Brassicas

[dbltree]

July 20th Forage radish growth update

GroundHog Radish at 45 days

Strong robust growth with beautiful leaves.

With plenty of nitrogen and copious amount of water it appears most of the growth is in the leaves although I have not pulled up a root yet.

The Tillage/Trophy versus GroundHog radish at 28 days

GroundHog (Trademark name)

Tillage/Trophy (Trademark names)

Virtually no discernable difference and since all of these are Variety Not Stated (VNS) seeds contract grown by growers in NZ, it's no surprise. The only obvious difference is in the price of the seeds with fair market price being in the $2.50-3.00 a pound range.

Pennington Seeds has purchased the Trophy brand (Trademark name only) but beware if the price is above the fair market value because it is all the same seed with virtually no difference that might substantiate a higher price ....

GroundHog Radish seed source

Tillage Radish seed source (open catalog)

I added GH radish at 5#'s per acre to my brassica mix for the second year in a row now and I will once again also add 5#'s per acre to my winter rye/pea fall mix because deer readily lapped them up regardless of when or where I planted them... :way:

 

[dbltree]

The little baby brassicas are popping up after only 5 days!

8" of rain and 93 degree temps may have had something to do with it!

Warm wet soils can cause nitrification to occur a little faster then usual, especially in sandy soils but I hope the combination of clovers and alfalfas I tilled under along with heavy amounts of urea will keep these babies happy!

Denitrification is also a probem in warm water logged soils and this link is helpful in understanding more about nitrogen.

Understanding Nitrogen in Soils

Brassicas need plenty of nitrogen and no competition from weeds or other crops to produce great quality, high yielding forage so make sure you till in 100-200#'s of urea at planting for best results...

 

[dbltree]

I tilled under some beautiful white clover to plant some test samples of brassicas. The clover was planted last fall with winter rye and now I am "subdividing" the plots so that by fall each plot will have 1/3 clover, 1/3 brassicas and 1/3 winter rye/oats/peas/radish and more clover. Very easy to have all of these things in even the smallest garden sized plot!

The ground was still a little on the damp side so I made a pass thru 4 different clover plots last night to let it air out a little. There are different white clovers planted in each case, all have done well and all are capable of fixing upwards of 200#'s of nitrogen per acre.

Earlier in the winter rye thread I had shredded the dried rye straw and now the combination of clover and straw makes a delightful rich organic matter!

I added 200#'s of urea and 300#'s of 6-24-24...

and stirred everything in well to keep building the kind of soils crops thrive in!

I pulled the cultipacker behind on the last pass to have a firm soil bed to broadcast the tiny brassica seeds into.

I planted two different strips with individual plantings of Purple Top, Appin, Barkant, and Pasja Turnips, Dwarf Essex Rape and Barnapoli Rape, GroundHog, Tillage and Oil Seed Radish. I planted the ends to a mix because often the ends get grazed or exposed to drying winds etc. so I hope to have so good pictures of each individual variety or species later this fall.

I fertilized and sowed at rates that I knew would insure rapid robust growth and provide high quality high yielding forage as I normally do. I didn't have tags for the PTT, DER and Oilseed radish left from last year but the other tags reveal that it is all grown in New Zealand...

On this farm in the past deer have not touched any brassicas with the exception of the GroundHog forage radish so it will be interesting to see how these do. In late August I will till the third set of strips and plant the rye plots and add test samples of the various forage radishes to those also...all of it under the watchful eye of a trusted trail camera to boot...

 

[dbltree]

What should it cost to plant an acre of brassicas anyway??

5#'s of mixed rape/turnip seed @ $3 = $15
200#'s of urea @ $15 a bag = $60
200-400#'s of 6-24-24 @ 16 = $64-128
optional :
5# of forage radish @ $2.65 =$13.25
Totals run between $76 to 220 an acre

Brassica seed should not cost more then $3.5 a# and urea (nitrogen) usage can be cut in 1/2 by tilling under a legume such as clover. P&K levels can be determined with a soil test thus avoiding unecessary expense and over application if one or both is not needed. PH levels may also have to be corrected with lime but that is not considered a yearly expense.

Deerwatchers Purple Top turnips are already well on their way and the condition of his crops in general are a sign that he is keeping nutrient levels high and not cutting corners.

I also strongly urge everyone to take note of Mikes strip cropping that insures that he has multiple food sources that last all year and allow him to easily rotate crops for healthy soils and high yielding forages!

