swat1018
Well-Known Member
Yep, that's why it's important to keep turnip in front of them. Even if they've never used it before....
Qustion for the Raddish Gurus
- Thread starter Native Hunter
- Start date
Yep, that's why it's important to keep turnip in front of them. Even if they've never used it before....
DocHolladay
Well-Known Member
We actually got about .23" of rain the other day. It's been in the high 50's during the day. I think mine may actually reach 3-4" tall before the frost kills them. We have rain coming Monday, but I don't think my brassicas will b enough for the deer to get a full meal out of. I'll try again next year and hope we get mor rain than this year.
DocHolladay
Well-Known Member
Finally getting some much needed rain on my brassica plot and grain plot. To bad I am seeing the affect of frost on some of my little brassica plants. I didn't get 100% germination and what did come up only made it 2-3" in height. Wish we would have gotten this rain back in sept when I planted.
Chad Hauenstein
Member
On our place the deer love brassica. They start browsing them after 4 weeks of growth and dont stop until they are gone. We planted several varieties and noticed a preference.
First Ground hog tops and Winfred,
Then DER and PPT tops,
Then Ground hog tubers,
Last is the PPT bulbs. Al lot of these only have one bite and then rot.
Your place is a long ways from my in PA but my guess is that deer usage will continue to increase. Our deer eat tubers like that as well.
First Ground hog tops and Winfred,
Then DER and PPT tops,
Then Ground hog tubers,
Last is the PPT bulbs. Al lot of these only have one bite and then rot.
Your place is a long ways from my in PA but my guess is that deer usage will continue to increase. Our deer eat tubers like that as well.
Apparently the deer didn't get the memo that this plot needed N, they have hammered it the last week to 10 days.
The air around each brassica in that plot contains 80% nitrogen...hardly limiting. Maybe something else is in short supply?....based on the large trees and native species in the field.
SIL hunter
New Member
Anyone try sweet beets, my buddy put some out here in S IL and said they mowed them down, he also put ptt out and they still havn't touched them?
deer patch
Well-Known Member
NH since winter is half over do you have any update on deer eating turnips or radish? I checked all my plots this weekend and all my turnips are gone. Other than the holes where they were you couldn't even tell I planted any. I didn't have much of an acorn crop this year and they are hammering the plots. Years that I have acorns they still eat them well but not all gone by this time of year.
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
It's interesting that you asked about this deer patch, because I was just there yesterday and have kept observing this all winter.
Concerning the acorns here this time, we had a bumper crop, and the woods are still loaded, even though I would guess that many are rotted by now.
Bottom line is that my radish experience this year seems to be different than what most people describe seeing. Rather than being something that feeds late in the winter, all of my browsing was early. The leaves are all gone now and the soft, decaying radishes are all that's left, and not being touched anymore. Back earlier in this thread when I was posting pictures was the time that most of the eating was going on. For about a month, they were hit pretty hard, but then it just stopped at some point.
The grains (wheat and oats) are what is being eaten now.
So, based on this, it looks like the radishes will be an early draw for me but not a late winter food source like the grains. I will continue to plant them but will cut back the amount a little next year.
This is what my grains look like now:
deer patch
Well-Known Member
After looking at your grains growth compared to mine I'm starting to think that your average temperatures may have something to do with them not eating like they do in other areas. Our average temps for today is High 45 and Low 30. What's your average temps for today?
Our grains are just starting to show greening and growth the last week or so and our turnips don't normally start rotting till the first of March.
I'm still curious what the use of your radishes would be if you had an acorn crop failure. Not wishing that on anyone but still a thought in the back of my mind but I also know you have a lot of diversity on your property so that might not even play a factor in this at all.
Our grains are just starting to show greening and growth the last week or so and our turnips don't normally start rotting till the first of March.
I'm still curious what the use of your radishes would be if you had an acorn crop failure. Not wishing that on anyone but still a thought in the back of my mind but I also know you have a lot of diversity on your property so that might not even play a factor in this at all.
dogghr
Well-Known Member
Oh I can tell you what they look like in hard mast failure. Nice bare brown dirt from early browse. Had to overseed mine with WW 2 years ago in Nov due to just that happening.
Native, your deer may like your brassica more than you give credit. I have found after 6 years, my deer start browsing them as soon as growth starts thus in part preventing their maturity. In the beginning, by now, I would have a field of softball tubers being eaten.
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
deer patch, I think our high today was 34. The grain started growing well again recently when we went through a wet, warm spell. Here is a link to the weather in my area if you would like to research more.
https://weather.com/weather/today/l/42728:4:US
That is a good question concerning the acorn crop. We both know that it won't be long until we will have a poor acorn crop, and we will get to see if it makes a difference with the radishes then. I will keep planting some - especially since they seemed to be such a good draw around hunting season. But, I will probably cut back just a little.
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
dogghr, I think they do like them very well - but the attraction seems to be early rather than late in the year. I saw more of the actual radishes (not just leaves) being eaten this year than ever before. I'm actually pretty excited with what I saw. When we were hunting mid November, they were eating them very well every day.
deer patch
Well-Known Member
NH I done a quick search and your average temp for today is High 46 Low 25 so that theory just went out the window since your low is actually lower than mine and the high is about the same. I hear you on cutting back but the seed is cheap in our area and it's like an insurance policy if you ever have a crop failure.
Dogghr you and NH plant different than I do as best I can tell both plant in strips and I plant a mix of grains, brassica and whatever else I decide to plant in all my plots. I know some say a person will have issues doing that year after year but I have planted this way since 2008 and haven't had an issue yet. I like to plant Labor Day weekend and the only time I have had to replant was one year that I got rain and everything came up and then it turned off hot and dry. I had to replant in late October that year. My dad tells me all the time that I plant to early and shouldn't plant until middle of September but I have done that in the past and brassica just doesn't have time to make a good bulb IMO.
Dogghr you and NH plant different than I do as best I can tell both plant in strips and I plant a mix of grains, brassica and whatever else I decide to plant in all my plots. I know some say a person will have issues doing that year after year but I have planted this way since 2008 and haven't had an issue yet. I like to plant Labor Day weekend and the only time I have had to replant was one year that I got rain and everything came up and then it turned off hot and dry. I had to replant in late October that year. My dad tells me all the time that I plant to early and shouldn't plant until middle of September but I have done that in the past and brassica just doesn't have time to make a good bulb IMO.
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
One of the best clover and chicory plots I have ever planted was in the fall with brassicas. I saw nothing but brassicas in the fall but next spring the clover and chicory took off like crazy.
Actually, I don't do strips. I mix all my seed together (clover, chicory, brassicas and grains). It seems to work great for me.
The plot you see below was solid brassicas the fall before.
deer patch
Well-Known Member
Well after doing a more thorough search on temps between your area and mine is that you are actually a bit cooler than ours on average so I know that's not a factor. Going off memory when I thought you planted brassica in strips or small plots separate. Now I'm waiting on Dogghr to tell me the same thing. I may have to keep my theories to myself. LOL
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