Well, unfortunately i rolled up on the food plots this weekend and they have been eaten to the ground already. Never heard of deer eating turnip leaves before the first frost, but they sure ate them right to the ground! Really disappointed. Still some bulbs left in the ground tho.... put out some urea hoping those bulbs will continue to grow. Anyone else have experience the deer hitting your turnips much earlier than the first frost?
My two early plots are getting effin hammered but they don't have a lot of turnips/brassicas in them. They are mostly forage beans, millet, lentils, crimson clover, peas. The brassicas are all under a bit of pressure too though as the deer browse through. I was looking at them this morning and at least one of them is going to have to be redone before it gets too late. I have no idea why they are hammering the plots so hard, there's 60 acres of corn directly south on neighbor, I have beans and milo literally all the way around the plots. I know I have a lot of deer but sheesh.
Tall Tine Tubers - Pure turnips My thoughts: We have 0 farm field within a 10 mile radius. Perhaps there is that little of food available that the deer would rather eat a non-sugar turnip leaf than anything else? I planted these turnips the first week of June given our weather in northern wisconsin (first frost, poor July/August precipitation) as well as knowing darn well my soil wasn't "perfect." We have friends that plant turnips year after year that early and get softball size turnips and fantastic results every year. The plot(s) were only a 1/4 acre, but that still doesn't explain why the deer would eat the turnip leaves when they haven't even turned to sugar yet. So disappointing!! We got 4 inches of rain last weekend so that the overseed i put down as well as urea take into effect immediatley and still give me something to hunt over (at least until the end of september :P ahaha). These turnip plots were right next to 1/8 acre clover plots that have lots of activity every day according to my cameras, maybe the increased deer traffic in the area didn't help the cause? Looks like I'll be renting the mini-excavator again this spring to make the plots BIGGER BIGGER BIGGER. Everythings better bigger, especially food plot
Our place in central Wisconsin I mix in brassicas with my spring plantings. Last year they were digging up turnips before the first frost. They eat brassicas all year long. 30 miles away at my house, deer dont touch brassicas till it frosts.
I am use to the deer eating brassicas at various times all year long before i always splash them with a plant foods product i invented that jacks up the proteins and sugar content. I first started planting turnips around 23 years ago and year one they hammered them then as well. So, what factors dictate if deer eat turnips and other brassicas early are: soil pH plant health plant sugar content sulfur content/fertilizer program
