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Turnips
Jul 16, 2013 12:20:31 GMT -5
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Post by firstwd on Jul 16, 2013 12:20:31 GMT -5
I've heard guys talking about adding turnips to established plots later in the year. Well, I ended up with a bulk bag of turnip seed. My question is when to plant? I've never grown turnips, have no clue how long they take, and this bag is truly bulk with no information at all.
Thanks for the info.
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Turnips
Jul 16, 2013 13:36:17 GMT -5
Post by boonechaser on Jul 16, 2013 13:36:17 GMT -5
No.1 A little turnip seed goes along way. (I'm thinking 3-lbs will do a 1/2 acre or so. You don't want to over seed as the turnips will be small. You also will want to till ground and cultipack seed into ground. You just want good soil to seed contact and don't want to cover up (1/4" or less deep) Anytime from July 1 to Sept 1 is time to plant. I planted 2- 1/2 acre plot's last week and both are allready up and they will grow untill it frost. I have also in past mixed forage oat's in with turnip's to add a little varity. Most seed you buy pre packaged have some type mixture Ex. oat's, wheat, rape, radish etc. Deer will feed on the top's early season then will dig up turnips and eat in later season espically after we get a frost. Might want to throw some triple 12 or 15 fertilizer on also to help seed get started if you havn't allready did soil test. (100-150- lbs per acre should get them started. Good luck
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Turnips
Jul 16, 2013 15:13:06 GMT -5
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Post by firstwd on Jul 16, 2013 15:13:06 GMT -5
Thank you, sir.
Where I'm planning on putting it is quite a bit different. My daughter's blind spot is just off a cornfield overlooking a creek bottom. There is a well used trail up a small ravine about 15 yards away.
My thought was to plant the turnips between the corn rows in hopes of making that area of the field more appealing, and slow the deer travelling up the hill down for a bit.
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Turnips
Jul 16, 2013 15:22:42 GMT -5
Post by schall53 on Jul 16, 2013 15:22:42 GMT -5
Something to think about if the corn field is not yours the farmer is sure to have sprayed it with a residual herbicide. If that is the case your turnips will probably come up and die. Most herbicides are good for the entire growing season.
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Turnips
Jul 16, 2013 16:40:06 GMT -5
Post by boonechaser on Jul 16, 2013 16:40:06 GMT -5
My concern's would be. Corn harvesting will more than likely be done late Sept or early October. So alot of your turnips will be destroyed by the combine unless it's your own crop and you plan to leave that portion of the field standing??? I think if you till the ground with small roto-tiller and gently rake in you might be OK? The corn will block a lot of sunlight from getting to ground which might hurt the germination process??? I think you might be better served if you till a spot up at end of field if area available???
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Turnips
Jul 16, 2013 17:04:47 GMT -5
Post by Woody Williams on Jul 16, 2013 17:04:47 GMT -5
I would think that it would only smash down the turnips where the combine's wheels were at..
A little bit of turnip seed goes a long way...
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Turnips
Jul 16, 2013 17:26:26 GMT -5
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Post by firstwd on Jul 16, 2013 17:26:26 GMT -5
I was only thinking wheel damage as well, the field is all hills so they run the head high. Honestly, with the weed growth, I'm not sure much herbicide survived the rain we had down here this year. I'll check the corner and see how much area they missed planting. That spot will give her about a 60 yard shot.
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Turnips
Jul 17, 2013 20:39:13 GMT -5
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Post by duff on Jul 17, 2013 20:39:13 GMT -5
Grown them several years just scratch the ground and throw some seed they grow easy
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Turnips
Jul 18, 2013 8:54:36 GMT -5
Post by throbak on Jul 18, 2013 8:54:36 GMT -5
Any one down this way need Turnips OR Tillage Radishes I have 50# of each at 3.50 per lb
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Turnips
Jul 18, 2013 11:11:28 GMT -5
Post by Woody Williams on Jul 18, 2013 11:11:28 GMT -5
Any one down this way need Turnips OR Tillage Radishes I have 50# of each at 3.50 per lb that is a good price.... |
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Turnips
Jul 25, 2013 16:16:22 GMT -5
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Post by firstwd on Jul 25, 2013 16:16:22 GMT -5
I finally got to the back of the farm today and got two patches in the ground. We shall see how things go.
