brassicas planted in mid July and rye/oats/peas/radish/red clover planted in late August/early September with white clover planted around the perimeter...

The feeding areas are screened with Egyptian Wheat to keep them out of sight and make them feel safe and secure feeding daylight hours...

Change is often hard...no one knows that more then I...I hate change! For years I stubbornly stuck to corn and beans thinking I HAD to grow them to attract and hold whitetails but I'll be the first to admit that I was wrong and my livelihood now depends on being right....

Switching to forage crops has produced amazing results...not just for me but on all the farms I help manage

Whitetails quickly adapt to brassicas in part because I use forage radish in the mix and I have watched deer repeatedly walk thru green soybeans to eat the radish plants

When we planted soybeans beside the brassicas, deer spent equal time eating both and adding soybeans did not attract more/bigger bucks and deer continued to eat the forage crops even with heavy winter snows...they did not leave and readily dug thru the snow for the green forage and brassica roots...

If all of their needs are met (by providing them with premium cover/bedding/browse) they will seldom stray far from home, often living within a few hundred yard radius of the feeding area...

Whitetails are opportunistic feeders meaning they will take advantage of almost any available food source closest to their safe haven. They are also survivors and leaving their home range puts them at unnecessary risk which is why though the deer pictured can easily reach open ag crop fields...they prefer any food source closest to cover

If you would like to try making the switch to forage crops or adding them to your current program there are some key things to remember.

1) Plant all the food sources in single, centralized feeding areas to the extent appropriate and possible, meaning don't plant an acre of brassicas 200 yards from cover and beans (for example) in the back forty in a secluded area. Plant AL the food sources in each feeding area used.

2) Plant white clover at least a 10 to 30' wide strip around the feeding area or strips thru the feeding area. Clover is a premium source of high quality food that is available to them from early spring thru early winter and they will seek it out first and quickly adapt to the feeding area because of it.

3) Include forage radish in your brassica mix....this highly palatable plant is high on the preference list given all possible options. They will begin foraging on the radish plants and over time adapt to the other brassicas.

4) Include the rye/oat/pea/radish/red clover mix...whitetails love this lush, palatable mix soon after it comes up and again, helps focus them to that feeding area. This mix provides forage while beans are turning and unpalatable to deer and the rye will provide the missing link by providing a source of food all winter long....in turn keeping your deer on your farm rather then the neighbors, not to mention being an outstanding place to shed hunt!!

5) Eventually (if you decide too) pull the plug on the grain crops...deer by now have adapted to coming to that feeding area and depending on it. Where previously they may have snubbed the brassicas....suddenly they will find them very very attractive. At that point your challenge is not getting them to eat it but rather...keeping them from wiping them out!

Build great habitat and they will come and nature responds by filling that habitat with wildlife be it grouse, pheasants, quail or...whitetails so as a landowner you will also need to be a responsible steward and maintain a healthy population appropriate for your habitat and personal goals. A good buck to doe ratio is important and hunting over late winter food sources such as brassicas is a great way to harvest adult does to maintain that balance.

The following mix is what I have found to be the most productive but you can easily include grain crops such as soybeans to this mix and follow the brassicas with beans and overseed rye into the standing beans in August....

Jbohn · Dec 16, 2012

first year I tried the Brassica plot and it came out perfect

Plenty of deer couldn't get into the plot and hour with out bumping them out.

As well pulled tons of deer off my neighbors farms where cut corn and beans where exhausted.

dbltree · Dec 17, 2012

Thanks for the update and pics! :way:

dbltree · Dec 25, 2012

Thank you Lord for Jesus...the greatest gift of all! Merry Christmas all!

December 25th, 2012

I have a friend with a fairly large farm, hundreds of acres of timber, all but 70 acres of open ag ground in CRP (in tall native grass), he plants the clover/brassica/rye combo rotation AND...the farmer who rents the ag ground leaves either corn or beans standing and pays the rent to boot! He consistently kills giant bucks, harvests cull/management bucks and takes at least, several dozen does each season.

Man...what's not to love about that! His habitat and management goals now involve fine tuning his hunting success with funneling and blocking techniques and just enjoying what God has blessed him with.

If you have reached that level of consistent success, I would certainly be reluctant to rock the boat! If however your situation (like mine) is somewhat different and with it's own unique limitations, be it property size, budget, time or all of these then maximizing every acre is of utmost importance. I have a 4th of the land that my friend has and make no mistake, I consider myself blessed to own any land so I am thankful and choose to make every square foot of my land count!

For most of us the quantity and quality of the cover on our property is the single most limiting factor and it is for those of you who fall into that category (probably 85% own less then 200 acres) that I share how best to make the most of each acre if managing for mature whitetails is your primary goal.

