Mid July is brassica planting time in most of the Midwest, slightly sooner in the far north and a little later in the south and since there are always new people exploring these threads it's worth while to hit some high points and summarize a few key planting points.
In General...
1) Keep your food sources centrally located rather then multiple plots spread over the farm. Depending on deer densities, roughly 3-6 acres per 80-120 acres.
2) Plant multiple crops within any given plot or field, rather then brassicas in plot A and clover in plot B.
3)Adapt deer to coming to one place to feed year around by planting a combination of food sources that FEED them year around.
4) Clover, brassicas and cereal grains make a great crop rotation to also provide year around feed.
5) Plant different crops in strips or blocks that cause deer to move from one food source to another rather then congregating in one place, in effect wiping out a given food source.
Multiple strips in a large field
A simple 3 strip combination in a small place
White clover provides a food source nearly year around, brassicas from July thru March and the winter rye/oats/peas/radish and red clover from September to the following summer when tilled under for a rotation to brassicas. If your new and learning, get your mind clear of the idea that you are just planting for hunting season unless you want them to start living on the neighbors place??
Get away from the notion that an entire field must be planted to one crop rather then multiple crops and buy seed with the knowledge that "Buck on a Bag " seed is not magic nor one bit more attractive then good quality seed from your local supplier.
Brassicas
How much of what seed to plant?
This topic can get confusing but this ratio will work well for most people
3# Purple Top Turnips
2# Dwarf Essex rape
5# Groundhog forage radish
if you remove the radish seed you cannot add 5 more pounds of rape or turnips...why?
Deer will focus on the forage radish first, in effect thinning the stand but at the same time relieving pressure from the rape and turnips allowing them to mature. This is GHFR in a mixed stand in late August....
There is a method to my madness and a reason why things work or don't work so while any mix can be tweaked I have found this one to work very well on multiple farms in many different situations.
You can switch turnip or rape varieties but if you read back thru this thread you'll see that never once have deer showed a preference for any other rape or turnip variety over those old standbys listed. That being said any of them will work well.
This brassica plot has ALL of the major "brand" brassica seed planted in strips along side standard varieties such as those listed above that cost a fraction as much and it is impossible to tell the difference nor did deer choose one over another.
How much fertilizer?
If you want your brassica stand to look like this...you'll need to plan to fertilize heavily unless yo are blessed with naturally rich, fertile soils and even then you cannot keep taking not not putting back.
A general guideline is to use 200#'s of urea and 400#'s of 6-28-28 or 400-500#'s of triple 19. If your tilling under a lush crop of clover you may need less nitrogen but those are basic numbers to start with. If you are on a very limited budget, brassica s are probably not your best option because like corn they are somewhat expensive to grow. if you have never planted them before, start small...don't bet the farm on them the first year. Plant them along side cereals and clovers and see how deer react to them and then go from there, sometimes they wipe them out the first year other times they may adapt to them slowly over 2-3 years.
Welter Seed is a great source for seeds by the pound at a reasonable price but always check with your local supplier first to avoid shipping and handling costs if you can.
After telling Aaron Palm of Iowa-Missouri hybrids in Keosauqua my seed needs, he agreed to carry all of them, again at very reasonable prices minus the shipping costs, so sometimes a visit to your local seed supply can be worth while.
Brassicas are an important tool in our whitetail management programs but when starting out be aware of the limitations and requirements involved in successfully growing a lush, healthy stand of high quality brassicas.... :way:
I have always used the expensive name brand seed in the past, but this year I plan to order from welter seed. As a rule do you usually plant about 10 lbs of different mix per acre? I have picked out what I am interested in from their list.
