HorseDoctor
PMA Member
Soybeans are tops for nasty weather late season as long as you are in a situation where the deer will let a small plot get to maturity. Corn will also work again as long as you can get a crop to maturity. In some areas brassicas/turnips might do well but I'm in year four waiting for the local deer to decide they are food...
soil
Active Member
Hope you have the same results I had horsedoc, the deer ate my purple top turnips from September through march the fourth year I planted them. They literally barely touched them the three years prior. Strange.
I doubt you'd have any luck getting a small plot of beans or corn to mature because of the browse pressure. Turnips and clover might work.
I doubt you'd have any luck getting a small plot of beans or corn to mature because of the browse pressure. Turnips and clover might work.
HorseDoctor
PMA Member
Deer just started to eat on the radishes some last year so I'll be interested to see what they do this fall. I've had really good luck with soybeans and corn, but my plots are surrounded by other corn & bean crop fields that dilute the gazing pressure until the other fields are harvested. Then, when the weather turns crappy, my plots are golden. Understand that they may not work in all situations but they can be awesome! You don't see the Kiskys shooting deer over turnips very often.
Something that small that will keep growing thru browse pressure and is good late.... only one choice.... cereal grains.
goatman
I hunt days ending in Y
Even though the plots you are working with are small you can still go half dbtree mix and half brassicas. I have done this on a 1/4 ac plot with success. It is surrounded by trees though. For me it has to be a bad winter for my deer to hit purple top turnips hard. But the bucks hit barkant turnips hard just before Christmas after rut is over. Also adding in chicory for a hedge against dry weather.
rutnstrut
PMA Member
Recommend anything specific???
rutnstrut
PMA Member
How late can you plant the barkant and where do you buy yours?
Cereal rye.
Oats are probably most preferred but not nearly as frost tolerant. Rye has soil building properties you arn't getting out of wheat.
You can mix in radishes and they will be good while they last. Generally don't mix cereal grains with brassicas, but radish grow fast enough to make it work with later planting date of cereal grains. Can also mix with Peas as mentioned above.
Plant second week of September (ish) @ 100#/a
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goatman
I hunt days ending in Y
I get seed from Welter Seed in Iowa. I'm planting barkant and other brassicas right now ahead of a rain. Early but poor soil so taking advantage of moisture to get them germinated. You should be good to plant them till the end of August. They're a forage type turnip. Smaller bulb.
Daver
PMA Member
Do Doubletree rotation, simple. Ok, well, nothing is simple but the answer is and it's doable. 1/2...... 1/4 acre in turnips and radish planted anytime it's dry to plant but moisture in soil (need replenished subsoil moisture!) & follow instructions in dbltree's threads. 1/4 acre you plant later - rye, oats, winter peas, clovers, radish, etc. Next year, leave about 10-15% in your best clover or where clover is that's erodible. rotate other plots back and fourth. 1/2 is not a lot to work with but I think it's possibly enough to do all this. If deer pressure is too high.... you could leave it as clover but that's not going to be great late season. If pressure is high, I'd still leave some clover but focus on cereal rye mix mentioned above. Lots of fertilizer & make them as big and numerous as you're able.
goatman
I hunt days ending in Y
Finished up the brassicas 1/4ac plot back in the timber. The other strip has white clover in it but will be redone with dltree mix the end of Aug. To many dry years in a row has it thin. Most years I just frost seed more clover into it. This little plot was always just clover till a couple of years ago I decided to do half in forage turnips and forage chicory. It has been a producer ever since. I have a blind to the left of those two chestnut trees at the other end. They will start dropping candy in another two or more years.
Nice! Did you drill your brassicas? If so, good luck drilling them?