dbltree
Super Moderator
I like using the forage radish the best because they can put on a lot of growth in 30 days but purple Top Turnips can also do very well if your able to get them on a little earlier...
I like using the forage radish the best because they can put on a lot of growth in 30 days but purple Top Turnips can also do very well if your able to get them on a little earlier...
dbltree
Super Moderator
July 10th, 2011
I went to our local seed store to pick up the seed I ordered only to find Tiffany beat me to it....sheesh....does "Evolved Harvest" know about this??
I figured I could at least get started putting P&K put on where I will be planting brassicas
and applied 400#'s of 6-28-28 per acre...a good crop of canola where the entire crop is used (for oil and straw) will use about 46#'s of phosphate and 83#'s of potassium per acre. Like soybeans following corn however we can build up P&K and use little if any on the rye/clover crop to follow.
After two months of relentless rains it has turned off hot and dry and under those conditions I prefer to till the clover cover crop under a week or so ahead of time to allow decomp to begin and get the P&K tilled in.
I'll be planting 3#'s of Purple Top Turnips, 2#'s of Dwarf Essex Rape and 5#'s of GH forage radish, so I'll add 200#'s of urea next week just before planting and till that in as well. Those with limited time can of course till all fertilizer and lime in at the same time, cultipack, broadcast seed and cultipack again and be done.
All of the plots I work with either have or will have multiple crops growing in them, primarily a 40/40/20 of cereals, brassicas and white clovers planted in separate strips or blocks. That concept is still confusing for some so these are pics on a smaller scale that cover multiple things that are all important.
This is a sample of what good summer food plot might look like....in the fall and winter this small area contains white clover (foreground), brassicas (center) and winter rye/oats/peas/radish and clover (back ground). The brassicas of course are long gone as of last winter so the center was planted to oats and annual berseem clover this spring...leaving it looking like this in July.
In this case I left the winter rye standing simply to show that no harm will come from doing so and the mix of white and red clovers have thrived.
The rye clover mix gets rotated to brassicas an in one pass using a King Kutter tiller, I completely turned under the rye straw and thick lush clover.
Unlike the average plot however, this one still contains plenty of lush high quality feed from both the white clover on the right and the berseem clover hidden in the oats. Deer fed heavily on the oats before it began to mature.
So while I have turned under some beautiful clover as a green manure crop for this years brassicas, clover still remains. In late August I will till under the oats and berseem, essentially replanting the oats to which I will add winter rye, forage peas, forage radish and red clover.
Each year I rotate the brassicas and rye mix until such time that the perennial white clover strip begins to wear out at which time I will move everything over a strip and that spot will be in brassicas.
Strip plotting is not only an effective means of lowering the risk of disease and pest problems by breaking the cycles but also an extremely important tool in adapting deer to coming to one central food source year around...unless of course you would like them to stay on the neighbors place.
Now I just have to find a blond wig and see if I can get my seed....
I went to our local seed store to pick up the seed I ordered only to find Tiffany beat me to it....sheesh....does "Evolved Harvest" know about this??
I figured I could at least get started putting P&K put on where I will be planting brassicas
and applied 400#'s of 6-28-28 per acre...a good crop of canola where the entire crop is used (for oil and straw) will use about 46#'s of phosphate and 83#'s of potassium per acre. Like soybeans following corn however we can build up P&K and use little if any on the rye/clover crop to follow.
After two months of relentless rains it has turned off hot and dry and under those conditions I prefer to till the clover cover crop under a week or so ahead of time to allow decomp to begin and get the P&K tilled in.
I'll be planting 3#'s of Purple Top Turnips, 2#'s of Dwarf Essex Rape and 5#'s of GH forage radish, so I'll add 200#'s of urea next week just before planting and till that in as well. Those with limited time can of course till all fertilizer and lime in at the same time, cultipack, broadcast seed and cultipack again and be done.
All of the plots I work with either have or will have multiple crops growing in them, primarily a 40/40/20 of cereals, brassicas and white clovers planted in separate strips or blocks. That concept is still confusing for some so these are pics on a smaller scale that cover multiple things that are all important.
