Anyone planting Ground Hog Radishes for soil and deer

B

Bullwinkle

Active Member
i did about 5 years ago. I remember them being completely defoilaged in Sept and Oct before first frost. Junk after first frost as they started rotting and turned soft. Then the smell

Great for the soil

Anyone plant them with no till drill?

I am not interested in mixing

I think I want to reintroduce them into my rotations for compaction
 
I plant them in a mix but not thru a drill. Mine are already mush this year. Even thought my deer pretty much ignore brassica as a whole they do seem to take to the radish more so than the bulb turnips I plant. I don't see much, if any, use of the foliage I simply add them as late season insurance. And yes - the smell come spring time is nasty! Lots of farmer here use them in a mix as a winter cover crop as well. I know deer use of them is very regional......I simply like that they are good for the soil, cheap and good late season food insurance.
 
I have planted them with a GP706NT but I couldn't tell you what the setting was, it was pretty much right on with the setting in the manual from what I remember. I know that is the drill you have. The drill works fine, just like everything else I have ever planted with it. The farmer who leases my fields just drilled them into a rye field this fall for the soil. He is a total No-til farmer and all about the soil.
 
JDunham said:
I have planted them with a GP706NT but I couldn't tell you what the setting was, it was pretty much right on with the setting in the manual from what I remember. I know that is the drill you have. The drill works fine, just like everything else I have ever planted with it. The farmer who leases my fields just drilled them into a rye field this fall for the soil. He is a total No-til farmer and all about the soil.
Click to expand...
I am pretty sure you use the rape setting on the main box. Turnip sees is much smaller and I use my small box. Thanks for the replies guys. I think I am going to start an annual rotation of these just for soil mainly. It's amazing how that little seed can grow those 2' bulbs
 
I planted them this year mixed with PTT broadcasted Throw and Mow.
The deer loved the radish tops over the PTT, once the tops where gone, the PTT was the main course. Just went to the farm today and it looks like a mine field with all the PTT dug up and eaten.20170128_110420 (3).jpg
 
Bull I'll never plant GHR as a monoculture again. They saw very modest use. For soil health, it's another mater. I'll continue the LC brassica mix for variety but my money brassica plots going forward will be rutabaga and Winfred brassicas (perhaps with some beets thrown in). I'd be more inclined to have a monoculture of turnips because they're don't rot as quickly and would be more reliable as a late winter source of food. I still broadcast all my plots as my soils are still far to rocky for a drill.
 
Elkaddict said:
Bull I'll never plant GHR as a monoculture again. They saw very modest use. For soil health, it's another mater. I'll continue the LC brassica mix for variety but my money brassica plots going forward will be rutabaga and Winfred brassicas (perhaps with some beets thrown in). I'd be more inclined to have a monoculture of turnips because they're don't rot as quickly and would be more reliable as a late winter source of food. I still broadcast all my plots as my soils are still far to rocky for a drill.
Click to expand...
Good thought
 
Are you sure you've got compaction? I'd imagine you'd have to make an effort to have compaction in a food plot, unless you've got heavy equipment and committed some sins.
 
I plant them every year. Sometimes in the large box, sometimes in the small. GHR seed is way bigger than rape and turnip. I don't have my journal with me, and I can't remember the rate.
 
About anything in the grass family (grains, sorghums, corns) will keep you in the good then. What's weird with brassicas is I don't think they'll stave off compaction. They may help alleviate it, but without higher carbon roots to keep your soil spongy, you'd deplete your OM and end up with hard soil.
 
MarkDarvin said:
About anything in the grass family (grains, sorghums, corns) will keep you in the good then. What's weird with brassicas is I don't think they'll stave off compaction. They may help alleviate it, but without higher carbon roots to keep your soil spongy, you'd deplete your OM and end up with hard soil.
Click to expand...
That's great. I have not had any problems. Thanks
 
Deer will eat my forage radish tops, but eat little of the actual radish.
They wont touch turnip greens, but will eat the turnips January and February.
I like radish in a mix, but wouldnt plant it solely.
 
The deer here eat GFR tops earlier/more than PTT and they eat much of the radish as well. It gets the deer eating out of the brassica plot sooner and they end up eating the PTT greens as well here. But it is the turnip bulb itself that is feeding them right now. So radishes have a place here but as Fish says Radishes in a mix.
 
Chainsaw said:
The deer here eat GFR tops earlier/more than PTT and they eat much of the radish as well. It gets the deer eating out of the brassica plot sooner and they end up eating the PTT greens as well here. But it is the turnip bulb itself that is feeding them right now. So radishes have a place here but as Fish says Radishes in a mix.
Click to expand...
X2! Deer wipe out the radish greens before the turnip greens. 1st year we planted them in 2012 I couldn't believe how well the deer took to them. By late december wasn't nothing but bulbs showing in the field. I really like radishes in a brassica mix.
 
They eat the crap out of the tops early in Ohio.....then the bulbs later until they are mush. I always plant a mix with turnips.
 
We run our through the drill in the big box mixed with oats and rye and any other big seed. Every plot, every fall.
 
Bullwinkle said:
i did about 5 years ago. I remember them being completely defoilaged in Sept and Oct before first frost. Junk after first frost as they started rotting and turned soft. Then the smell

Great for the soil

Anyone plant them with no till drill?

I am not interested in mixing

I think I want to reintroduce them into my rotations for compaction
Click to expand...

Compaction is a function of time.

Alleviating compaction is a function of fracturing pans then stabilizing the fractures with more living roots and SOM.

It takes time and soil biology to overcome compaction and you don't get optimum soil biology without living roots in the soil 360 days/yr!

Rethink the value of mixes before writing them off!

Set big box on drill to deliver 10 lba radish for monoculture/soil busting....small box will likely crush radish seed so don't use it. Plant anytime after summer solstice to minimize bolting. Essentially you only get partial compaction alleviation doing so with the effect limited to late summer, fall and early winter....and you don't have other roots in a monoculture to explore channels created by radish roots for soil stability.

Or add about 5-7 lba to small grain legume mix....plant 6-8 weeks before frost for good fall growth and winter stockpile. The small grain roots will explore and stabilize the radish root channels during the spring flush....so now you have a plant which will keep alleviating compaction late winter through spring.

Then you should go one step further and plant a summer mix in spring heavy in sorghum, milo, pearl millet and/or sorghum sudans and with annual legumes etc. Mow that tall when the sorghums are 5' high and the soil has moisture to promote new tillers and deeper roots. Now you are still alleviating compaction late spring through late summer....alas 360d of soil stabilization!

Repeat that rotation of fall and summer mixes until you get the topsoil depth you desire...and the pans are fractured. Diverse roots and near maturity annual forages are the key to unlocking soil compaction!.....may take 2 or 10 years...all depends on condition of soil you are working with when you start and past management of that soil!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
Cutting Crimson Red and orchard radishes
Replies
4
Views
872
Doe Shooter
Doe Shooter
Back
Top