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Brassicas

Interesting to read back to august past of last 5-10 years in here. Many think brassicas are a failure. They usually never are if u patient. Rains will come. If a guy spreads brassicas in thin spots up until sept 1-ish - still fine IMO. Only way I’d lose hope is early September having no plants. Which done right with some rain is pretty rare. & late Aug germinated brassicas still can grow fast with good fertility. Let’s say it’s sept 5 - no growth - switch to Dbltree cereal grain mix.
 
Sligh1 said:
Interesting to read back to august past of last 5-10 years in here. Many think brassicas are a failure. They usually never are if u patient. Rains will come. If a guy spreads brassicas in thin spots up until sept 1-ish - still fine IMO. Only way I’d lose hope is early September having no plants. Which done right with some rain is pretty rare. & late Aug germinated brassicas still can grow fast with good fertility. Let’s say it’s sept 5 - no growth - switch to Dbltree cereal grain mix.
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I have made the decision to just hold off. As you mentioned I will wait until the first week of sept and then switch things up if need be
 
Sligh1 said:
Interesting to read back to august past of last 5-10 years in here. Many think brassicas are a failure. They usually never are if u patient. Rains will come. If a guy spreads brassicas in thin spots up until sept 1-ish - still fine IMO. Only way I’d lose hope is early September having no plants. Which done right with some rain is pretty rare. & late Aug germinated brassicas still can grow fast with good fertility. Let’s say it’s sept 5 - no growth - switch to Dbltree cereal grain mix.
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Can't grow without rain! Currently sitting at 35 days and counting without a drop for me. No rain currently forecasted in next 2 weeks so gonna be approaching 50 real soon.

Completely on hold for me.
 
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I've heard a general rule of thumb is plant 45-60 days ahead of first frost to prevent bulbs from becoming too big/unpalatable which in Southern Iowa seems to be 2nd-3rd week of October in most years according to ISU. That lines up pretty well with Skip's September 1 deadline but I suppose that assumes you've got good soil or your crappy soil has pH & is fertilized right. I'm waiting for rain as well.
 
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Thanks for the reply. I have been using treated urea, disking it in. last year no rain for 3 weeks but then it came up decent. Like the idea of no till and leaving residue to hold in moisture but couldn't think of how to get the nitrogen in other than hoping for rain. I'm sure even the treated urea will volatilize after a while in high humidity/dew. Not sure it will sit there for 3-4 weeks if no rain.
 
Big8s1992 said:
I've heard a general rule of thumb is plant 45-50 days ahead of first frost to prevent bulbs from becoming too big/unpalatable which in Southern Iowa seems to be 2nd-3rd week of October in most years according to ISU. That lines up pretty well with Skip's September 1 deadline
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September 1 is Dbltree / cereal grain planting. For pure brassica plots - early August. Dbltree lays it out pretty well if you read his earlier posts.

As others have mentioned, radishes can be pushed closer to Sept 1 however, as they exhibit quick growth.

Radish in Dbltree mix, taken Dec 30th, '21:

Radish - Dec 30.jpg
 
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August 6th, 2022

Fortune favors the bold, as the saying goes.. We'll see if it works for brassica plantings as well :rolleyes:

Used my own mix of sorts, made via Green Cover Smartmix.

Recipe.jpg


Hauled out the rig, and we're ready to roll!

Tractor.jpg


Disced, packed, seeded and packed again (courtesy of my neighbors old 10' Brillion cultipacker). Can see some of the old rye present, from last years Dbltree cereal grain mix. The left side (weedy/grassy area) will alternate to a Dbltree mix of sorts around Sept 1.

Brassica - Aug 6.jpg


Received less than 1/10" a few days after planting, but this week isn't overly "hot" barely reaching 90 degrees. More rain coming after this weekend, so fingers crossed!
 
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Timely discussion here for me. I broadcast brassicas into dead thatch July 26 and got 3/4" that evening. Haven't managed a drop since. Virtually no plants at this time. I will wait it out a couple more weeks and decide what to do I guess. I have more brassica seed but hate to throw more down right now in case the first round does take. If all else fails it'll be rye and red clover in early September I guess.
 
I planted my brassicas the last weekend of August in 2021 and they turned out great, will do so again this year. My blend consists mostly of varieties that have 60 day maturity dates. Plants like pasja hybrid and t-raptor grow extremely fast. However, deer on my place seem to favor radish (which also did great) over some of the hybrid stuff. Seems like our first frost date has been consistently later which helps somewhat. Good luck to everyone, need rain here as well.
 
Planted Brassicas July 31 in central Iowa location with no decent rains since I have had a couple 1/4" rains showing a few sprouting here & there, looks like a failure!

My area looks like we have some good chances over the next two weeks. Wondering if I should just wait & see what happens of throw a little more seed down now before these upcoming rain chances.

I see Sept 1 is usually the deadline for planting any Brassicas.
 
iowathumper said:
Planted Brassicas July 31 in central Iowa location with no decent rains since I have had a couple 1/4" rains showing a few sprouting here & there, looks like a failure!

My area looks like we have some good chances over the next two weeks. Wondering if I should just wait & see what happens of throw a little more seed down now before these upcoming rain chances.

I see Sept 1 is usually the deadline for planting any Brassicas.
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Throw more seed down. I would say over 50% of people “think” their brassicas are a failure when they really aren’t. Tiny little sprouts turn to big plants FAST. Rain will make things explode & it’s coming & it’s coming before sept 1. I wouldn’t throw in towel yet. After sept 1…. No growth, ya- add cereal rye blend.
 
I planted mine this year July 19th , first time I ever used a no-till drill. Jumped off tractor 25 times to check seed depth felt I was closer to half inch most of the time . soil was dry and powder but moisture in the seed channel . 3 weeks later I went back and looked like I knew what i was doing . Awesome stand .. Thought for sure I was to deep.

Sprayed , drilled 3 acres in 1 hour .. That was nice cant wait to get my DLbtree mix drilled in few weeks. Hell of a lot easier then what I use to go through planting . Glad I made the switch to no till . worth the money to me .. What a time saver ..
8b13394bbef035e8a2029ae7dbbeca2e.jpg
 
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I’ve got some brassicas that are probably a touch too thick and a little stunted… just hit them with some more fertilizer before a rain so I’ll see how they bounce back.

The thing I’m not sure of, if they’re still stunted and weirdly colored — should I just overseed rye on Labor Day? I wasn’t planning to… I’m sure the rye would basically finish the brassicas off competition wise.
 
I like the planting of the Brassica's right into the rye thatch. I usually mow the rye or use a cultipacker to knock it down. Broadcast right into it.
 
Sorry I already have brassicas but they’re a little stunted and discolored. Can’t decide if I should let them go or just overseed rye into it
 
H80Hunter said:
Sorry I already have brassicas but they’re a little stunted and discolored. Can’t decide if I should let them go or just overseed rye into it
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Did u get urea on them 24 hours before a rain? Or treated urea anytime?
IF you get nitrogen to plants- bet u they recover. Especially with more rain.
If nothing for improvement in 2 weeks- can add rye.
Make sure N is in soil properly & if any ?’s on that - fire away.

Yes, I’ve had discolored brassicas that were stressed due to fertility &/rain rebound many times when one or both of those issues get corrected.
 
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