Brassicas

[SWBUCKHNTR]

Sounds like par for the course. One plot of brassicas every couple years will get used just not heavily. I think that is why Paul preaches everything in 1 plot so the deer use it and you eventually adapt them to using that field. It makes perfect sense if there is food there 2 months a year every couple years they wont "flock" but if they have food in one area everyday of the year and have it year after year. They will adapt their fawns to eat there and their fawns will eat there and so on and so on. Its exactly like farmers using john deere because their dad used john deere.

 

[vrod]

Would you plant this in strips. Or would you make sections? I would like to get something going in the spring and then again for late summer/fall. I planted (oats/wheat/turnips)on one acre along the south edge last year and they destroyed it by the end of nov. Looking for advice how best to lay out plantings. Plan on using your no fail mix in the fall. Would like to get a good clover going as well. This is 5-6 acres total.

 

[dbltree]

Would you plant this in strips. Or would you make sections? I would like to get something going in the spring and then again for late summer/fall. I planted (oats/wheat/turnips)on one acre along the south edge last year and they destroyed it by the end of nov. Looking for advice how best to lay out plantings. Plan on using your no fail mix in the fall. Would like to get a good clover going as well. This is 5-6 acres total.

You have options here but I would establish white clover all the way around the perimeter (30' wide perhaps) and then then divide the field in a way that is convenient to plant it. This is a perfect example of a hidden field and it's going to be hit hard, so if you can divide it 2-4 times it would probably help keep them from decimating everything.

Be sure to plant the brassicas in July and the rye mix in late August and fertilize each heavily and then rotate them yearly. Do NOT mix brassicas and cereals other then the radishes with the rye.

If you have to divide it only 2 ways it will still work very well but strips force deer to move across the field rather then focusing on a spot when the first step into the field.

Keep us posted on how this works out for you...great spot! :way:

 

[vrod]

In your opinion would it be better to burn this field off or just spray. I like cheap, but I also want to do what will work best.

 

[dbltree]

In your opinion would it be better to burn this field off or just spray. I like cheap, but I also want to do what will work best.

I would spray it and plant it to oats and berseem clover this spring, then turn under half in July for brassicas and the other 1/2 in late August for the rye mix.

 

[dbltree]

February 13th, 2012

Another example of using strip plots too keep deer fed year around, where on crop is gone but another keeps on feeding is this soybean/brassica/clover combination, where the soybeans have long ago been stripped clean.

The big Purple Top Turnips however are the gift that keeps on giving!

Even in mid February they are still in good shape and feeding deer

and the brassicas are getting plenty of attention!

Brassicas make a great addition to a central feeding area with a combination of other crops that together keep deer fed year around. Deer quickly adapt to having food there at all times and soon develop very predictable patterns that combined with trail blocking make them very easy to kill.

The following is an example of crop combinations that work very well for me and my clients....

Plant ALL in one plot in strips or blocks

Alice (or comparable) white clover 10% of plot...plant with the rye mix below and soil test for needed P&K/lime requirements. Lacking a soil test I use 400#'s of 6-28-28 and 500#'s of pel lime in my area.

Brassicas in 45% of plot

Purple Top Turnips 3#
Dwarf Essex Rape 2#
GroundHog Forage radish 5#

Plant in mid to late July in most midwest states, or 60-90 days before your first killing frost. Use 200#'s of 46-0-0 urea, 400#'s of 6-28-28 (or comparable such as 400#'s triple 19 ) Add lime per soil test. Follow the dead brassicas with oats and berseem or crimson clover in mid spring and no fertilizer is necessary at that time.

Cereal Grain combo in 45% of plot

Winter rye 50-80#'s per acre (56#'s = a bushel)
Spring oats 80-120#'s per acre (32#'s = a bushel)
Austrian Winter Peas or 4010/6040 Forage peas 20-80#'s per acre
Red Clover 8-12#'s per acre or white clover at 6#'s per acre
Groundhog Forage Radish 5#'s per acre

Plant in late August to early September, if following well fertilized brassicas only 100-200#'s of urea may be needed but first time plantings may need to be fertilized and limed as the noted for the brassicas.

Rotate the brassicas and rye combo each year

 

[cwhite]

Can oats be frost seeded into the spent brassica mix or is it better to prep the soil in the spring before planting?

 

[dbltree]

Can oats be frost seeded into the spent brassica mix or is it better to prep the soil in the spring before planting?