 

[Hardwood11]

I planted brassicas this spring on my ground in MN and they look great. The turnips are enourmous. I did nothing out of the ordinary, hand spread, no fertilizer or weed control. The key was a very nice loose seed bed in the spring, and we have had plenty of rain.

It is a bit weedy, but I do not care, 1/2 acre so I can somewhat weed it by hand. It should be a late season deer magnet, for a very economical price...tillage and one bag or seed.

 

[waylonb19]

I am planting a mix of Winter Rye, Oats, 6040 Peas, Ground hog radish and clover. When is the best time to get this in the ground in Central IA? I am thinking late August first part of Sept. but wanted some other input on this.

 

[dbltree]

I am planting a mix of Winter Rye, Oats, 6040 Peas, Ground hog radish and clover. When is the best time to get this in the ground in Central IA? I am thinking late August first part of Sept. but wanted some other input on this.

You are correct...last week of August should be about right in your area...:way:

 

[waylonb19]

One more question. What are my options as far as herbicides for this mix? I figure grass herbicides are out because of the oats and rye, but is there anything safe to spray for broadleaf if needed? Planting this late in the season I am thinking weeds might not be much of a problem but just curious.

 

[dbltree]

One more question. What are my options as far as herbicides for this mix? I figure grass herbicides are out because of the oats and rye, but is there anything safe to spray for broadleaf if needed? Planting this late in the season I am thinking weeds might not be much of a problem but just curious.

No worries about weeds this fall...if any come up they will die at the first frost.

If you have cool season grasses like brome or fescue, then kill those first with glyphosate but beyond that you won't need any herbicides....

 

[dbltree]

I posted comments earlier in this thread about the differences (or lack thereof) of the forage radish's but there is still some confusion on this topic and I get questions on this subject that might be easier to clarify here.

Daikon radish (Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus) is a Japanese radish and the name quite literally means "long root".

While first grown for human consumption of the roots, they eventually became popular for grazing livestock...hence the name "forage radish".
Our friends in New Zealand are way ahead of us in growing forages for pasturing livestock, especially sheep largely because most of our livestock here in the US are raised in confinement. We tend to only pasture those areas that are to rough to cultivate or toarid to grow crops.

It is then no surprise that many of our clovers and brassicas are grown in New Zealand and because farmers there are set up to grow, harvest and market the seeds....we just purchase it from them.

Soil scientist Ray Weil and organic farmer Steve Groff have worked together on various types of cover crops and eventually discovered the advantages of these long rooted radish's for loosening compacted soils, recycling nitrogen and controlling weeds.

Ray then coined the name "Tillage" radish however forage and tillage are the exact same radish. Steff Groff trademarked the name "Tillage radish"
Ampac Seed is a farmer owned company that markets a variety of forage and cover crop seeds through dozens of retail seed dealer across the country including Welter Seed. Ampac trademarked the name "GroundHog" Radish

Kent Kammermeyer and Tommy Hunter joined together to trademark the name "Trophy" radish right sot which have since been sold to Pennington Seed.

Now anyone can "Trademark" almost anything...I could buy the very same radish seeds and "trademark" them "Dbltree's Monster Buck Radish" if I wanted to.

ALL of the Daikon forage radish seed that is being sold under those names is being grown in New Zealand as VNS seed..."variety not stated" that means that one or more farmers in New Zealand can sell their seed to literally all of the three trademark names listed above and ALL of it can be exactly the same seed, grown in the same field.

Currently they sell these seeds to markets in the US for roughly .75 cents a pound and then it is re-sold under the trademark names. Nothing unsual about any of that and does not this imply that anything at all is wrong with the seed.

The problem arises when someone attaches a "big buck" on a bag name to the seed and jacks the price up 200 or more %

Both GroundHog and Tillage brand seeds can be bought across the US for $2.50 - 3.20 per # but I have seen Trophy brand seeds being advertised for as high as $7 a pound which leaves me incredulous because it is ALL the SAME seeds!!

Seeds such as Durana or Alice clover are specific varieties that have been developed by plant breeders and then usually patented. Another example is Sucraseed's High Sugar Ryegrass...NO ONE else can market that seed which has very specific attributes found in no other ryegrass.

If the tag says VNS...the seed is NOT a variety...the variety is unknown!

That means that paying a premium for the seed would be nothing short of insanity...yet there are always the unknowing who are drawn to a "buck on a bag" seed like lambs to slaughter.

Ampac Seed has a great dealer search site for a dealer near you for GH radish seed.

Welter seed markets seed for Ampac at very reasonable prices and you can order 5#'s or 50 and it pays to at least know what a "fair" price is before you purchase it locally.

