Been using LC mix for years but never had much success with the 5LB of radish. Seeing how the cost of radish was way higher than turnip and rape seed im thinking of dropping the radishes. I did the same thing with winter peas in his serial grains mix. Was using 3lb turnips, 2lb rape, 5lb radish. What rate should I use if dropping the radish?
Brassica seed rates ?
- Thread starter BC Buck
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bbcoach
5 year old buck +
Only you can answer this. Several things come into play with brassicas to get maximum growth. 1. Brassicas require PH in the range of 6.5 to 6.8. Do you have a current soil test 2. Brassicas love nitrogen (about 150lbs of 46-0-0, 75 lbs of nitrogen per acre), plan on putting down 2 good feedings of nitrogen, one at planting and one about 4 weeks later 3. Plenty of water, no standing water but a inch a week would be perfect. Take away any of these things and your yield will suffer. Paul recommends 8-10 lbs of seed per acre. You need to ask yourself, do I want more bulbs to feed in the winter/early spring then go heavy on the PTT. A good mix should be 6 lbs of turnips and 4 lbs of rape. Here's a couple of PICS from our 2015 brassicas. Everything was about perfect for this growth. Good Luck and post some PICS, as they grow.
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Bill, I feel your pain when it comes to brassicas and moisture.
bbcoach
5 year old buck +
Don't be so quick to congratulate us here on the east coast. This patch of brassicas was planted in August 2015, PICS were taken the 28th of September. A week later, we got hammered with 8 inches of rain from a coastal storm and they didn't look very good, the middle of October. Welcome to farming!!! If everything is perfect, you will get a bumper crop but if one thing goes wrong, well we all know what happens. We do this to provide our wildlife with some additional food. Don't get discouraged, keep planting, it will come together.
CedarSwamp
5 year old buck +
I have only planted the LickCreek planting rates with Radish included. I looked at the seeding rates of some BOB brassica mixtures that don't have radish in them. Here is what they recommend for their mixes:
Imperial Whitetail's WinterGreen has 6# per acre with a mix of kale, rape, and turnips (primarily Kale).
Antler King Honey Hole has 6# per acre of primarily rape with some turnips included.
Tecomate has a pure Common Canola product that they have a rate of 5# per acre.
Bulls-Eye Brand Turnip Mix planting rate is 8# per acre for an entirely turnip mixture.
If I were to plant a Rape and Turnip mixture or a Rape, Turnip, and Kale mixture I think I'd plant it at around 7# per acre. I may do this in the future to increase the amount of winter food and eliminate seeding the plot twice as the Radish seeds are larger so I have to seed those separately through the broadcast seeder. We've always had best results with erring on the side of lower seeding rates so 10# per acre of rape and turnips might be a little too much in most cases.
Imperial Whitetail's WinterGreen has 6# per acre with a mix of kale, rape, and turnips (primarily Kale).
Antler King Honey Hole has 6# per acre of primarily rape with some turnips included.
Tecomate has a pure Common Canola product that they have a rate of 5# per acre.
Bulls-Eye Brand Turnip Mix planting rate is 8# per acre for an entirely turnip mixture.
If I were to plant a Rape and Turnip mixture or a Rape, Turnip, and Kale mixture I think I'd plant it at around 7# per acre. I may do this in the future to increase the amount of winter food and eliminate seeding the plot twice as the Radish seeds are larger so I have to seed those separately through the broadcast seeder. We've always had best results with erring on the side of lower seeding rates so 10# per acre of rape and turnips might be a little too much in most cases.
j-bird
Moderator
Most will tell you 5 to 10 lbs per acre in a "pure stand". As you start adding in cereal grains or if your overseeding those rates come down. Keep in mind it's based on number of plants per acre and thus seed size affects this. Turnip seed is very small - like clover, while radish seed (at least GFR) is bigger and again the same number of live plants in the same area will be a different weight. I tend to apply about 5 lbs/acre of brassica regardless of which type. I keep it on the lower side because I'm either adding cereal grains or overseeding as well.