No...cereal grains can not be "frost seeded"...some cereals can be "overseeded" onto bare soils when weather is warm enough to germinate seeds but oats often germinate very poorly on bare soils without being tilled in. You'll have better luck tilling under the spent brassicas and then planting oats and an annual clover by conventional methods although you can also no-till plant them with a no-till drill.

 

[spltbrow]

I am trying to figure out my plot rotation for this year and have found over the last 2 years the deer have not touched my brassicas, so i am not sure if i should keep planting them or not??
They love gfr though!!
I would also like to include beans and corn in the rotation as well. So i was thinking about substituteing the brassicas with corn and beans, or is that a mistake?

I would end up with fall mix, clover, corn and beans in 6.5 acre area.

 

[SWBUCKHNTR]

once again I am not an expert but I would guess pauls response will look something like this.
Quote:
<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset" class=alt2>
Plant ALL in one plot in strips or blocks

Alice (or comparable) white clover 10% of plot...plant with the rye mix below and soil test for needed P&K/lime requirements. Lacking a soil test I use 400#'s of 6-28-28 and 500#'s of pel lime in my area.

Brassicas in 45% of plot

Purple Top Turnips 3#
Dwarf Essex Rape 2#
GroundHog Forage radish 5#

Plant in mid to late July in most midwest states, or 60-90 days before your first killing frost. Use 200#'s of 46-0-0 urea, 400#'s of 6-28-28 (or comparable such as 400#'s triple 19 ) Add lime per soil test. Follow the dead brassicas with oats and berseem or crimson clover in mid spring and no fertilizer is necessary at that time.

Cereal Grain combo in 45% of plot

Winter rye 50-80#'s per acre (56#'s = a bushel)
Spring oats 80-120#'s per acre (32#'s = a bushel)
Austrian Winter Peas or 4010/6040 Forage peas 20-80#'s per acre
Red Clover 8-12#'s per acre or white clover at 6#'s per acre
Groundhog Forage Radish 5#'s per acre

Plant in late August to early September, if following well fertilized brassicas only 100-200#'s of urea may be needed but first time plantings may need to be fertilized and limed as the noted for the brassicas.

Rotate the brassicas and rye combo each year </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- END TEMPLATE: bbcode_quote --><!-- / message --><!-- sig -->__________________
I am sure he will have some great info about the corn and beans as well. I will let him answer the rest of it because he has a lot more knowledge than myself:way:

 

[risto2351]

I am trying to figure out my plot rotation for this year and have found over the last 2 years the deer have not touched my brassicas, so i am not sure if i should keep planting them or not??
They love gfr though!!
I would also like to include beans and corn in the rotation as well. So i was thinking about substituteing the brassicas with corn and beans, or is that a mistake?

I would end up with fall mix, clover, corn and beans in 6.5 acre area.

I would do what SWbuckhntr posted on strip plots. If you have 6.5 acres you can put beans or corn in only and rotate them every year, or put a couple of acres of corn and beans in and rotate them back and forth every year.

You can also put the rye into the beans when the leaves fall for added forage when the beans are stripped clean.

As far as the brassica, I have not had any luck the last four years with brassica and turnips. This year I did the strip plot method on a smaller scale and they have eaten everything. I also introduced GFR this past year which might of been an added incentive.

They get pretty finicky with brassicas and turnips. Just don't give up on them. The turnips especially give them great forage for the winter months.

 

[dbltree]

March 10th, 2012

I often plant "test" samples of various brassicas and such in our garden area right next to our house and this past summer sowed more of the same including a cover crop mix of various brassicas from Seedland Oregon/SucraSeed which ended up looking like this...

3-4 years ago deer would not touch brassicas on this farm yet would wipe them out on my other farm...identical seed/fertilizer etc. but the difference being that my home farm was planted to ag crops and the other in CRP. Deer were adapted to eating the corn/bean/alfalfa crops and while they would eat clover, rye and most other food sources...they ignored the brassicas.

All of that changed however when I added Groundhog Forage Radish to the brassicas....they devoured the radish plants and then began to take advantage of the rape and turnips. The following year I was able to enroll this farm in to CRP and in the absence of ag crops...they quickly devoured the brassicas.

The sample mix by the house lasted longer that the brassicas in the feeding area but by mid winter they finally ate every last scrap of foliage and then...every last morsel of the radish and turnip roots.

Deer can be adapted to eating almost anything including brassicas and one way to do that is to start mixing forage radish with the rape and turnips.