Tillage Radish has a great web site with good cover crop info and also has a list of dealers.

Hopefully landowners will ALL learn from this and begin to realize that they are often (almost always) being taken to the cleaners when purchasing "buck on a bag" seed.

It is expensive and somewhat difficult to get a patent...one has to show that you have developed a specific variety with significant positive attributes before a patent will be issued for a "new" seed variety.

Paying for a trademark name is however relatively easy and attaching a "buck" name easily pursuades gullible hunters. Even well know companies such as WTI may use different seeds in their mixes because only the name on the bag is trademarked....yet hunters pay way more then a premium for this seed.

Know what you are getting before paying a dime more then fair market price for ANY seed and especially radish seed....

 

[jmm46]

I'm a little confused on when to plant Purple top turnips and Dwarf Essex Rape. When is the best time to plant these? I thought end of July was the time to plant, however I see pictures of others that planted them in Spring or early summer...

 

[dbltree]

I'm a little confused on when to plant Purple top turnips and Dwarf Essex Rape. When is the best time to plant these? I thought end of July was the time to plant, however I see pictures of others that planted them in Spring or early summer...

In my area mid July is usually the optimum time frame but in the far north late June to early July may work well for some.

Spring plantings I would not reccomend because in most cases the turnips will mature and go to seed if planted that early. In different areas of the country folks may need to do some testing of their own and plant some test spots at different time frames and see what works best....

 

[risto2351]

Paul,
Looking to get the brassicas in this weekend.
With little rain on the horizon (20-30 % chance) should I wait to fertilize with Urea
or work it in the soil and put it in anyway?

 

[dbltree]

Paul,
Looking to get the brassicas in this weekend.
With little rain on the horizon (20-30 % chance) should I wait to fertilize with Urea
or work it in the soil and put it in anyway?

Work it in at planting time and then rain isn't a factor, it's only when you broadcast it on top that you are at the mercy of the weather....

 

[dbltree]

I swear everything Deerwatcher plants...leaps out of the ground the next day!

This is Gh forage radish and Dwarf Essex Rape he planted about a month ago.

He overseeded some GroundHog forage radish into some thin areas and timely rains did the rest.

And look it there...deer already flockin' to it!

I'm anxious to check on mine this weekend...the heat and humidy combined with plenty of soil moisture is making things grow right now!! :way:

 

[HannibalBowhunter]

Great updates! I love following along with you. IF I were planting my brassicas by spraying and broadcasting would you recommend increasing rates? What about the groundhog radish - are they amenable to broadcasting? Plan to topdress with urea when rain is forecast.

 

[dbltree]

Great updates! I love following along with you. IF I were planting my brassicas by spraying and broadcasting would you recommend increasing rates? What about the groundhog radish - are they amenable to broadcasting? Plan to topdress with urea when rain is forecast.

Yes...if broadcasting any seeds on untilled soil where germination is dependant on rainfall I usually up the rates a bit.

The GH radishes pictured above where broadcast on bare soil and germinated from rains only...:way:

 

[dbltree]

7-31-2010 Brassica Test Plantings

I sowed the various brassicas in strips sandwhiched between strips of clover and next to standing soybeans and alfalfa

They are coming up nicely on tilled soil ...these happen to be Purple Top Turnips and two year old seed

I also overseeded mixed brassica seed into areas that had been killed with glyphosate...

This area was just grass/weeds

and into soybeans although I expect the soybeans to canopy and shade out the brassicas

I will over seed brassicas (rape, turnips and forage radish) again in late August into the standing beans just before the leaves turn as well.

The tilled areas have been fertilized heavily and the untilled areas have recieved none at this point. In the past 12 years on this farm the only brassicas deer have touched were forage radishes so I expect to beable to show what the various varieties and species look like by fall.

Are Purple Top turnips bigger then Barkant? Will one rape or forage radish be sought out over another?

Time will tell....

 

[dbltree]

200#'s of urea, 10" of rain and 3 weeks of hot, humid weather sure make the brassicas grow!

Only a matter of time before the deer turn on them but for now they are unmolested

On this farm it is rare to get brassicas to survive until season despite having lots of alfalfa, clover and soybeans . All just common seeds one can buy from places like Welter Seed...no expensive "buck on a bag" seed, yet they pound them to the dirt.

Ohhh...no frost needed to sweeten them either...

 

[risto2351]

You are rubbing it in Paul.

I put all mine in Sunday late with rain on the horizon worked in the

200#'s of urea and did not get anything for rain in the NE corner of the state.

I think I have figured out how to make the rain stop up there for now.

Just plant my food plots.