Central Iowa
Life Member
If it was me and you wanted the same plot to produce all season I would split it in half so you could rotate the turnips from side to side year to year. Another issue is if the deer don't keep the oats mowed down you will have to to keep them tender and palatable by mowing. We noticed this last year on a larger oat plot that the deer didn't prefer it when it was allowed to grow compared to when it was kept shorter either by mowing or browse. If you have other areas to rotate the turnips to next year and the your densities will keep the oats browsed down it would be ok to mix them.
letemgrow
PMA Member
I can say one thing for turnips............the opossum love them. I had turnips planted next to bio-logic fall premium perennial. The deer absolutely tore up the brassicas in the bio-logic, but would not touch the turnips. They rotted away the next spring. I think once the deer get used to them they would be alright though. Someone else has probably had great success with turnips. There would be double digit deer in the bio-logic and maybe one in the turnips with at least 5 opossum per night.
Now with oats though you cannot go wrong. Last year my oat plot looked like I kept it freshly mowed from all the deer activity.
Now with oats though you cannot go wrong. Last year my oat plot looked like I kept it freshly mowed from all the deer activity.
Well I went ahead and planted turnips and bfo in the same plot. I went a little light on each seed. I have been absolutely amazed at the amount of deer hitting the plot since august and up until last week when we got snow/ice and now its too hard for the deer to dig through so they are all hitting the corn plot. The plot worked so well it was almost impossible to hunt around it because there were deer in it at all times of the day. 2 weeks I was sitting near it and spooked 13 deer off it 4 hours before sunset. That night I could see only about 2/3 of the field and at one time there were 37 deer in my field of view and 6 bucks. That night I saw well over 50 deer and 10 different bucks. i know the doe population is a little high and we are working on that right now but to see so many bucks is incredible after the gun season. Out of that 10 at least 6 were 2 1/2 years old or better. I will be planting this again next year and would high recommend it to anyone!
Central Iowa
Life Member
Nothing like sitting on a good turnip plot later in the season!
I have about an acre of turnips (2 varieties + 2 varieties of brassicas) in 2 different plots that have hardly gotten touched. This is the first time I"ve planted them in other than a few in an off-the-shelf mix...unless the demand for them increases here later in the season I doubt I'll be planting them next year...?
Central Iowa
Life Member
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> This is the first time I"ve planted them in other than a few in an off-the-shelf mix...unless the demand for them increases here later in the season I doubt I'll be planting them next year...?
</div></div> I have read that it could take as long as three years for them to aquire a taste or learn what they are. In my experiences they have always hit them the first year introduced. And once they learn what they are look out they will hammer them untill they are gone. A friend in Illinois says they won't touch his he will be on his third year and I haven't heard if they are hitting them this year or not. He has alot of good ag ground around him with little pressure so that may make a diffrence. I myself wouldn't think about a year without a large purple top patch to thin some does off.
</div></div> I have read that it could take as long as three years for them to aquire a taste or learn what they are. In my experiences they have always hit them the first year introduced. And once they learn what they are look out they will hammer them untill they are gone. A friend in Illinois says they won't touch his he will be on his third year and I haven't heard if they are hitting them this year or not. He has alot of good ag ground around him with little pressure so that may make a diffrence. I myself wouldn't think about a year without a large purple top patch to thin some does off.