Secondly...stop feeding them what they are used too...by golly they'll get to liking brassicas real quick like!

You can see here how close this is to our house....only feet away yet thy cleaned up every last scrap of it.

The tracks in the dirt tell the story!

Now...this is a "dirt plot" which is why we MUST have other food sources such as white clover and the winter rye mix, to keep them fed, to keep them coming every day of the year and in so doing...adapt them to feeding ONLY there! This makes them predictable and extremely easy to pattern.

The decimated brassicas can be tilled under and planted to oats and an annual clover like berseem or crimson or in some cases frost seeded to either white or red clover. I prefer to till it under and plant the oat/clover mix but that's not always an option but in either event...get some cover on it....don't leave it a dirt plot!

Brassicas are prone to disease and are heavy nitrogen users so having half the plot in winter rye and red clover allows us to rotate the two crops yearly...all within the same feeding area! Simple and easy as pie....and right now the rye is feeding deer when the brassicas, soybeans, corn etc...is long gone (along with the deer)

The following crop combos planted in the same field in separate strips or blocks is a highly effective yet economical method of feeding whitetails year around over most of the Midwest and northern states....

Plant ALL in one plot in strips or blocks

Alice (or comparable) white clover 10% of plot...plant with the rye mix below and soil test for needed P&K/lime requirements. Lacking a soil test I use 400#'s of 6-28-28 and 500#'s of pel lime in my area.

Brassicas in 45% of plot

Purple Top Turnips 3#
Dwarf Essex Rape 2#
GroundHog Forage radish 5#

Plant in mid to late July in most midwest states, or 60-90 days before your first killing frost. Use 200#'s of 46-0-0 urea, 400#'s of 6-28-28 (or comparable such as 400#'s triple 19 ) Add lime per soil test. Follow the dead brassicas with oats and berseem or crimson clover in mid spring and no fertilizer is necessary at that time.

Cereal Grain combo in 45% of plot

Winter rye 50-80#'s per acre (56#'s = a bushel)
Spring oats 80-120#'s per acre (32#'s = a bushel)
Austrian Winter Peas or 4010/6040 Forage peas 20-80#'s per acre
Red Clover 8-12#'s per acre or white clover at 6#'s per acre
Groundhog Forage Radish 5#'s per acre

Plant in late August to early September, if following well fertilized brassicas only 100-200#'s of urea may be needed but first time plantings may need to be fertilized and limed as the noted for the brassicas.

Rotate the brassicas and rye combo each year

 

[dbltree]

Spring Cover Crop

In most cases the brassica plots are nothing but "dirt plots" now although with the mild winter some may find some late planted brassicas survived and are greening up. Those will eventually mature and go to seed and eventually become "weeds" so it's important to kill off any live vegetation and get a good cover crop growing that will improve the soil and keep our whitetails fed and coming back to the feeding area every day....year around.

Right now, those who wisely planted 1/2 their plot to the inter rye combination are keeping deer coming in on a daily basis, while those who planted ONLY a crop like brassicas or soybeans...will find that deer have left for greener pastures.

Record warm temps have people thinking about getting a cover crop of oats and annual clovers in the ground but because the winter rye is lush and attractive right now, I prefer to hold off and wait until the rye is going to reach the unpalatable stage. I stagger or overlap the crops so that the new crop of oats will be lush and attractive just as the rye is....not.

The red clover planted with the rye will compliment the white clover around the perimeter of the plot and all of these lush high protein crops will provide for 100% of a whitetails needs be it lactating does or bucks developing antlers.

The rye will grow rapidly if the temps continue to remain high, so be prepared to plant the oats and annual clovers in the coming weeks.

60#'s of oats (any common oat will work) and 10-20#'s of berseem clover or 20-30#'s of crimson clover will work well. Arrowleaf may work best for those in arid areas or in the south depending on your soils. Chickling vetch can compliment the spring cover crop as well and help increase the nitrogen that will be available for the rye combination that will be planted where the brassicas were, this coming late August.

Generally I don't add additional fertilizers with the spring cover crop unless this is a first time planting and you wish to start building soil nutrients and correcting PH by adding lime and fertilizer.

The following is the overall crop combinations that are outstanding at attracting and holding deer year around when planted together (in strips or blocks) in centralized feeding areas...

Plant ALL in one plot in strips or blocks

Alice (or comparable) white clover 10% of plot...plant with the rye mix below and soil test for needed P&K/lime requirements. Lacking a soil test I use 400#'s of 6-28-28 and 500#'s of pel lime in my area.

