Creating a plan of attack! Teach me about Brassica mixes

My goal for my 2 small kill plots are to offer the deer something to eat after the corn and soybeans have been removed from the nearby fields, which usually occurs around the 3rd week of October.

Right now this is my plan of attack....

The 2 areas are old cow pastures. I'm going to shred these down, and clear some trees out to allow more sunlight. Spray after I clear these spots out, and then come back through a bit later and disc the ground up. I want to plant a perimeter of Egyptian Wheat, in the spring, around the plot for 3 different purposes.
-Make the plot more secure, and to replace some of the cover that I will be removing.
-Offer concealment for accessing the plot.
-Create "natural" cover to conceal a ground blind that my dad can easily access.

Once late summer comes around, I want to get back into the area, and disc the unplanted ground up again. My east plot is probably only large enough to have 1 type of seeding done. Roughly 150 yards west, is the 2nd plot. I plan on it being twice the size as the other, and may plant 2 different kinds of mixes here.

After reading up on different options, I feel like some type of Brassica is going to offer me the best results. Is there any advantage to the name brand mixes? (Ex. Biologic Maximum) Is it worth saving a little money to create my own mix? My dad planted Biologic Full Draw many years ago, and the deer absolutely hammered this stuff all year long, and he asked if I could somehow work this into the plans. Would it be counter productive to split a Full Draw mix into a plot with a Brassica mix, since the Full Draw does contain certain Brassica's?

It's amazing how 2 small areas seem so intimidating to me right now. I can't wait to try and make my plans come to life once the season ends.

 

Rule number one! soil test, get the lime on it to get the Ph right then give it 300 pounds to the acre of 19-19-19 when you plant it, pray for rain stand back and watch it go wild! Big and beasty brassicas by Fridgid forage gets great reviews. I put my own mix together. I do this because I mix for myself and several other people I put plots in for. Also broadcast with a hand seeder set on the lowest opeing possible. you are better off having to cover it twice to get seed distributed properly than to have 3/4 of your seed on 1/4 of the plot. This cause the plants to be to thick and choke each other out. Have seed coverage correct means successful plant growth

 

Pastorandrew covered covered what to do to the soil. As for mixes...we've only really had good luck with Evolved Habitats Beasty Brassicas (Lakosky on front). The deer have hammered it to the ground this year...only other mix we've had in the brassica world to bring deer in heavy is a mix made by Jake here at http://www.habitatsolutions360.com/ His seed is amazing and prices are great. The only thing though is his Ultimate Fall Mix (includes Oats and such) isn't worth it due to the large seeds are included and cause seeding issues. We plan on next year just getting the Regular FAll mix and if we wish seeding in some oats ourselves.

 

I will be following this thread Scott, as im in the same boat as you. I have one large food plot planned for sure, and maybe 3 smaller kill plots depending on the farmer/neighbor. Obviously, late season will be the goal of at least one of these smaller plots.

 

When do you put the lime on?

The Egyptian Wheat will be planted in the spring, but the rest of the plot will be put in come late summer. Can the lime be spread over the entire plot this spring, even if planting won't occur for a few months in some areas?

 

Never can lime at a wrong time...granted rain helps it get absorbed faster but I like to put Lime on the soil as early as possible because it doesn't immediately impact the soil, needs some time to fully absorb into the soil for maximum impact. I've heard guys spread lime even in the winter for sure.

 

As I search for custom mixes, this is one I keep running across, or at least a close variation of it.

3# Purple Top Turnips
2# Dwarf Essex Rape
5# Groundhog Forage Turnips

I'm guessing it is 10#/acre, and I've seen a few different fertilizer options for it.

Anyone have experience with this mix, or something close? Is it worth it to mix my own with such small plots, or should I go with something off the shelf?

 

keep this going, I need more infor

 

Honestly it will always be cheaper and better seed (usually) if you can get the seed yourself and take the time to mix it up. That is a similar mix to some of the stuff we've done. I'd honestly throw in some kale possibly as well as seed over (not at same time due to seed size) some winter wheat and oats too. Great overall mix and the deer will love it....atleast ours do. Now I believe you meant ground hog radishes not turnips....but if you did mean turnips that's a new one for me. Either way if you get huge bulb growth and the deer don't pound it come late season go out and rack up some of them, slice open a few and let the deer know what they are.

 

Yeah sorry, I meant Radishes.

Any type of company or store you'd recommend to order from? I don't know of any stores around here that would sell seed in bulk.

 

Great thread Scott!

 

Check out Habitat Solutions 360. Jake there custom orders and blends the seed mixes for every single person who orders. He offers his own blends or will make up whatever you want to order and will discuss it all with you. Great guy to work with. Decent prices and he gets his seed fresh from a top supplier in MI every year. No sealed and stored stuff. If we don't buy the seed ourselves and mix we will only really buy from him for our brassica blends (evolved habitat did do well this year for us though in one small plot).

 

Good stuff there.

I couldn't load their website this morning, but it's working now. Looks like Jake offers some great options.

 

I get my brassica's from Welter seed out of Iowa, great people to do buisness with and pretty much best prices I can find where i can get everything form one source. Last year I planted, a mix I put together that consisted of
Appin Forage Turnip .5 pounds
Barkant Forage Turnip .5 pounds
Barnapoli Rape .5 pounds
Bonar Rape .5 pounds
Dwarf Essex Rape .5 pounds
Pacer Hybrid Forage Brassica .5 pounds
Pasja Hybrid Forage Brassica .5 pounds
Purple Top Turnips 2lbs

I plant these mixed together at a rate of 5-6 pounds per acre. I don't just purchase for myself, I have several guys I put the mix together for as well. You don't want to plant this mix heavy, they need space to produce fullsize. custom mix stuff go with the bag or seller recommendation. I have found personally that that is best rate for good production with this mix. Have the pictures to prove it! took me three years to figure out how to get brassica's right on the dial, now i can get them knee high in 6 weeks pretty much every time with good bulbs.

http://welterseed.com/productItems.aspx?id=41&org=0

 

I've always heard great things about welter's prices and customer service. What are your secrets on brassica bud? We had great success on two of our 4 spots but the other two terrible. I absolutely love food plots and what they can do but like you said it took you some years to really hone your brassica growin skills

 

Andrew, what is the benefit to having several different types of turnips and rape in your mix?

 

Diversity in my opinion is the #1 factor in making the deer use your property! Diversity in food, cover, browse...everything. I bet that's gonna be Andrew's thoughts...that and every brassica will mature and sweeten in a slightly different time scale...again upping the odds of attractability.

 

Makes sense, no arguing with his results either!

 

What would you suggest as a 2nd crop to grow next to the brassicas in the larger plot. I was thinking maybe white clover, or maybe a different mix of brassicas?

Once I get it all cleared out and tilled, I may realize it's only large enough for one type of seeding/mix.

 

Just keep variety...a clover mix is a great option but so is more diverse brassicas. Always remember what is in your area and diversify it.