This is a sample of what good summer food plot might look like....in the fall and winter this small area contains white clover (foreground), brassicas (center) and winter rye/oats/peas/radish and clover (back ground). The brassicas of course are long gone as of last winter so the center was planted to oats and annual berseem clover this spring...leaving it looking like this in July.
In this case I left the winter rye standing simply to show that no harm will come from doing so and the mix of white and red clovers have thrived.
The rye clover mix gets rotated to brassicas an in one pass using a King Kutter tiller, I completely turned under the rye straw and thick lush clover.
Unlike the average plot however, this one still contains plenty of lush high quality feed from both the white clover on the right and the berseem clover hidden in the oats. Deer fed heavily on the oats before it began to mature.
So while I have turned under some beautiful clover as a green manure crop for this years brassicas, clover still remains. In late August I will till under the oats and berseem, essentially replanting the oats to which I will add winter rye, forage peas, forage radish and red clover.
Each year I rotate the brassicas and rye mix until such time that the perennial white clover strip begins to wear out at which time I will move everything over a strip and that spot will be in brassicas.
Strip plotting is not only an effective means of lowering the risk of disease and pest problems by breaking the cycles but also an extremely important tool in adapting deer to coming to one central food source year around...unless of course you would like them to stay on the neighbors place.
Now I just have to find a blond wig and see if I can get my seed....
BBD Big Buck Down
Member
i dont know if this was already posted or not but out of all the brassicas what were your top 3 favorite for deer in the fall?
dbltree
Super Moderator
I did a comparison last fall and it's posted in this thread but they killed the Groundhog forage radish first, ate it clean to the dirt, then focused on the rape plants and lastly the turnips.
They did not choose one variety over another but one species over the others which really works out perfectly when planted together.
The forage radish kept them from decimating the rape and turnips which was then focused on later in the season with the turnip roots being eaten well after the first of the year...
BBD Big Buck Down
Member
Alright, looks like i'll be planting those. Thanks for all your posts, they are really helpful!
bearcatbaseball10
Member
Put in our order today from Welters! got 5 lbs of DER, 8 each of Burkant and purple tops, and 10 lbs of GHR. Our mixture is going to be 1 lbs DER, 1.5 lbs of each Burkant and purple tops, and 2 lbs of GHR!
Also ordered a bushel of winter rye and winter wheat....and we cured the tractor issues, a 1966 JD 3020 came home with us the other day just shy of 5300 hours on it so shes good to go! Along with a 10' disk....can't argue with that.
FYI Welters is a great company to work with! Super nice, very customer oriented!
Also ordered a bushel of winter rye and winter wheat....and we cured the tractor issues, a 1966 JD 3020 came home with us the other day
just shy of 5300 hours on it so shes good to go! Along with a 10' disk....can't argue with that.FYI Welters is a great company to work with! Super nice, very customer oriented!
dbltree
Super Moderator
Put in our order today from Welters! got 5 lbs of DER, 8 each of Burkant and purple tops, and 10 lbs of GHR. Our mixture is going to be 1 lbs DER, 1.5 lbs of each Burkant and purple tops, and 2 lbs of GHR!
Also ordered a bushel of winter rye and winter wheat....and we cured the tractor issues, a 1966 JD 3020 came home with us the other day
FYI Welters is a great company to work with! Super nice, very customer oriented!
Congrats on the tractor...have fun! Couldn't agree more with the service from Welters! :way:
dbltree
Super Moderator
Fodder beets are by no means new but not something I have planted thus far but Grassland Oregon has asked me to give some beet/brassica seed combinations a try. Beets of course are not brassicas and fodder beets like sugar beets really should be planted in the spring for optimum growth but we'll get some in the dirt and see how they do.
General info on growing fodder beets
Fodder beet growing guideline
Stay tuned...
General info on growing fodder beets
Fodder beet growing guideline
Stay tuned...
dbltree
Super Moderator
July 15th, 2011
It's time to plant brassicas however in SE Iowa we have been 2 weeks without substantial rainfall and are facing 10 days of excessive heat and no foreseeable rain events. Under those conditions the tiny brassica seedlings may germinate and then die so check the forecast in your area along with your soil conditions before deciding to plant or not.
I think I'm going to hold off rather then have to re-plant...