Brassicas in 45% of plot

Purple Top Turnips 3#
Dwarf Essex Rape 2#
GroundHog Forage radish 5#

Plant in mid to late July in most midwest states, or 60-90 days before your first killing frost. Use 200#'s of 46-0-0 urea, 400#'s of 6-28-28 (or comparable such as 400#'s triple 19 ) Add lime per soil test. Follow the dead brassicas with oats and berseem or crimson clover in mid spring and no fertilizer is necessary at that time.

Cereal Grain combo in 45% of plot

Winter rye 50-80#'s per acre (56#'s = a bushel)
Spring oats 80-120#'s per acre (32#'s = a bushel)
Austrian Winter Peas or 4010/6040 Forage peas 20-80#'s per acre
Red Clover 8-12#'s per acre or white clover at 6#'s per acre
Groundhog Forage Radish 5#'s per acre

Plant in late August to early September, if following well fertilized brassicas only 100-200#'s of urea may be needed but first time plantings may need to be fertilized and limed as the noted for the brassicas.

Rotate the brassicas and rye combo each year

 

[DUG]

Brassicas question

First off I want to thank you Ddltree for all that you do to help educate us. I have been planting your brassicas mix for 3 years now and the deer in my area will not touch it. Do you think I should continue to plant it and they will eventually get accustom to it? They hammer my beans, clover and winter rye mix. Was thinking about just using those three food sources and leaving the brassicas out. Have you ever ran into this problem? Thanks

 

[dbltree]

First off I want to thank you Ddltree for all that you do to help educate us. I have been planting your brassicas mix for 3 years now and the deer in my area will not touch it. Do you think I should continue to plant it and they will eventually get accustom to it? They hammer my beans, clover and winter rye mix. Was thinking about just using those three food sources and leaving the brassicas out. Have you ever ran into this problem? Thanks

Nearly everyone has ran into this problem in the beginning and in some ways it is good because it means you are keeping your deer herd fed and satisfied with the other crops and that is all that is important.

I would suggest planted very narrow strips of brassicas containing a high percentage of groundhog forage radish in you feeding areas. For instance plant a strip between the rye and soybeans and continue to do so until they adapt to it. If the beans were gone they would (in my experience) quickly take to the brassicas but as it is now their needs are being met...which is the goal and kudos for planting a combination of crops to provide year around feed.

Brassicas are just a tool and provide options so I would encourage you to not give up on them but just plant very small areas or strips and if nothing else...see if the respond to the forage radish. So far even in fields of lush soybeans...they have always wiped out the radish plants and in so doing became adapted to brassicas in general...

 

[dbltree]

April 4th, 2012

Typically brassicas planted at the proper time (90 days ahead of average first frost date) will mature by fall and if whitetails are adapted to eating them...the plot will look like this the following spring.

Brassicas planted in late August however will not have enough time to mature and with a mild winter and/or snow cover they often survive the winter....another reason I do not plant rape and turnips in late August! Not only does one lose yields (necessary to feed large numbers of deer) but then you have to deal with brassicas that go to seed the following spring.

While I would never purposely plant brassicas in late August, we had some that simply did not germinate until then thanks to a severe drought in our area....and this spring it is obvious where they were planted...

Thinking they would never come up I disced the fields and replanted the rye mix and we received 2" of rain immediately after planting the rye combo and the brassica seed that had been laying there since mid July...all came up!

They did not amount to much and now the plants are flowering

and because they are maturing they are no longer palatable to deer

Allowing them to go to seed is asking for trouble as the hard dormant seed will lay there and keep coming up, much like wild mustard so best to till it under or mow it off

in this case the red clover planted with the rye is filling in so I elected to clip the brassicas

I may have to clip them several times to keep them under control which is just a reminder to

A) Plant brassicas at the proper time mid July in the Midwest (90+ days ahead of your average first frost date)
B) Till them under the following spring and plant an interim cover crop of oats and annual clovers such as berseem, crimson or arrowleaf.
C) Mow or spray if tillage is not possible

Plant common spring oats (any oats will do even bin run oats from the local co-op) at 50-60#'s per acre, crimson clover at 20-30#'s or berseem at 12-18#s per acre. Red clover can be used but it is slower growing and less effective depending on the growing season. Chickling vetch is also another legume option that can be mixed with annual clovers or planted alone with the oats.

