pros and cons

[mikebohio]

not a farmer but have planted small food plots the last two years. havent had much luck. i dont want to mention the products i planted because its most likely my fault for its lack of success. anyhow what i wanted was your opinion on was turnips for ohio. i did a little research on line and am leaning twards them.

[msman825]

I planted 3/4 acre of purple top turnips here in Maine and the deer mowed them down. but they will not touch them till after a couple frost. I decided on purple top cause it has a huge root, and once the snow started they dig them up. Here's a link too where i ordered mine. www.maxirack.com. I'm going to mix sugar beets in with turnips next august

[LETMGROW]

We had about 4 acres of turnips planted this past year. They were planted the last week of July. We generally try to plant about 45 days before the first frost. [ anticipated ]

Like was mentioned the deer don't pay much attention to the plants until they have been hit with two or three hard frosts. It usually takes a few days after these frosts for the starch in the leaves to turn to sugar. When it does the deer hit them hard. It's usually hard to hunt over them as we never seem to get the timing quite right. This year it seemed later than normal for some reason but there was still a lot of standing corn around our area as well as a freshly cut woods area which grew some high quality browse.

The deer are digging at the plots through the snow now. They are getting some good nutrition when they need it. This was our goal more than creating a hunting plot. We also have over an acre of sugarbeets in close proximity and the deer seem to prefer the turnips.

Our seed of choice is " Shot-Plot " by Evolved Harvest. We have tried others but still prefer the S-P over others. We had some purple tops the size of volleyballs and very few smaller than softballs.

Our PH is nearly neutral. We add a small amount of lime and use 200# per acre of 19-19-19 fertilizer at planting. We broadcast the seed by hand spreader and roll the plots to keep a good seed to soil contact.

We spray the plots with glyphosate about two weeks before tilling them with a roto tiller. This is usually the first of July, wait a week, spray again, and try to plant the latter part of July.

Just as a side note. The deer aren't the only ones eating the turnips. We pull several, clean and cut them up, cook them mash 'em and freeze them. Warm them up, throw a little butter on them and they are delicious. Salt and pepper to taste. Makes it all worth the effort.

Any ??? let me know.

Lynn

[need2hunt]

We've used turnips here in Illinois with good luck. We have one farm that they mow the greens once they start coming up. Later when it gets cold they hit them hard because they basically turn to sugar. After the first few snowfalls they are usually hitting them hard.

I will say that we have had better results on some farms than others, and that it also may take the deer a couple years to get used to what they are.

[LETMGROW]

We have never mowed the leaves. By planting later, like we do, the leaves and stalks don't get course and tough. By the second to third week of September the plants are about two feet high and still quite tender.

Anyone who has planted turnip and brassica around here in the spring has had tough stalky plants and the turnips get buggy by early fall.

Lynn

[msman825]

I never mow mine either, I just plant at the end of august. I want mine to get tall that way the snow dont cover them

[mikebohio]

thanks for all the great advice. i really appreciate it. turnips it is.

[dogdoc]

Lots of reasons for plot failure but you are correct--most are due to planting error. Mother nature can also play a role such as no moisture or a very early freeze. The number one cause IMO is planting the seed to deep.

Turnips should do just fine in Ohio. Here in Oklahoma I always include turnips in my fall plantings. Usage is directly related to acorn production. In years with good acorn crops the turnips are usually not hit until late winter. In poor acorn years the deer hit them early and don't wait until a freeze to start eating them. Once the deer decide to eat them they go in a hurry. The first couple of years I planted them there was very little usage. It was like the deer had to learn that they were a good forage. Once they did though they get hammered every year. It is a very small seed so don't disc the seed under. I till the soil and then broadcast the seed. I then go back over the seed bed with either my ATV or tractor and just compact the seed into the soil. Once moisture arrives I always have a nice plot of turnips. Turnips love nitrogen so be sure to fertilize for best results.

Merry Christmas

todd

[dbHunterNY]

We've used turnips here in Illinois with good luck. We have one farm that they mow the greens once they start coming up. Later when it gets cold they hit them hard because they basically turn to sugar. After the first few snowfalls they are usually hitting them hard.

I will say that we have had better results on some farms than others, and that it also may take the deer a couple years to get used to what they are.

this is what i've found too. earlier in the season they seem to completely ignore them and hit alfalfa fields.

[need2hunt]

My apologies... when I said that they mow the greens, I was referring to the deer. We have one farm that the deer just devour the greens when they come up. I think it's due to that these plots are located close to bedding and feeding areas, they basically stage in them in the morning and evenings going to and from there main food source and bed.

But this only happens on this farm, the other farms they don't get hit hard until it freezes.

Hope this clears things up

[Buckeyenut]

mikeb- we have planted turnips in our plots a couple of times- just down the river from you (Toronto area). The deer absolutely hammered them all Winter long. I recommend them highly!

[mikebohio]

thanks again everyone. you cant beat this kind of feedback!

[mikebohio]

mikeb- we have planted turnips in our plots a couple of times- just down the river from you (Toronto area). The deer absolutely hammered them all Winter long. I recommend them highly!

drive through there everyday on my way to work