It's time to plant brassicas however in SE Iowa we have been 2 weeks without substantial rainfall and are facing 10 days of excessive heat and no foreseeable rain events. Under those conditions the tiny brassica seedlings may germinate and then die so check the forecast in your area along with your soil conditions before deciding to plant or not.
I think I'm going to hold off rather then have to re-plant...
jmm46
Member
I'm in SE MN and we have had heat indexes of 115 degrees all week. At what point do you think it's safe to plant brassica mix(temperature wise)?
jmm46
Member
here's the 10 day forcast...
http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/USMN0137
http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/USMN0137
dbltree
Super Moderator
Our forecast is about the same for rain chances...if the soil is dry, very dry on the surface the seed should just lay there until it gets rain to germinate it.
That part isn't a problem but what can be a problem is if there is just enough moisture to germinate the seed but then we get an extreme, hot dry period. I'm thinking the extreme heat period is ending soon...hopefully that's not just wishful thinking.
I'm going to try planting some tomorrow in hopes we either...
A) Get a good rain this weekend
or
B) we get a good rain this weekend...
That part isn't a problem but what can be a problem is if there is just enough moisture to germinate the seed but then we get an extreme, hot dry period. I'm thinking the extreme heat period is ending soon...hopefully that's not just wishful thinking.
I'm going to try planting some tomorrow in hopes we either...
A) Get a good rain this weekend
or
B) we get a good rain this weekend...
loneranger
Well-Known Member
It is Ironic that we had more than months worth of rain in April,May, and June,in SE Iowa, and now nothing about for the month of July. This Heat Dome has engulfed the Mid=west. Last couple of summers it mostly sat over the west coast. This brought the Jet Streams of active weather frequently into Iowa. This summer I noticed the High-Block never sat on the west coast,not much on the east coast, just right beneath Iowa and Mo. Thankfully it took until now to build north. So bad in Texas that I heard a rancher say if he could find hay to buy is cost more than his cows! There is no sign this pattern will break down until the longer nights of late Aug and Sept cut into it. When something this big gets to like a spot,,it stays there. I am holding off on planting anything until late Aug, up to Sept. First time I planted Rape last yr. First of Sept, and it got very large by mid Oct. I know Turnips and probably Radish take longer to produce a bulb. Just saying I think the days of frequent rains are gone.
turkeyriver
PMA Member
Agree with loneranger. I won't plant till this thing looks like it's breaking up. Unfortunately, the La Nina is now strengthening again instead of continuing to weaken like the "experts" thought it would. So, like last year, a dry fall and nasty winter. Just glad I don't live in Texas, at least till Dec.
dbltree
Super Moderator
Don't blame you fellas for waiting but I'll risk 20 bucks worth of seed...no big deal, if it doesn't rain I'll replant, but by late August it won't be with brassicas...at least not turnips. I'll go with the cereal combo that late, it's far more productive.
I'd rather have seed in the ground when an unexpected popup storm hits then wishing I did.
Predicting the weather is impossible...but if it doesn't rain til the end of August...we'll have a lot worse problems then a little turnip seed lost...
I'd rather have seed in the ground when an unexpected popup storm hits then wishing I did.
Predicting the weather is impossible...but if it doesn't rain til the end of August...we'll have a lot worse problems then a little turnip seed lost...
loneranger
Well-Known Member
Yes,like keeping the young trees alive I have planted out in the fields,,thinking the good growing conditions would keep going as in the past 3 summers. I can't possibly get enough water to them. Only once a wk a couple gallons. This is a test for the tough,,me and the trees.People don't look at Heat like other weather events, like Tornados or Hurricanes, but more people die from Heat than any other weather phenomina!Heard the longest Heat wave ever reported in Ottumwa was 20 days.
loneranger
Well-Known Member
If you are north of I-80 you have a chance,,if you are south of there down twards Mo. Pray Alot!
letemgrow
PMA Member
I sure have been praying a lot, just checked the moisture depth on my beanfield and I could feel moisture about 3 inches down. The beans have huge leaves and plenty of blooms so a rain this weekend would be fantastic. If not, they surely have enough energy to go 25 bushel which is more than my break even point....then I can seed some radishes, and rye/oats in the yellowing beans this August...if all goes as planned.
The one thing to remember about farming/plotting is it NEVER stays the same. I knew these last 3 years could not hold up forever....just wishing they would have held on thru July.