Always purchase seed locally but here is a source if you can not locate everything you need....

Seed Source

If you live in the SE Iowa area, Iowa-Missouri Hybrids in Keosauqua carries everything you need including bagged fertilizers and pellet lime as well including all the seeds you'll need for summer and fall plantings....

Plant ALL in one plot in strips or blocks

Alice (or comparable) white clover 10% of plot...plant with the rye mix below and soil test for needed P&K/lime requirements. Lacking a soil test I use 400#'s of 6-28-28 and 500#'s of pel lime in my area.

Brassicas in 45% of plot

Purple Top Turnips 3#
Dwarf Essex Rape 2#
GroundHog Forage radish 5#

Plant in mid to late July in most Midwest states, or 60-90 days before your first killing frost. Use 200#'s of 46-0-0 urea, 400#'s of 6-28-28 (or comparable such as 400#'s triple 19 ) Add lime per soil test. Follow the dead brassicas with oats and berseem or crimson clover in mid spring and no fertilizer is necessary at that time.

Cereal Grain combo in 45% of plot

Winter rye 50-80#'s per acre (56#'s = a bushel)
Spring oats 80-120#'s per acre (32#'s = a bushel)
Austrian Winter Peas or 4010/6040 Forage peas 20-80#'s per acre
Red Clover 8-12#'s per acre or white clover at 6#'s per acre
Groundhog Forage Radish 5#'s per acre

Plant in late August to early September, if following well fertilized brassicas only 100-200#'s of urea may be needed but first time plantings may need to be fertilized and limed as the noted for the brassicas.

Rotate the brassicas and rye combo each year

 

[antlerfreak]

How do you no when the rye reaches unpalatable. And when it does do you disc it in before replanting to oats and clover?

I was planning on putting in oats and clover in my now "dirt Plot" that was turnips. should I just wait and do the rye plots and turnip dirt plots at the same time when the rye is no longer any good?

Thanks

 

[dbltree]

How do you no when the rye reaches unpalatable. And when it does do you disc it in before replanting to oats and clover?

I was planning on putting in oats and clover in my now "dirt Plot" that was turnips. should I just wait and do the rye plots and turnip dirt plots at the same time when the rye is no longer any good?

Thanks

Next time remember to add red clover to the rye combo and you won't have to so anything to it until you turn it under for brassicas. if however you did not add any clovers then you can till it under anytime this spring and plant the oat and annual clover mix. Generally when the rye gets 12" or more in height they are going to seek green pastures.

Clover should be a component in every feeding area, plant white clover around the perimeter (or strips separating the rye and brassicas ) and always add red clover with the rye mix in the fall...:way:

 

[dbltree]

April 18th, 2012

One of the most common mistakes I see is planting only one crop in a field and the second most common is leaving that field a "dirt plot" for most of the year. Brassica plots are just such a thing because from late winter until another crop is planted, (often in late summer) it's a waste land...devoid of deer. Forcing whitetails to seek another source of food is counter productive as is leaving your soil bare and and without cover.

All of these problems are easily solved by planting multiple crops within each feeding area and following crops like brassicas with a cover crop that is both good for the soil and whitetails and eventually easier on your budget as well.

I teamed up with a landowner to till under his dead brassica plots and get some oats and annual clovers planted

I used his Brillion seeder to plant both large and small seeds

I sowed 50#'s of Jerry oats using the large seed box set on 3.5

and we mixed both berseem and crimson clovers (not a must by any means but diversity is a plus)

Straight berseem is sown at 10-20#'s per acre

Crimson clover at 20-30#

so we set the seeder on 5 1/2 and shot for 20#'s of a 50-50 mix of the clover mix

The nice thing about strip plots is that the field ALWAYS has a food source growing and is never ever a dirt plot!

The winter rye is growing rapidly now and quickly reaching the unpalatable point

but the red clovers planted with it are lush and perfect to keep deer fed!

as the rye matures we can spray it, clip it or simply leave it alone...it is working hard to help improve our soil both above and below ground!

The rye/red clover on the left will be rotated to brassicas in July, the oat and annual clover strip will be tilled under in late august for the rye mix and the strip on the right is white clover. The rye will be clipped off from that strip and the white clover maintained as a 4-5 perennial

In tough situations sometimes buckwheat can be a good cover crop but whenever we can grow legumes such as annual clovers we are far better off. Clovers fix nitrogen for the next crop and will last all summer versus the very short growing period for buckwheat.

if the oats are not sown to thick we can leave them standing all summer, shred them with a mower just before tilling in late August and take advantage of some free oats seed for our rye mix. If they appear to be to thick and shading by mid summer, simply clip them off and give the annual clovers some sun!