Every acre NOT in cover is one more acre that will not now nor ever....hold any deer, let alone a mature whitetail buck. In my case I overnight doubled the amount of cover by enrolling my ag ground in the CRP program which then becomes a haven for mature bucks seeking solitude far away from the doe groups. The tall prairie grass also becomes a wonderful fawning area that predators prefer not to hunt in which then allows fawn recruitment to rise.

I manage my timber areas intensely to promote high quality and quantity mast production as well as copious amounts of browse and bedding cover....the combination of which means the whitetails on my farm need no planted food sources to thrive. Food sources are only a means of manipulating whitetails to create habits that make them easier to harvest.

Because my total acres are limited and the areas in which I can plant crops further limited by CRP contracts, it's imperative that I produce the highest quality and quantity crops in the smallest area. There is another positive side to this....the cost to plant one acre (seed, fertilizer, herbicide, fuel, time etc.) is 1/2 what it costs to plant two acres! If the other acre is switchgrass or a conifer shrub planting....that's one more acre that may harbor a buck....

How then do we achieve the greatest yield of high quality forage that can feed whitetails year around on very limited acres?? Being one who loves a challenge I eventually found that a combination of high quality, high yielding forages planted at the right time and manner could produce tons more feed and...do it year around, then anything I had previously planted including grain crops like corn and beans.

The combination of white clover, brassicas and a cereal grain mix properly rotated works exceptionally well and while I have threads on each of these....they could in essence be combined because they are inexorably intertwined, each complimenting the other.

An example of this is the brassica mix itself, a combination of forage radish, rape (canola) and turnips. Each play's it's part in helping the entire list of crops feed deer year around, forage radish being the first of the brassica group to be chosen by whitetails within 30 days or so of planting. When one see's this the question comes up....why even bother with rape for instance?

The radish plants are not very winter hardy and any plants not decimated by deer will freeze early on....but...because deer focus on the radish plants in September, October and early November, the rape plants are by and large left behind. This creates a winter stockpile because the rape plants are VERY cold tolerant!

Now deer feast on the still bright green Dwarf Essex Rape plants, digging thru the snow to get to the tasty plants!

The radish roots are also very palatable and deer will often eat them to the dirt but they are (by design) prone to decompose rapidly once frozen. This a positive thing for our soils as the thousands of narrow channels then fill with water, freezing and thawing thru the winter, pulverizing hard pan soils and releasing the sub soil nutrients in the upper level of soil...available then for use by the crops to follow.

All of that is great, part of a perfect plan but....not so good for hungry whitetails in January...especially if you are sitting out there with your muzzy....not so much fun staring at an empty field!

Enter turnips....in this case the tried and true Purple Top turnips that stay in perfect shape often well into February! This time of year I sit in my stand and listen to dozens of deer hungrily chomping down the crunchy turnip roots!

Whitetails are opportunistic feeders and will readily take advantage of any crop closest to their safe bedding area. I recently checked cams for a landowner where a long stretch of timber borders our combination food plots and then extends along a freshly harvested corn field. Deer living next to the plots have become habituated to feeding there, safely screened on 3 sides by edge feathered and hinge cut timber and on the 4th side by Egyptian Wheat....they have no reason to leave this safe, secure environment.

Deer living in the naturally brushy timber along the corn stubble feed there, only venturing 50-80 yards into the wide open field and then only at night. Another prime example of the fact it's all about the cover....NOT the food and all of these deer would and could live there if NOTHING of any kind was planted there....

Brassicas however (like corn and beans) can not feed whitetails year around, so in every picture on every farm you will see the rye combination planted along side. Winter rye being the most cold hardy cereal will continue to feed whitetails every day, all winter long until....the clover plants spring to life in the spring.

No matter the weather, I never see deer feeding on only ONE thing....they feed thru the rye and brassicas hungrily devouring both...

Snow changes only one thing....they don't walk to the food...they run!!

Deer that are habituated to feeding on corn and beans may ignore brassicas in some cases, including my own farm, but take away the grain crops and they eagerly feed on the brassicas. Adding forage radish helps speed up this transition and in this thread there are pics of deer walking thru soybeans to feed on the highly palatable forage radish plants.

Bucks of all sizes hit the feeding areas....first to check does during the rut

and later to replenish fat reserves lost during breeding....

again...the closer the food is to prime cover, the higher the likelihood of mature bucks visiting the area.

daytime movement is also higher if the feeding areas is more hidden and deer feel less threatened

The day after Christmas....my landowner friends will arrive anticipating lots of action...

and they will not be disappointed...

By dark...their feeding areas will have more deer then they can keep track of

All of that however is not because of the food, the food sources just concentrate them and they come without fail because they are habituated to coming to that spot 365 days a year because there is always food there. They LIVE here because of the fantastic cover, thick bedding and plentiful browse thanks to timber management and native grass plantings.

