Anyone tried brassicas and oats?

SM270

Ten Pointer
Anyone tried a good mixture that deer seemed to use? Keep ready that some turnips aren't great but a mixture or radish rape and oats is a great mixture. Anyone have any tips or can help me out. Plot is 115 long by 35-40 wide. Has been fertilized and limed in the spring went down Sunday and the grass(weeds) and buckwheat is 5-6" tall and fairly thick.
 

Doc

Twelve Pointer
Plant oats in late September and they will get mowed down in the fall. I plant plain old bob oats from feed store.
 
25contender

25contender

Twelve Pointer
WE plant a oats turnips and kale mix opening weekend of second weekend of Oct. It does very well and the deer tear it up. By the way they love the kale!!
 

mdunker

Ten Pointer
I plant a brassica and oats mix each year. The oats and brassica leaves are eaten. If turnips are in the mix they are never messed with below the ground.
 
sky hawk

sky hawk

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I plant an oats/crimson clover/brassica (turnip,rape,kale) mix. They will eat it, but won't touch the bulbs.

If you are mixing it yourself, be careful not to get too much brassica in it. It can shade out the others and get too thick.
 
Last edited:

cmcarter

Six Pointer
25contender said:
Not till November sometime. We have never had any issues.
Click to expand...

Good stuff. I think i'll hold off as long as I can this year and see if I get better results. I planted last year in the last week of August. This was based off thinking that our first frost is around third week of October. And I think our first frost was quite a bit later last year. Which this probably effected the brassica's bulb and could have been over mature before they turned sweet.

Do you get a lot of deer eating the bulbs? They nibbled on the leaves last year but didn't try any bulbs. Tho it was the first year i've tried brassicas.
 

Famous Amos

Guest
Yes I tried it in the spring just to try it and the deer mowed it down. It is best in the fall.
 
25contender

25contender

Twelve Pointer
cmcarter said:
Do you get a lot of deer eating the bulbs? They nibbled on the leaves last year but didn't try any bulbs. Tho it was the first year i've tried brassicas.
Click to expand...

Oct-Jan they mainly eat the greens. When things start getting tough the end of Feb-early May the tear up the bulbs. I have watched them dig them up.
 

cmcarter

Six Pointer
25contender said:
Oct-Jan they mainly eat the greens. When things start getting tough the end of Feb-early May the tear up the bulbs. I have watched them dig them up.
Click to expand...

Excellent. Though my plots aren't big enough to give them all the nutrition they need in the winter, I'm hoping they'll get into the bulbs this winter to at least help out.

How long have you grown them on your property?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
bowhuntingrook

bowhuntingrook

Old Mossy Horns
If theres not enough for the amount of deer you have they will get eaten to the ground, just like anything that is preferred by them at that time. Deer browse on whats most palatable to them at that time. By the time oats get big the deer are on to eating something else. But the brassicas will keep them in winter, late December, January and Feb.
 
25contender

25contender

Twelve Pointer
On and off for the past 5 years. We try to rotate trough different types of forage plots.
cmcarter said:
Excellent. Though my plots aren't big enough to give them all the nutrition they need in the winter, I'm hoping they'll get into the bulbs this winter to at least help out.

How long have you grown them on your property?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
 
25contender

25contender

Twelve Pointer
Ours are always eaten to the ground late winter but they do head out. I have found that if you are planting for both deer and Turkey the Turkey prefer wheat to rye or oats.
cmcarter said:
Do the oats get eaten to a ground or will they grow well in the spring too?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:

cmcarter

Six Pointer
25contender said:
On and off for the past 5 years. We try to rotate trough different types of forage plots.
Click to expand...

Good deal, appreciate the information.

I heard it may take a couple winters to get the deer use to the brassica's taste but heard once they do, they'll destroy them. I'm hoping this year, if I plant at the right time and it matures at the proper type, to have more deer eating the bulbs.
 

Famous Amos

Guest
Is mid August to early to plant oats in Chatham county? I was going to plant them with cowpeas and put some clover on top.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top