In Northeast PA here and I wanted to get thoughts on if I am just wasting my time trying to make brassicas work in one of my plots. I put 3 food plots in brassica this year (two 1/4 acre kills plots and one larger acre and a half plot on a ROW). My small 1/4 plots do what I expect them to. They are slightly limited due to partial sunlight and the fact that my deer browse them early and eventually stunt their growth because of their size, but I am ok with it because I layer cereal grains on top.
My larger plot is on a gas line ROW. The area is extremely rocky and the soil is thin in most places and nonexistent in certain areas. I have attached pictures from a few years ago when we first planted it.
For planting, I terminated existing clover, weeds, and winter rye on July 4th. Planted two weeks later by broadcasting and dragging with a chain harrow (turnips & rape with a little radish). We got great rain (probably too much) over the next few weeks. I came back week 3 and broadcast 100# of uryea and 100# of winter rye. At the time, I had good germination in terms of coverage, but the growth itself was only about 3" tall. As of this weekend, it's 3-4" tall. I am inclined to think that this ground just can't hold enough moisture or let the roots grow to produce a solid brassica, but I am a beginner to all this. I am surrounded by organic hay/grazing pastures with a lot of clover and have wanted to establish something different here that will be a reason for the deer to come to this plot vs the larger pastures.
I did get a soil test. PH is 6.6 (average across the plot). It has been that way for 3 years and I spread about 750lbs on it every year to maintain.
My larger plot is on a gas line ROW. The area is extremely rocky and the soil is thin in most places and nonexistent in certain areas. I have attached pictures from a few years ago when we first planted it.
For planting, I terminated existing clover, weeds, and winter rye on July 4th. Planted two weeks later by broadcasting and dragging with a chain harrow (turnips & rape with a little radish). We got great rain (probably too much) over the next few weeks. I came back week 3 and broadcast 100# of uryea and 100# of winter rye. At the time, I had good germination in terms of coverage, but the growth itself was only about 3" tall. As of this weekend, it's 3-4" tall. I am inclined to think that this ground just can't hold enough moisture or let the roots grow to produce a solid brassica, but I am a beginner to all this. I am surrounded by organic hay/grazing pastures with a lot of clover and have wanted to establish something different here that will be a reason for the deer to come to this plot vs the larger pastures.
I did get a soil test. PH is 6.6 (average across the plot). It has been that way for 3 years and I spread about 750lbs on it every year to maintain.