(vote)Brassica Growers: Do they grow well AND last as long as you need them to?
- Thread starter SD51555
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SD51555
5 year old buck +
I still put them in my blends because I have seed left over. It also only costs about $3/ac to add a rate of collards to my blend. Once I'm out of seed, I'm not going to plant them anymore. I've kept cranking down my seeding rate to where I'm at around 1 lb per acre or less. Fun fact, 1 lb per ac will still yield 4 seeds per square foot in forage collards. Before I started using the blower seeder (which I did not invent), I could never get the seeding rates low enough so the plants didn't smother each other.
Ultimately, for the way I do things, they are a low success plant, and if I do get them, they get smoked too early. So I have to keep sliding down the preferred forage scale to sync up deer preference times with my hunting times. I just got to wondering how many guys that are planting them actually get them to go the distance.
Ultimately, for the way I do things, they are a low success plant, and if I do get them, they get smoked too early. So I have to keep sliding down the preferred forage scale to sync up deer preference times with my hunting times. I just got to wondering how many guys that are planting them actually get them to go the distance.
My problem with PTT, as soon as they are four or five inches tall, the deer rip them out of the ground and eat the entire plant. This year I went with forage collards and seven top turnips along with more radish, I still don't think any will make it until Nov. If it was possible to plant a couple acres...maybe.
Wind Gypsy
5 year old buck +
We seem to be able to get a few of them through gun season most years up in itasca county but they are a small fraction of what was there in sept. PTT seem to last longer than radish. Maybe 2-3 acres total in brassicas on 170 acres.
Only brassica planted in the blend this year is about 3# daikon per acre so I wouldn’t be surprised if they are all but gone come November.
Only brassica planted in the blend this year is about 3# daikon per acre so I wouldn’t be surprised if they are all but gone come November.
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S.T.Fanatic
5 year old buck +
Easy to grow, radish tops get hit every year, hit or miss on bulb consumption. If they do eat the bulbs it usually isn't until late January.
WTNUT
5 year old buck +
My vote: They are the easiest plant to grow for plotting, but not all varieties are created equal. For example, the following do super well for me:
Groundhog radish, pretty much all turnips (Purple Top, Barkant and Appin), Bonar Rape, and T-Raptor. But, please note they only do really well for me when I terminate existing vegetation with Gly, then till and prepare a firm seed bed. Final steps are to broadcast and FERTILIZE WITH PLENTY OF NITROGEN. Skip any step or cut corners and all bets are off.
I am on the line between zones 5 and 6. I like to plant them between August 10 and August 15.
I have planted all of the following and they just are not as good of an option as those above. Some like the Kale take too long to mature. The DER does not put on as much tonnage as others but still takes up the same space. Sugar Beets are a pain unless roundup ready and then they are very expensive. And, Pasja just does not have the tonnage.
Barsica Rape, Dwarf Essex Rape, Bayou Kale, Kestrel Kale, Major Plus Sweede, Pasja, Winter Camelina, Winfred, Sugar Beets.
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Groundhog radish, pretty much all turnips (Purple Top, Barkant and Appin), Bonar Rape, and T-Raptor. But, please note they only do really well for me when I terminate existing vegetation with Gly, then till and prepare a firm seed bed. Final steps are to broadcast and FERTILIZE WITH PLENTY OF NITROGEN. Skip any step or cut corners and all bets are off.
I am on the line between zones 5 and 6. I like to plant them between August 10 and August 15.
I have planted all of the following and they just are not as good of an option as those above. Some like the Kale take too long to mature. The DER does not put on as much tonnage as others but still takes up the same space. Sugar Beets are a pain unless roundup ready and then they are very expensive. And, Pasja just does not have the tonnage.
Barsica Rape, Dwarf Essex Rape, Bayou Kale, Kestrel Kale, Major Plus Sweede, Pasja, Winter Camelina, Winfred, Sugar Beets.
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Foggy47
5 year old buck +
I planted over 3 acres of brassica this year. PTT / GHR / DER/ Forage Brasisic Mix and added some chicory too. It's taking pretty well now with recent rainfalls finally kicking in. I got pics of deer in the Brassica every day. They are also hitting the clover which is the other 1/2 of my plots. I think they have a preference for the brassica at this point. I need to put an exclusion cage on the brassica to determine how much they are consuming. I think (hope?) the amount planted will out produce the deer's appetite.
I've had poor results without terminating the clover before planting. Even when drilling GHR into standing or low clipped clover I cannot get brassica to compete and survive in the perennial clovers. This year it appears I did it.
I've had poor results without terminating the clover before planting. Even when drilling GHR into standing or low clipped clover I cannot get brassica to compete and survive in the perennial clovers. This year it appears I did it.
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Foggy47
5 year old buck +
Was at my land today doing some odd jobs and I put out three exclusion cages. The deer are really working my brassica plots and I could see evidence of them chomping the brassica everywhere I looked. We got some rains last week....but it's getting dry already and I hope we get another shot of rain soon. I got about 3.5 acres of a mix of brassica. Here is what I got going on at this point:
SD51555
5 year old buck +
That came right along, didn't it!
S.T.Fanatic
5 year old buck +
Not sure if mine have even germinated yet. I think the deer prefer smaller bulbs/tubers anyway.
We didn’t have the moisture to plant earlier and as mentioned about bulb size above is always my main concern.
The best year I ever had on attraction was when planted later and the bulbs were baseball size at the absolute largest.
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We didn’t have the moisture to plant earlier and as mentioned about bulb size above is always my main concern.
The best year I ever had on attraction was when planted later and the bulbs were baseball size at the absolute largest.
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When did you plant those? Looking good.
Hoytvectrix
5 year old buck +
This is from August 4th in Northern MO. I seeded this area July 4th weekend because we had gotten like 0.25" for the previous 6 weeks, and had a good couple of days rain in the forecast. Turns out it has basically rained every 3-5 days since then. This was the earliest I had ever planted. Normally we are planting labor day weekend which is a little too late most years. I'm a little worried these are going to bolt and go into reproductive stage too soon.
I think brassicas are an amazing addition to most food plots. I think I agree with @S.T.Fanatic in that they can get too big. I can't wait to see how these do later this year.
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
I beleive I drilled that brassica on July 11. I had nuked the clover two weeks prior to that date. We did get a tenth somewhere along the ine....but then almost nothing until last week. I would credit no-till with allowing that brassica to make it to the decent rain last week.....when it really took off for me.
In my sand.....it takes a weekly rainfall to keep things going. Maybe I have moved that ball a bit without tillage and with decent mulch covering the soils. That is my goal anyway.
SD51555
5 year old buck +
I think there is a limit to usefulness once they get too big. I've seen some get to softball sized and bigger, and the deer end up not being able to get them out of the ground. They gnawed off what they could, but most of it went to waste.
4wanderingeyes
5 year old buck +
I have always planted them, but the last few years they never really grew, most because it was so dry. The years I got them to grow, the deer came.
This is the big problem for many in the south. To get good growth - and especially bulb growth - you have to plant around Sept 1. For many of us, that may be the hottest, driest time of the year.
I dont think many folks would consider this good planting weather.
In addition, down here our deer are not having to dig food through two feet of snow. I have not seen that brassicas attract anymore deer than cereal grains - so I dont consider the extra effort for planting them to be worthwhile.
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