Just got back from the land 14 inches of snow. Deer are all over the turnips. I planted them mid June, 2 -3 weeks earlier than normal. They grew awsome. Bulbs were the size of a ball cap. I was worried they might be past mature and not get used but this wasn't the case. They were eating the bulbs since early October. They are still digging thru 14 inches of snow to get at them.
Turnips at work
- Thread starter ruskbucks
- Start date
chucker66
5 year old buck +
Same on my place in Washburn county. I didn't get as big of bulbs but they are also digging for all the rye I planted. The funny thing is there are 12 to 14 silage bags right across the road and I know they go over there every night but they are still digging through the snow in the plots
Do you remember when you planted? I'm sticking with the June planting from now on. I have planted them in late July/August as suggested only to see them get the size of a 50 cent piece. I love turnips. I planted my rye early too trying to get some height for winter, but the deer kept it mowed to about 2 inches. They didn't even bother digging any where this year in the rye. It looked funny half the field had no tracks and the other half looked like every deer around was in there.
SWIFFY
5 year old buck +
I don’t remember… this year I had so many fails that they’re all blending together. I thing I planted in mid June because I have turnips/ radish/ sorghum/ millet/ pumpkins/ sunflowers all in this mix and I wanted to get seed and size on the other crops. It was early. I have huge radishes here too but the deer have eaten them down. I did have other radish/ rye plots that I planted later. They were much preferred over this plot during the hunting season, but now they are eaten flat and this is getting used heavily.
In the future I will continue to plant brassicas at different times in different places I think to achieve varying plant/ bulb size and maturity. Then the deer don’t hammer everything at once.
Here is a pic of this same diverse plot in September…
In the future I will continue to plant brassicas at different times in different places I think to achieve varying plant/ bulb size and maturity. Then the deer don’t hammer everything at once.
Here is a pic of this same diverse plot in September…
bornagain62511
5 year old buck +
I've been planting brassicas and rye much earlier in summer for quite a few years now. Seems to work much better here in SW Wisconsin. As I've said in many of my previous posts, the bigger bulbs the better. I don't think there's such a thing as getting turnips "too big" or "overly mature" especially in norther areas where snow is common. The bigger and taller my Winfred and turnips get before winter, the more and longer they will feed and attract deer. I've posted some of my experience with early planting rye and brassica in the following post. If planted too early in the summer, winter rye mostly fizzles out in mid summer, but that's ok because I use it as a weed suppressor and soil buildier in my early planted brassicas. If I want rye for fall/winter forage, I will plant rye/turnips/radish/crimson clover in late July. The radish and turnips won't get as large as earlier plantings, but the rye will still be lively and attractive in fall and winter but will much taller and thicker than later planted rye, and that's better for attraction since it provides a lot more tonnage and more reason for the deer to keep coming and spend time feeding there, especially when we get snow
habitat-talk.com
spring planted winter rye?
Good looking plot. I keep planting my brassicas earlier and earlier in northern WI. It seems most suggest planting late July or August. I wasn't getting the growth that late. I planted late June this year and turnips and rape were huge. Have you ever had rape bolting on you planted that early...
habitat-talk.com
I'm trying your suggestion born again. I have the Winfred and turnip seed ready to go. Have to still get rye. I'm excited to try this because I have never been able to plant enough brassicas to get thru the winter. We planted dwarf rape in spring one year before there was forums like this one. It bolted in September and the deer never really touched it. I 've been planting earlier every year. I can't imagine turnips getting much bigger than theses I planted mid June, I'll be more than happy If they get this size again.If I can plant turnips and rape in May or early June it will really increase the tonnage. I might have a chance. Sure would be nice to find some sheds out there come spring.
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bornagain62511
5 year old buck +
Sounds great. Good luck. I guess I've never planted dwarf rape in spring, so I shouldn't have said brassicas will "never" get overly mature. But I know for sure that Winfred will never bolt or get "overly mature" when planted in early spring. I've planted Winfred in mid May several times and it was never close to "overly mature" come fall. Mid may to mid June seems to be the best planting time for Winfred. I know purple top turnips can be planted in mid June without any concern for them getting "overly mature" I'm not sure if planting turnips earlier than that would cause them to get overly mature or bolt or not. Mid June is a great time to plant purple top turnips and/or Winfred. The most important thing when planting brassicas in late spring or early summer is weed control. Either using winter rye as a nurse crop to suppress weeds, or killing everything with roundup, and then planting the seed without disturbing the soil will give the brassicas a head start on the weeds.
I don't plant my brassicas until after July 1st anymore. The couple of times I planted them in early June, Red Turnip Beetles showed up and went to town on them. Their lifespan only covers the month of June here, so I avoid them by planting a little later, and still get nice bulbs.
Something to keep an eye out for.
Something to keep an eye out for.
I had to look them up. I have seen them before, just not sure if it was on my land. If I had them it wasn't bad. I see they prefer sandy soil. This would be another good reason for crop rotation since the larva over winter in the soil. If they don't have feed they will disappear. I found this out the hard way with corn borers after planting corn in the same plot for a few years.