I still have almost a half a bag of seed left. Those buggers do go a long way. I'm going to till up a corner along the creek at the end of the campground and put out some "fall harvest" to mix the rest of the turnips in. That should provide a great spot for any limited time hunts. I'll just have to keep the prospectors from eating the turnips.
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Turnips
Aug 8, 2013 12:26:31 GMT -5
Post by firstwd on Aug 8, 2013 12:26:31 GMT -5
So the turnips have been in the ground for 2 weeks and have simply exploded. The field edge area is a complete carpet of new green growth and the creek bottom area is not far behind. I don't think I spread the turnip seed thin enough.
The test plot in camp has been in for 3 days and is already showing good growth. Because of that, we went out between rain showers and put another in the creek bottom with the center being about 50 yards in front of my daughters blind. About a half hour after we got the seed in the ground a nice little shower started. Hopefully the seed takes root before the birds and chipmunks dig them all up.
This year should be real fun for Stephanie, especially since she doesn't know about the new snack station.
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Turnips
Aug 9, 2013 11:09:45 GMT -5
Post by seindianahunter on Aug 9, 2013 11:09:45 GMT -5
I planted a 1/2 + acre patch of turnips last year. The deer did not really touch them but I let them go to seed this spring. I mowed them down and then burnt it down with the thought of planting sunflowers for doves but I never got around to it. Now I have a solid field of turnips about 6-12" high. I even have them growing in my drive and anywhere else that I drove my tractor. I will try them one more year and if the deer don't touch them, will move on to another source (they liked the oats). As far as in the corn, it is a widely used practice for farmers to fly on turnip/tillage radish/rye/etc seed in september as a cover crop. The cover crop starts to grow as the corn is maturing, letting light in. When the corn is harvested there is already a nice carpet of cover crop established which adds a little additional organic matter to the field and takes up nutrients (especially nitrogen) to be released next spring when killed.
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Turnips
Aug 9, 2013 11:40:09 GMT -5
Post by MuzzleLoader on Aug 9, 2013 11:40:09 GMT -5
I tried turnips (evolved harvest) last year, they were as big as softballs. They grew great and looked awesome. Deer did not touch them, they rotted in the ground. I have alot better luck with winter wheat or white clover.
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Turnips
Sept 6, 2013 21:25:07 GMT -5
Post by firstwd on Sept 6, 2013 21:25:07 GMT -5
A week after almost 2" of rain and the plots get mixed grades. The corn field turnips are about an even split, half the plot looks really good and the other half seems stunted but doesn't look like its being eaten. One of the woods plots is great and the other isn't fairing well. I think it is the amount of direct sunlight each plot is getting. If we could get another good wind and rain event to knock some more leaves off in the next week or so, I think the bottom land plot could jump back to life.
Experiment still in progress......
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Turnips
May 15, 2014 15:02:19 GMT -5
Post by gwhunter on May 15, 2014 15:02:19 GMT -5
Hey Guys, I know this thread is really old but i wanted to give me two cents. A couple of you had mentioned that you planted turnips, they grew huge, but the deer didn't touch them. I would say don't give up. This has happened to me in 3 different tracts of land. 1 in northern Michigan, 1 in central Michigan, and now 1 in central Indiana (I moved down here in 2011). At each food plot that was planted with turnips in the seed mix the deer completely ignored the turnips the first year. Then during the second year they completely demolished it. I was considering having to fence off part of the area because they were hitting it so hard every night. I don't know why this happens but it seems as though if you introduce a new forage that they have never seen before, such as turnips, it might take them some time to finally start eating it.
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