Leftover’22 turnips and daikon radishes in Z3?

[Maddog66]

We’ve had a record snow year that started in mid November buy burying thousands and thousands of real nice turnips in 2 of my 1 acre plots. Our first snowfall was 17” and it never let up until about a week ago when we got multiple 80f days in a row. It’s said we had 140” total but I can attest to 45” inches in the woods less than 10 days ago.

Anyway, because of this deep snow we got almost no frost this year. I assumed all those turnips and radishes were just going to be mushy fertilizer this spring.

But when I snuck out early last Saturday to call for turkeys, I jumped at least 25 deer in the the half light walking in but not out of the still standing corn like I assumed. They all blew out of my brassica field?????

When it got full daylight I began seeing hundreds of ‘white things’ in the field. When I walked over I could see where deer had been biting them off right where they lay. They are preserved perfectly all winter as if they’d been stored in a root cellar.

What’s really interesting is that there is still that standing corn plus lots of loose corn on the ground…..but they are just dialed in on last years brassicas.

I hope the larger scale pic shows how many of them overwintered.

Is this common?

 

[Diesel5610]

Sounds like conditions were just right to preserve them, ours are usually mush if they somehow make it to spring. Doesn't surprise me one bit that deer would be keying in on them right now if they are in that condition. Deer are hammering any green or good food source right now after a long winter.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

It has been my experience that turnips seem to last longer than radishes. My radishes are typically mushy or completely gone by spring, but it is fairly common to find some leftover turnips.

 

[Troubles Trees]

Happy to see they are still feeding deer and what they don’t eat will be good OM for your soil. I am very much a rookie with food plots but was happy to see deer regularly feeding in it until a few weeks ago. Do you have any bulbs pushing up new growth? I understand there are seeds in the bulbs but wasn’t expecting this when I walked the plot last weekend. I also don’t recall reading anywhere that people were terminating their fall brassicas to plant their spring seed.

Sorry if that seems trivial, and I don’t mean to hijack your post. I posted these in my land tour but didn’t get any responses bud.

 

[Maddog66]

Yes TT, I did see some of them throwing sprouts….but didn’t recognize them at first. Exactly like your pics.

 

[homerj]

The overwintered turnips sending up new growth will bolt pretty quickly with some warm weather.

 

[ruskbucks]

That is a common occurrence at my place every year. My field looks just like yours. There are thousands of half turnips and radish eaten flush with the dirt. I did see some fresh bites on a couple that were above the ground.

 

[bigboreblr]

They overwinter in NY zone 5/6 here. Even if there isn't any consistent snow cover.

I can see my home foodpot from the house. Just about want to puke seeing them eating up that rotten nasty stuff.

Wife says no daikon radish anymore. Whole property smelled like kimchi when they started to rot.

 

[bigboreblr]

Actually, my local co-op helped out the cause..... Drove to work for the 1st time in a month since my bicep torn. I split some trees order with coworkers and brought them in, local ag co-op is about 15 minutes away. They were out of daikon raddish. Most food plots are 3 or 4 years old ths year, time for a refreshening. Got turnips and a bag of rye. Ordered a bunch of clover over the winter and have 2 bags of wheat and a bag of oats to mix in with the rye.

Fought the temptation well today. Local mom-n-pop supermarket had frostbite and freedom apple trees. A touch easier to say no when they charge $80 each for them. Even had orange pippin. 8ft tall and maybe 8 to 10 laterals on them. Not a complete rip off.