Avoid having a dirt plot and forcing your deer to change their patterns, plant multiple crops in each feeding area, rotate those crops and build your soils, increase fertility, lower fertilizer and herbicide costs (I use NO herbicides at ALL on these strip plots!) and adapt your deer to coming there every day of the year...it's a win win situation using the following mixes....

Plant ALL in one plot in strips or blocks

Alice, KopuII, Durana (or comparable) white clovers 10% of plot...plant with the rye mix below and soil test for needed P&K/lime requirements. Lacking a soil test I use 400#'s of 6-28-28 and 500#'s of pel lime in my area.

Brassicas in 45% of plot

Purple Top Turnips 3#
Dwarf Essex Rape 2#
GroundHog Forage radish 5#

Plant in mid to late July in most midwest states, or 60-90 days before your first killing frost. Use 200#'s of 46-0-0 urea, 400#'s of 6-28-28 (or comparable such as 400#'s triple 19 ) Add lime per soil test. Follow the dead brassicas with 50#'s oats and 15-20#'s berseem and/or crimson clover in mid spring and no fertilizer is necessary at that time.

Cereal Grain combo in 45% of plot

Winter rye 50-80#'s per acre (56#'s = a bushel)
Spring oats 80-120#'s per acre (32#'s = a bushel)
Austrian Winter Peas or 4010/6040 Forage peas 20-80#'s per acre
Red Clover 8-12#'s per acre or white clover at 6#'s per acre
Groundhog Forage Radish 5#'s per acre

Plant in late August to early September, if following well fertilized brassicas only 100-200#'s of urea may be needed but first time plantings may need to be fertilized and limed as the noted for the brassicas.

Rotate the brassicas and rye combo each year

 

[dbltree]

April 29th, 2012

less then 5 days after tilling under the dead brassicas and sowing 50#'s of oats and 10 each of berseem and crimson clovers....

we have lift off!

the new oats and clovers will just sweeten the pot and keep deer coming to our year around feeding area

and when tilled under they will significantly improve our soils and add nitrogen for the rye combination mix that will follow this planting in late August....

Our goal should be to avoid a "dirt plot" that is unproductive and unattractive to whitetails and counter productive to building soils and oats and annual clovers are just one tool to help us accomplish our goals and I've planted an additional 15 acres since the first ones.

The spent brassicas are usually pretty weed free and easy to till under...

A pass or two with the field cultivator did the trick but any small disc, tiller or harrow will work well

Broadcast or drill the oats

then cultipack once to cover the larger oat seed

then broadcast the tiny clover seeds and re-cultipack to cover those

Lacking a cultipacker you can just run the ATV back and forth over it, drag a heavy plank or a light harrow, but either way...keep you feeding area green and growing every day of the growing season and keep it green year around by utilizing the right combination of crops such as those listed below...

Plant ALL in one plot in strips or blocks

Alice, KopuII, Durana (or comparable) white clovers 10% of plot...plant with the rye mix below and soil test for needed P&K/lime requirements. Lacking a soil test I use 400#'s of 6-28-28 and 500#'s of pel lime in my area.

Brassicas in 45% of plot

Purple Top Turnips 3#
Dwarf Essex Rape 2#
GroundHog Forage radish 5#

Plant in mid to late July in most midwest states, or 60-90 days before your first killing frost. Use 200#'s of 46-0-0 urea, 400#'s of 6-28-28 (or comparable such as 400#'s triple 19 ) Add lime per soil test. Follow the dead brassicas with 50#'s oats and 15-20#'s berseem and/or crimson clover in mid spring and no fertilizer is necessary at that time.

Cereal Grain combo in 45% of plot

Winter rye 50-80#'s per acre (56#'s = a bushel)
Spring oats 80-120#'s per acre (32#'s = a bushel)
Austrian Winter Peas or 4010/6040 Forage peas 20-80#'s per acre
Red Clover 8-12#'s per acre or white clover at 6#'s per acre
Groundhog Forage Radish 5#'s per acre

Plant in late August to early September, if following well fertilized brassicas only 100-200#'s of urea may be needed but first time plantings may need to be fertilized and limed as the noted for the brassicas.

Rotate the brassicas and rye combo each year