I think I'm done with turnips

[IkemanTX]

I think I'm done with turnips

Another thing I haven’t seen mentioned is making sure you have done a FULL soil test. I’m not talking about a PH, and NPK only test. I’m talking about one of the good ones.
A lot of times, if deer won’t eat a particular forage.. it is because the forage didn’t develope a good taste. This can often be because of a lack of an important nutrient or because of an inhibiting circumstance such as PH imbalance.

CA, MG, and sulfur come to mind as minerals that can greatly effect palatability. Lack of available sulphur is often a cause of clover patches that deer won’t touch.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[frazee3200]

Don't be so quick to dump them. Lots of people use them. If you planted a Collared Green or Mustard Green then naturally they would not eat those as much since they are bitter.

Daikon Radishes, Sugar Beets, Rapeseed greens all are excellent choices. The Rapeseed is sweet, I have tasted them. The deer keep them ate down in all my plots, this year they completely eliminated them.

So don't be so quick to give up on them.

Tagged

[cva34]

sooner or later the big bucks will turnip!

lol!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bloodstick]

Another thing I haven’t seen mentioned is making sure you have done a FULL soil test. I’m not talking about a PH, and NPK only test. I’m talking about one of the good ones.
A lot of times, if deer won’t eat a particular forage.. it is because the forage didn’t develope a good taste. This can often be because of a lack of an important nutrient or because of an inhibiting circumstance such as PH imbalance.

CA, MG, and sulfur come to mind as minerals that can greatly effect palatability. Lack of available sulphur is often a cause of clover patches that deer won’t touch.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This might explain why my plot of purpletop turnips were mowed over while my FIL who planted with the same seed, was left alone. This was our first year planting. Soil is bad. We need 4 tons of lime/acre to balance the PH.

His plot was amongst oak trees where we cleared all the pine recently. Mine was in the open. Both plots grew very well but mine was the only one that was browsed and the plots are within eyesight of each other.

The turnip tops were eatn down to the ground. The deer walked over oats and rhy to eat them. And lots of the pics were before it ever got really cold.














Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[IkemanTX]

Another thing is palatability will be next to nothing if the plants are stressed. If you have yellowing leaves and it is not late season already, your stand ran out of nitrogen. Brassicas are very heavy nitrogen users as far as fall plots go. If they aren’t following a good stand of legumes, you will definitely need supplemental fertilization.

Deer may not touch them for several years if there are other preferred food sources available all winter. The early stages of the turnip and radish growth has VERY bitter stages. If a deer first tries if in this time period, it may take a complete lack of other food sources before it gives it another try. Planting in a blend can help increase your chances of secondary tires from deer. If they are feeding in and around turnips already, they are more apt to try another bite, or catch a leaf accidentally with whatever else they were eating. A pure turnip stand may give them no reason to come back. A mix that we had unreal utilization with this year was cereal rye, winter wheat, turnips, daikon radish, white clover, and peas.

All you need is a single doe to decide it is a good food source for the rest of your herd to learn.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[KactusKiller]

My deer hammered the turnip greens. Nothing has eaten the turnips them selves. The really love the few dakon radishes that came up. Some areas of my turnip stayed really small and the “greens” were more purple, deer haven’t eaten them until lately. I’m assuming it’s areas where I didn’t get good fertilizer coverage.

[gtsticker]

I have never had luck with turnip or radish. Had them as big as footballs with two foot a green on top and nothing ever touched them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RifleBowPistol]

I would agree with the deer, I would not eat them either or beets.

[yotethumper]

I never had any luck with them either. I had my best success in food plots with clover and wheat.

Yup. Clover, oats, and wheat work well for me.