If, (like my friend I mentioned in the beginning of this post) you have the perfect situation that is consistently yielding mature whitetails...I wouldn't change a thing! If however you are like me and the size of your farm and budget is "challenged" then more intense management tactics may help you reach your goals.

Growing high yielding forage crops on as few acres as possible can allow you to convert more acres to cover and keep your planting budget at a manageable level. The crop combinations listed below, used properly will eventually help you lower or even eliminate your need for expensive fertilizers....frosting on the cake....

dbltree · Jan 10, 2013

January 10th, 2013

Winter time = busy time in the timber here so less time to post but it is worthy of note that thanks to serious droughts and deer depredation many corn and bean plots were wiped out long ago, leaving many landowners once again....disappointed and frustrated, not so with the rye and brassica strip plots!

Tons of high quality forage and roots were produced thanks to drought tolerant brassicas...

The brassicas however may never have germinated if not for the winter rye that created an organic sponge that retained soil moisture in which the brassicas could not only survive but...thrive!

Hordes of hungry whitetails hit each set of strip plots every day

and that makes for some great late season hunting!

Deer have a beaten path thru a corn stubble field to this combination plot where for 4 years now they have found their needs met 365 days a year!

Clover, the rye mix and the brassica mix, together provide a source of food every day of the year and that keeps deer adapted to coming here rather then the land next door where I might add....they have standing corn...

If you wish to manage for mature whitetails you need to keep them well taken care of...not because they will starve, certainly they will not, but if you plant food for Oct/Nov only...someone else will harvest your buck when they run out of feed on your place...

My friend Walt sat in his blind for barely 30 minutes before this beautiful buck stepped out and met his demise crunching on a Purple Top turnip....congrats on a beauty buck Walt!!

Some folks plant stuff with only one goal...to have something to hunt over for a week or two and that is great for you, if you plant year around crops! The following crop system is not only outstanding for holding whitetails year around but....for building high organic matter, drought resistant soils to boot!

risto2351 · Jan 10, 2013

Paul I have a question that I have been wondering.

How do they eat the frozen turnips??

Daver · Jan 10, 2013

Although I have no turnips myself this year, I have in years past. No matter how frozen/hard those things got they still ate them. They had to be gnawing on them and they dug/pawed the ground something fierce. I was actually concerned they would do damage to their hooves pawing so much/hard. But ate them they did. :way:

Sligh1 · Jan 10, 2013

If you ever eat like frozen strawberries or something.... Any fruit & likely veggie, is pretty palatable & doesn't freeze like a block of ice would be... It's fleshy, roughage that isn't hard to break down. Deer's teeth are also made to tear up vegetation obviously too- eating forest browse, wooded type things & they obviously eat everything frozen in wintertime. Interesting though, I look at those things too & looks like a job chomping down further & further every day. Turnips sure last a long time too cause they do take time to eat a bulb.

jerred44 · Jan 17, 2013

sorry for reposting but my question never got answered,
I know the growing season for sugar beets is longer, but, could i plant some with the brassica mix in late july? I know they wont get to their full size or produce as much folliage,, from what i hear about them though deer like them no matter the size or when they were planted, will beets and your brassica mix grow ok together

vman · Jan 17, 2013

The answer is yes. They are in a few mixes already. I've thought about it myself. Like you said they might not reach maturity, but still should produce some significant ruffage

Deerwatcher · Jan 18, 2013

In my opinion deer love sugar beets more than anything that I have ever planted. The problem with sugar beets is they are fairly expensive, don't like any competition from other vegetation or weeds; and if we experience another drought forget it they will not amount to nothing. That is from my experiences here in Southern Wisconsin.

dbltree · Jan 21, 2013

Planting sugar beets in July is a little like planting corn in July....pretty much a waste of seed and time. They will grow with brassicas but you will achieve very little if any root growth.

Here is the thing I would encourage everyone to think about...what do you hope to accomplish???????????? You will not attract one more additional deer by planting a different crop, the same deer that already live in surrounding cover will eat ANYTHING YOU PLANT FOR THEM.

This is not to imply that you shouldn't plant beets or any other crop but the point is you are barking up the wrong tree if you think there is any advantage to doing so. Whitetails simply will not travel far from their cover/home range so if you want more/bugger/better deer...FIX THE COVER!!!

Deer love forage radish but that just means they eat the radish plants first, the radish plants don't attract more deer. Same would be true of beets, beans or any other crop.

I hope this makes sense but again I remind you that the one with the most/best cover wins...not the one with sugar beets....

Brassicas

Super Moderator

Super Moderator

Member

New Member

Pike County Doe shooter

Super Moderator

Super Moderator

Super Moderator

Super Moderator

Well-Known Member

Super Moderator

Super Moderator

Super Moderator

Well-Known Member

PMA Member

Administrator

Member

Active Member

New Member

Super Moderator