I'm going to be putting in a food plot this year to try and take advantage of my last full year of hunting before heading off to college next year. I live in south west Michigan and have already tilled up a fairly small sized plot probably slightly less then a 1/4 acre. This weekend I put in some random seeds(i believe some beets, radishes, beans and peas) to have something growing and see if the deer really like something particular. I get a feeling they will probably hit the peas and beans as soon as they start growing and such a small plot wont be maintainable with those plants. I could probably expand it to an acre in size if need be and was wondering how well turnips have worked for food plots. I'm trying to do this as cheaply as possible and the local farming store has turnip seeds for a really low price. When would be the best time to plant and what fertilizer should I use? thanks
I have planted turnips for years and the deer love them. I use Millorganite as fertilizer/filler. 4 lbs Millorganite to 1 lb of turnip seed will get you a good spread. You don't want to much seed or turnips won't grow to max potential. Plant in late July early August and make sure you spray Roundup or something with at least 41% glyphosate to kill the weeds a couple weeks before planting. The other thing is sometimes it takes a couple years for the deer to get use to them and actually learn to like them so the greatest results may not come this year. Good luck.
Turnips love nitrogen. You can save money and buy urea instead of the common 13-13-13 or 19-19-19. I always plant mine like the 3rd weekend of July. Here's my sort of schedule/timeline goal. 3rd weekend in June - mow (if needed) 4th of July weekend - spray w/ glyphosate (round-up) 3rd weekend of July - fertilize, disc, seed 4-5 weeks later - broadcast more Urea in a rain (not necessary but its was recommended and worked great) Biggest thing w/ turnips is DO NOT OVERSEED. If the application rate is 4 lbs/acre, measure the size of you plot and get out a scale. You are better being under seeded. Not sure what your budget is. You just said cheap as possible. I know here a 50 lb bag of 13-13-13 is $14, and a 50 lb bag of urea is $19. I think the recommended fertilizer rate for most turnip blends is 300-400 lbs/ acre. So a 1/4 acre as you said would cost you less then $30 to fertilize. And the seed at a common feed mill is cheap. One more warning about turnips, and this is just from personal experience, sometimes deer just will not eat them. Not sure about SW MI, but in the farm country of NW IL I have had a lot of experience with deer walking right through a beautiful turnip plot w/out taking a mouthful. One farm I had to plant like 3-4 year before the deer started using it. Then I have had other farms here the deer went crazy for them right away.
for Michigan all you need is 12-12-12 fert and plant in July-August Big thing is killing off all the old vegetation. Round-up won't do it unless you have a lot of it, better off getting some sort of glyphosate concentrate to kill off the grass.
You will want to add some nitrogen to your fertilizer. Use urea or lawn fertilizer WITHOUT the weed Killer in it. I use the 32-0-2 in the green bag from Menards.
Radishes in illinois are better than turnips from my tests. Diakon radishes and sugar beets have won the plot test over the turnip varieties that past 10 years. Urea is a must but potash is also helpful before seeding. Don't over seed like mention. They're easy to get established. It could take a year or 2 before they really start hammering. U can mix alfalfa or clover when seeding and that will come back year after year.
Everyone has their own opinion....The truth is not everything works everywhere. Just because someone you know had good luck with turnips doesn't mean you will on your spot....and just because they don't work for some doesn't mean they won't for you....you have to try them to find out how the deer will respond. You aren't that far north of me. I plant turnips every year. The first year they only ate the tops, but now they dig up the bulbs too. To achieve maximum results for turnips in our area, I plant as follows: Depending on the condition of the area you want to plant, start preparing the soil (spraying, mowing etc) early enough so that it is ready to plant around August 15th. I wouldn't plant much earlier because turnips have a 60 day grow cycle...which will put them at maturity mid October...right before it starts to frost...which is what you want Turnips prefer a well drained soil...they will grow in almost any soil, but do the best in one that doesn't hold a ton of moisture. Disk or till the soil and roll/pack before planting (this keeps the tiny seeds from getting too deep). broadcast seed, being careful not to overseed or you will have small yellow plants with small tubers. When planting, I spread 17-17-17. This not only provides nitrogen for quick germination, but helps the roots develop better, resulting in bigger turnips. Then, exactly 6 weeks after planting, top dress the plot with urea (46-0-0). You will not believe the difference this makes. They will explode with growth. Deer will usually not eat them much until about 2 hard frosts. So plan on hunting the plot mid November-end of season. My turnips go from 2-3 feet tall in October to bare dirt by mid December. This is a recommendation for optimum results...you can get by with less if cost is an issue, im just outlining the ideal scenario.
turnips are a 60 day til maturity crop. People who plant them too early risk unpalatable bulbs as they are mature and woody. A solution is...use rutabaga, swedes or newyork turnips.
Put in a mix of 3lbs/acre turnips 2lbs/acre Rape and 5lbs/acre Tillage Radish and you will be golden.
