dbltree
Super Moderator
August 28th, 2011
Where the brassicas were planted into soils improved by tilling under oats and berseem clover and winter rye and red clover for a number of years...germination and subsequent growth is night and day difference then soils with low organic matter.
A 60 day drought here in SE Iowa took it's toll, with many brassica plots failing to even germinate and others germinating and then dying, yet these not only germinated but are thriving on the soil moisture held by the high levels of organic matter.
The lush green color tells us they are healthy and have plenty of nitrogen from both decomposing clovers and applied urea.
Combined with standing grain soybeans this will be an outstanding plot November thru January
The soybeans and any thin areas in the brassicas will be overseeded with winter rye at 50-150#'s per acre in early September to round out the plot and provide food sources until clovers green up in the spring. Note the lack of weeds thanks to the allelopathic chemicals in the winter rye and smothering effects of the red clover tilled under to plant these brassicas.
Purple Top Turnips
Dwarf Essex Rape
Groundhog forage radish
The mix was sown at the following rates
3#'s PTT
2#'s DER
5#'s of GHFR
The rate seems high because normal seeding rates for brassicas are 5#'s per acre....but here why it work so well!
Deer begin to hammer the GHFR...they love this stuff like nothing I have ever planted and only sugar beets can compete on most farms. Sugar beets however are high maintenance like corn and require herbicides to keep weeds at bay over the long growing season.
GHFR is simple and easy to plant spring or summer and deer will "thin" them out while ignoring the rest of the brassicas...for now.
It's difficult to find a plant that has not been grazed
Some are literally destroyed already!
You know GHFR is highly attractive when deer stop feeding on lush healthy soybeans and focus on the radish plants!
I had put up a Bushnell 2011 Trophy cam in this plot and it's interesting to watch the deer switch!
It's hard to beat adding groundhog forage radish to your summer brassicas plots or your fall winter rye plots, they are candy that will draw deer away from other food sources and neighboring crops. They can also be used in the spring to draw deer away from young soybeans and corn and have become an indispensable too in my habitat program.
Everyone everywhere experiences severe drought from time to time so be sure to use a rotation that allows you to till under tons of biomass each year to build organic matter and lower fertilizer costs. A 3 way rotation of white clover, brassicas and winter rye/oats/peas/radish and red clover planted in strips or blocks within each field or plot will allow you to rotate crops to both control pests and disease problems but also utilize the strengths of each crop all simultaneously to attract and hold whitetails year around.
Start including GHFR with your summer and fall plantings as an irresistible food source for whitetails and if they are not eaten...also a great soil builder, nitrogen scavenger and soil pulverizer to break up hard pan soils....
Where the brassicas were planted into soils improved by tilling under oats and berseem clover and winter rye and red clover for a number of years...germination and subsequent growth is night and day difference then soils with low organic matter.
A 60 day drought here in SE Iowa took it's toll, with many brassica plots failing to even germinate and others germinating and then dying, yet these not only germinated but are thriving on the soil moisture held by the high levels of organic matter.
The lush green color tells us they are healthy and have plenty of nitrogen from both decomposing clovers and applied urea.
Combined with standing grain soybeans this will be an outstanding plot November thru January
The soybeans and any thin areas in the brassicas will be overseeded with winter rye at 50-150#'s per acre in early September to round out the plot and provide food sources until clovers green up in the spring. Note the lack of weeds thanks to the allelopathic chemicals in the winter rye and smothering effects of the red clover tilled under to plant these brassicas.
Purple Top Turnips
Dwarf Essex Rape
Groundhog forage radish
The mix was sown at the following rates
3#'s PTT
2#'s DER
5#'s of GHFR
The rate seems high because normal seeding rates for brassicas are 5#'s per acre....but here why it work so well!
Deer begin to hammer the GHFR...they love this stuff like nothing I have ever planted and only sugar beets can compete on most farms. Sugar beets however are high maintenance like corn and require herbicides to keep weeds at bay over the long growing season.
GHFR is simple and easy to plant spring or summer and deer will "thin" them out while ignoring the rest of the brassicas...for now.
It's difficult to find a plant that has not been grazed
Some are literally destroyed already!
You know GHFR is highly attractive when deer stop feeding on lush healthy soybeans and focus on the radish plants!
I had put up a Bushnell 2011 Trophy cam in this plot and it's interesting to watch the deer switch!
It's hard to beat adding groundhog forage radish to your summer brassicas plots or your fall winter rye plots, they are candy that will draw deer away from other food sources and neighboring crops. They can also be used in the spring to draw deer away from young soybeans and corn and have become an indispensable too in my habitat program.
Everyone everywhere experiences severe drought from time to time so be sure to use a rotation that allows you to till under tons of biomass each year to build organic matter and lower fertilizer costs. A 3 way rotation of white clover, brassicas and winter rye/oats/peas/radish and red clover planted in strips or blocks within each field or plot will allow you to rotate crops to both control pests and disease problems but also utilize the strengths of each crop all simultaneously to attract and hold whitetails year around.
Start including GHFR with your summer and fall plantings as an irresistible food source for whitetails and if they are not eaten...also a great soil builder, nitrogen scavenger and soil pulverizer to break up hard pan soils....
