Yellow Barassicas

[bowhunternw]

I got some barassicas started about 2 weeks ago. Now the rain wont stop and notice that they are quite yellow on the lower side of the plot. Will they recover if it dries out, or would it be better to work up and start over when it turns around?

 

[chucker66]

Get some Nitrogen on them. Some 42-0-0 would work great. Need about 75 to 100 lbs per acre.. Do it right before a rain which sounds like anytime for you right now.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

^^^^ Might all the rain be leaching the available N out of the soil ?? I read somewhere that too much rain can do that. Probably depends on soil type ?? Any bona fide farmers out there know the answer about this ??

 

[Rit]

Generally speaking yellowing brassicas are a lack of Nitrogen but you haven’t shared much info. Are they in standing water? How were they planted? TNM will lend itself to yellow brassicas because all the N is tied up decomposing the previous crop especially fully mature WR. Did these follow another crop or a new food plot? If the previous crop was clover based you should be getting some N credits.

 

[bowhunternw]

It is newly broken ground. Although there is no standing water it is extremely saturated. I figured it was more so water stress than lack of nitrogen. But I will try spreading some fertilizer just to see what happens.

 

[Diesel5610]

Well yellow brassicas is usually one of the two things mentioned, lack of Nitrogen or saturated soil. It sounds like it is all the water you have to me. Wait for it to dry out and then maybe hit it with some Nitrogen. Saturated soil ruined almost all our brassica plots last year, hoping for a better year this year.

 

[BuckSutherland]

When your soil is saturated your roots don’t go down and there is no oxygen in the soil. You will get zero nitrogen uptake in saturated soil. That’s why they are yellow. If it doesn’t dry up there is no point adding N. N leaches through the soil profile with excess rain. Once the damage is done your plants will stay sickly the rest of the season.

 

[Barndog56]

Nothing will help until your soil dries out. Any fertilizer you spread will be wasted money if the soil remains that wet.

After your soil dries and if the plants still have some yellow leaves, whether you fertilize or not depends on your goals. If your goal is to take nice pictures, where every leaf is nice and green, then by all means add nitrogen. If your goal is to improve your soil then don't add nitrogen and let the plants do their thing. Their root systems will dig deeper and wider to find the nitrogen, helping your soil in the process.

And if your goal is just about feeding deer, you'll have to watch and adjust. Chances are the deer won't eat your brassicas til after the first frost, when they're basically done anyway. So it'll be hard to judge if your plants are producing enough green leaves and large enough tubers to keep the deer fed until after the fact. I would leave them alone and make any adjustments next year.

If you grow a well rounded mix of legumes, cereal grains, broadleafs, and brassicas, without overworking your soil and destroying it's structure and microbiology, you shouldn't need to add lime or fertilizer. Everything will take care of itself.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

Foliar application?

 

[bowhunternw]

When your soil is saturated your roots don’t go down and there is no oxygen in the soil. You will get zero nitrogen uptake in saturated soil. That’s why they are yellow. If it doesn’t dry up there is no point adding N. N leaches through the soil profile with excess rain. Once the damage is done your plants will stay sickly the rest of the season.

That is basically what I want to know, are they permanently damaged or will they recover if it dries out. If they are going to be weak because of it, maybe it would be better to start over.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

It is plenty early enough to replant most brassicas right now, and the seed is pretty cheap.

 

[jsasker007]

If you re-plant I would plant something other than brassicas unless it dries out. If it doesn't dry out you will get the same results. Alsike clover likes wet soils---to a point. If that area is always wet you won't have a lot of options that will survive and produce something. Millet also likes wet soils.

 

[Rit]

If you re-plant I would plant something other than brassicas unless it dries out. If it doesn't dry out you will get the same results. Alsike clover likes wet soils---to a point. If that area is always wet you won't have a lot of options that will survive and produce something. Millet also likes wet soils.

I am pretty sure I read on a few occasions not to grow millet on water-logged soils. I was looking to plant some on poorly drained clay soil and it was advised not to. I could be wrong though. To be fair I was only looking at Pearl millet.

 

[jsasker007]

Japanese millet is supposed to be a good wetland planting. I should have been more specific with my answer the first time.

 

[bowhunternw]

Well I checked on them today, seems they are making a turn around. Looking much healthier. We just had 2 - 2 1/2" rains back to back and then a couple of 1/2" rains to follow. I spread some fertilizer today, see how it looks in 2 weeks.