What to do with this Brassica plot?

[RobbieH]

I put in purple top turnips and groundhog radish last year in one of my plots. Just a small section, maybe a quarter-acre. I planted in August and during rifle season here (late October), deer were hitting the forage. In fact, I got an 8 pointer from this plot.
During the winter, some of the turnips and radishes were pawed and eaten. There was a lot left over.

Now it's June and the plot was never tilled this Spring. The PTT and GHR are growing back. The forage is about knee high now.

My question is this: Should I just leave it alone, or try to have it tilled and regrow in August? How will this forage be during hunting season? Will the deer like it as much? Will the turnips and radishes still be desirable to the deer during late season?

Thanks.

 

[Heart shot]

I have heard the deer really like the tops when they bolt, so I would leave it go. Then come July / Aug go ahead and kill it and replant with your fall plot. What are you planting this fall? Might be best to just no till and let the dead brassicas rot providing nutrients for your fall plot. Tillage causes a lot of issues with the soil structure.

 

[sagittarius]

I put in purple top turnips and groundhog radish last year in one of my plots.
During the winter, some of the turnips and radishes were pawed and eaten. There was a lot left over. Now it's June and the plot was never tilled this Spring. The PTT and GHR are growing back. The forage is about knee high now.

This is an excellent example of why Monsanto does not allow RR sugarbeets to be planted in any wildlife feedplots. The deer don't care, but a neighboring farmer or seed producer might.

 

[Elkaddict]

Are you certain it’s all volunteer brassicas? I’ve had what looks the same that the locals call rocket or mustard. I’d get it mowed before it goes to seed.

 

[BobinCt]

I’m with Elkaddict. Look up pics of rocket weed or mustard weed and I bet it’s identical. This happened to me in the past .

 

[Mennoniteman]

I put in purple top turnips and groundhog radish last year in one of my plots. Just a small section, maybe a quarter-acre. I planted in August and during rifle season here (late October), deer were hitting the forage. In fact, I got an 8 pointer from this plot.
During the winter, some of the turnips and radishes were pawed and eaten. There was a lot left over.

Now it's June and the plot was never tilled this Spring. The PTT and GHR are growing back. The forage is about knee high now.

My question is this: Should I just leave it alone, or try to have it tilled and regrow in August? How will this forage be during hunting season? Will the deer like it as much? Will the turnips and radishes still be desirable to the deer during late season?

Thanks.
View attachment 12262

View attachment 12263

What you see there won't be anything to hunt over, it will need to be replanted in late summer. You had a winning combination last year, just do the exact same this year, but add a couple dollars worth of clover to the PTT and GHR, you won't see much of the clover in the fall, but next spring you will be feeding your deer with a nice clover plot that also gives you free nitrogen in the ground for another fall plot that you plant next summer. Although you will get some volunteer splring brassica a good fall brassica plot needs to be replanted every August.

 

[THE LLC]

It will go to seed shortly then die. Replant in August. You'll get a lot of re-seeding.

 

[BobinCt]

Robbie - be careful replanting brassicas back to back years in the same plot. Lots of people do it and nothing happens but u can get diseases that way. Try rotating each year or after a brassica, come back in the Spring and Summer with Buckwheat to break it up.

 

[THE LLC]

Should be able to get two years out of brassicas without disease. After that, well.......

 

[RobbieH]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I'd be a fool not to take the advice here, so it looks like this August, I'll mow it down, till or drag it, then replant. This will be the second season. I have a small plot next to it that has clover and grains in it. Next year, I'll switch the two.
Thanks again.

 

[Elkaddict]

If it’s rocket or mustard, you’ll wish you’d mowed it earlier. BTDT.

 

[RobbieH]

I mowed it down today. Seems like it was mostly turnips. But as you can see in the pic, they looked pretty poor. So it was good to get out there and mow it. I will spray tomorrow. A few weeks after that, I'll drag it then around the beginning of August I'll replant the brassica plot.
Thanks again for the help .