Kale?

[stubborn1VT]

Has anybody planted kale for deer?  I mean the kale you would grow in your garden that gets really big and keeps growing in the cold.  Over the years I have seen deer go after kale that has been left in gardens or on small vegetable farms.  I'm thinking of trying it on a very rough piece of ground that I hunt.  I wouldn't till it or harrow it or anything.  I would just transplant a bunch of kale right into this area full of rocks, stumps, wood etc.  It gets decent sunlight.  The only risk would be if the deer killed it before the season.  I suppose that is probably what would happen, but I'm still toying with the idea.  I have always wanted to put in a brassica plot here, but it's so rough that I would need to clear it with a bulldozer first.  And I don't have access to a dozer.  If anyone has any experience with this, I would love to hear about it.

[moog5050]

Careful, the property may be over-run with green iguana.  My iguana in college loved that stuff!

[corydd7]

Qdma website and book have nice articles about kale. Kale is in most brassica mixes so I don't see why it wouldn' work for you.

[fasteddie]

Friends of ours who don't let anyone hunt their property which consists of apple orchards plant Kale in their vegetable garden . Deer have hit it a few times . I told them that I hope the deer eat all of their Kale . We are friends from church and socialize a lot But they don't let anyone hunt their property . 

[stubborn1VT]

I'm guessing there is a difference between the kale in a brassica mix and the kale in a garden.  My buddy claims that his kale keeps growing even when the deer start chewing on it.  I will have to do more research.  I'm talking about kale that gets 2-3 feet tall.  Just an idea.

[LET EM GROW]

I've used it in blends before. Always got eaten. I don't do much with mono-culture plantings anymore. I'm really a big fan of blends, and this is a good seed to have in any Brassica or Fall blend!

[growalot]

research the Kale...I let Brussels ,collards,broccoli plants in the garden they devoured ,even the Brussels stalks but left the curly kale alone...and it was a really sweet kale before the frost got it...it could be a texture thing...I'll tell you though I planted a mix with chicory in it a few years ago...I have sprayed , disced and replanted other stuff several times, and isn't that chicory still coming up and feeding the deer...

[stubborn1VT]

I will ask a vegetable farmer I know.  He always left his at the end of the season and I would see 6-12 deer there most mornings once there was a little snow.  

I'm hoping my chicory does well.  I planted two plots with chicory and clover.  I will be interested to see how it comes up in the spring.  One plot was planted with WI Fusion.  The other was a mix I made based on WI Extreme.  Very different plots.  It seems like any plot I carve out of the woods is never big enough.  I'm leaning toward opening up some areas and letting the raspberries take over instead.

[turkeyfeathers]

6 hours ago, growalot said:

research the Kale...I let Brussels ,collards,broccoli plants in the garden they devoured ,even the Brussels stalks but left the curly kale alone...and it was a really sweet kale before the frost got it...it could be a texture thing...I'll tell you though I planted a mix with chicory in it a few years ago...I have sprayed , disced and replanted other stuff several times, and isn't that chicory still coming up and feeding the deer...

Home run if you doused in Marie’s blue cheese   You’d have trail pics of TF’s browsing 

[nybuckboy]

turnips will break up rocky ground

 

[DDT]

I planted kale last year. Seed from local agway, mixed it with rape, turnips radishes. It did well and was eaten early (bow season) before turnips.

As an experiment I planted all whitetail institute products this year. I think they grew better and were hit harder. But was it because it is the second year with plots in the same area? Time will tell. I can say I'm sure that the buck on the bag clovers grew better than the no name stuff. Ladino from Agway and bucks a plenty clover seed from American seed were flops. 

Deer have been eating WI Winter Greens and tall tine turnips before frosted.

[stubborn1VT]

Maybe I should clarify.  Has anyone planted long season kale for deer?  

I have had similar experience with WI products DDT.  I hate paying more, but their seed has outperformed other seed I have bought from Agway, a local food plot expert, and Deer Creek seed.  With that said, the deer at my house are like the Deer Creek turnips that I planted to break up the clay soil.  

The spot I want to plant is a power line that has glacial boulders, old stumps, miscellaneous wood etc.  I may try to tackle an area with my tractor and box scraper, but I fear for my tires.  My brother could scuff it out with his backhoe, but he's too busy running the farm for food plots.  A dozer or mini excavator would be ideal.  So it may never happen.  For now I will just prune the dozen wild apple trees that are growing there.

[Marion]

I sometimes eat kale Caesar Salads

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[BizCT]

I sometimes eat kale Caesar Salads

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From Chopt?


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[LET EM GROW]

15 hours ago, stubborn1VT said:

Maybe I should clarify.  Has anyone planted long season kale for deer?  

I have had similar experience with WI products DDT.  I hate paying more, but their seed has outperformed other seed I have bought from Agway, a local food plot expert, and Deer Creek seed.  With that said, the deer at my house are like the Deer Creek turnips that I planted to break up the clay soil.  

The spot I want to plant is a power line that has glacial boulders, old stumps, miscellaneous wood etc.  I may try to tackle an area with my tractor and box scraper, but I fear for my tires.  My brother could scuff it out with his backhoe, but he's too busy running the farm for food plots.  A dozer or mini excavator would be ideal.  So it may never happen.  For now I will just prune the dozen wild apple trees that are growing there.

If you get any grass or weed growth there, keep it at bay for the most part and sprayed off before you want to plant it. Then just spread the seed before a good heavy rain. Between the dead vegetation, rainfall and small seed, it will grow for you. Weed-whack it down over top of the seed if you'd like.. Just a thought. It works. not 100% but not far from it. 

[stubborn1VT]

1 hour ago, LET EM GROW said:

If you get any grass or weed growth there, keep it at bay for the most part and sprayed off before you want to plant it. Then just spread the seed before a good heavy rain. Between the dead vegetation, rainfall and small seed, it will grow for you. Weed-whack it down over top of the seed if you'd like.. Just a thought. It works. not 100% but not far from it. 

Sounds like it's worth a shot.  I hate like heck to spray.  IMO the stuff is poison, and we don't fully understand all the repercussions of it in the long run.  I know that's the way ag works in the US these days.  Guess that's a topic for another thread.  I don't have a weed whacker, but I may borrow one.  Like I wrote: worth a shot, especially since brassica are pretty cheap.  

[Marion]

From Chopt?


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Used to, then I decided just to make them myself. Paying 10-15 for a measly salad just doesn't sit right

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[LET EM GROW]

1 hour ago, stubborn1VT said:

Sounds like it's worth a shot.  I hate like heck to spray.  IMO the stuff is poison, and we don't fully understand all the repercussions of it in the long run.  I know that's the way ag works in the US these days.  Guess that's a topic for another thread.  I don't have a weed whacker, but I may borrow one.  Like I wrote: worth a shot, especially since brassica are pretty cheap.  

Anything to rid weed competition. We have taken a 4-5ft tall golden rod field, Spread seed and rolled with a lawn roller which broke the stems of the bigger plants with good results. Duff layer kept in moisture and Winter Peas took off! And they are a bigger seed, compared to a brassica seed