Mowing food plot?

[rachunter]

Do you mow the food plots?  Mine is a little throw and grow with mostly grass,clover and radish. It’s about knee high right now. The ones back in the woods don’t seem to be doing anything, but that happens every year in the fall they kick in. 

[G-Man]

I don't mow radish,or turnip. Clover after it flowers back to about 6 or 8 in.. grass seems like once it 2x a week when it rains...lol

[Putnamcounty Bowhunter]

If you want to maintain brassicas in your perennial plot, there are a few options that can handle mowing but they need to be planted in the late spring as soon as soil temps are consistently above 55 (I’ve read different temp Recommendation for brassicas all the way from mid 40’s when peas can be planted to 65 which is about the temp you want for soybeans so you’d wanna check for the particular species).  

There are dozens of different varieties out there so I’ll keep it general- look for long/late maturity brassicas like swedes, rutabagas, some kale varieties, specialized forage rapes, and sugar beets.  sugar beets are worth a special mention- they can be a pia to grow but if they like your soil and you take care of them, they’re a huge draw.   

You wanna look for multi-cut or multi-graze varieties.   At best, even these varieties can only handle 1 or possibly 2 cuts depending on your growing conditions and specific cultivar.   

Brassicas dont make particular good nurse crops for clover because they shade them out too much, but they can benefit from the nitrogen the clover produces and work if you keep the seed count for the brassicas low enough.    

I prefer to top seed late maturing brassicas in to the spring flush of annual clovers like crimson or Balansa.  I let them go to seed and broadcast my brassicas once the annuals start to die down but still standing.  I’ll then use a foot Crimper or roller to lay down the dying clover.  The dead clover release a bunch of nitrogen the brassicas use and the dying clover duff makes a perfect mulch that protects, feeds, and holds moisture for the delicate seedlings. 

I like to let the clover go to seed because its free clover in the future that works out well for my particular crop rotation  but you can terminate before seeding as well.  If you let it go to seed Some of the clover seed will sprout after termination but a good hardseeded variety will germinate beginning early in the following spring and can go several years before all seeds sprout. 

The nitrogen from the clover is enough to get the brassicas started, and will continue to add slow release nitrogen throughout the season, particularly after a good rain, which is perfect because that’s when it’s most needed.   I still supplement additional nitrogen using a 6-24-24 fertilizer and will sometimes topdress with urea if necessary a week or so after mowing or grazed down.    If you see evidence of bolting in the brassicas , that’s a good time to mow.  Just don’t mow brassicas too short or they wont regrow.  I don’t go lower than 10”.  

The above planting system works really well for soybeans too (no mowing though- although you prolly could mow eagles if they weren’t already grazed down lol not that you’d want to).  The only difference is that steps should be taken to make sure the larger soybean seed has good seed to soil contact- timing seeding before a good rain will help ensure the seed gets down to dirt.  

Alternatively, you could plant annual clovers and early maturing brassicas in late summer (late July/early August).  Following early spring, just frost seed fixation balansa, crimson, or a short lived red clover and use the spring flush to support the following summer and fall crops, rinse, and repeat.    I prefer crimson clover for this method but balansa works great too.   Fixation balansa is very small seeded so it’s easy to put too much down when mixing with brassicas- but it’s a great soil building and produces a ton of organic material and nitrogen if you’re planting in to a dead stand of it. 

You can swap out mowing for crimping if that’s the only option or you have too much duff, but it’s important to make sure the trimmings are evenly spread, which may require a rake or drag.  

 

Unfortunately, I don’t think radish can handle being mowed, but if it was part of a BOB blend that you planted in the spring or early summer, I say screw it- mow it anyway, the radish won’t regrow but the root will rot away and provide good fertilizer for the other crops and the cavity it leaves behind will provide aeration/moisture wicking for the other roots.  It’s Unlikely that early planted radishes would be attractive come fall anyway.   So if you need to mow to keep your perennials palatable or to suppress weeds go for it and just reseed radish and/or ptt in late July/early August.  

[Putnamcounty Bowhunter]

Haha I realize my response wasn’t a little more involved than the specific question, but I just got done terminating last years fall planted annual clover and top seeding it with brassicas so it was on my mind- I think I answered the question somewhere in my response though lol.   

But to keep it simple- if it’s knee high, I’d mow it, then fertilize before a good rain, the remaining clovers ryegrass should respond well and it will help keep them palatable (as palatable as ryegrass will ever be anyway)  Then go back thru and topseed it with more brassicas in mid/late summer to fill in any bare spots.  .

[crappyice]

If you want to maintain brassicas in your perennial plot, there are a few options that can handle mowing but they need to be planted in the late spring as soon as soil temps are consistently above 55 (I’ve read different temp Recommendation for brassicas all the way from mid 40’s when peas can be planted to 65 which is about the temp you want for soybeans so you’d wanna check for the particular species).  
There are dozens of different varieties out there so I’ll keep it general- look for long/late maturity brassicas like swedes, rutabagas, some kale varieties, specialized forage rapes, and sugar beets.  sugar beets are worth a special mention- they can be a pia to grow but if they like your soil and you take care of them, they’re a huge draw.   
You wanna look for multi-cut or multi-graze varieties.   At best, even these varieties can only handle 1 or possibly 2 cuts depending on your growing conditions and specific cultivar.   
Brassicas dont make particular good nurse crops for clover because they shade them out too much, but they can benefit from the nitrogen the clover produces and work if you keep the seed count for the brassicas low enough.    
I prefer to top seed late maturing brassicas in to the spring flush of annual clovers like crimson or Balansa.  I let them go to seed and broadcast my brassicas once the annuals start to die down but still standing.  I’ll then use a foot Crimper or roller to lay down the dying clover.  The dead clover release a bunch of nitrogen the brassicas use and the dying clover duff makes a perfect mulch that protects, feeds, and holds moisture for the delicate seedlings. 
I like to let the clover go to seed because its free clover in the future that works out well for my particular crop rotation  but you can terminate before seeding as well.  If you let it go to seed Some of the clover seed will sprout after termination but a good hardseeded variety will germinate beginning early in the following spring and can go several years before all seeds sprout. 
The nitrogen from the clover is enough to get the brassicas started, and will continue to add slow release nitrogen throughout the season, particularly after a good rain, which is perfect because that’s when it’s most needed.   I still supplement additional nitrogen using a 6-24-24 fertilizer and will sometimes topdress with urea if necessary a week or so after mowing or grazed down.    If you see evidence of bolting in the brassicas , that’s a good time to mow.  Just don’t mow brassicas too short or they wont regrow.  I don’t go lower than 10”.  
The above planting system works really well for soybeans too (no mowing though- although you prolly could mow eagles if they weren’t already grazed down lol not that you’d want to).  The only difference is that steps should be taken to make sure the larger soybean seed has good seed to soil contact- timing seeding before a good rain will help ensure the seed gets down to dirt.  
Alternatively, you could plant annual clovers and early maturing brassicas in late summer (late July/early August).  Following early spring, just frost seed fixation balansa, crimson, or a short lived red clover and use the spring flush to support the following summer and fall crops, rinse, and repeat.    I prefer crimson clover for this method but balansa works great too.   Fixation balansa is very small seeded so it’s easy to put too much down when mixing with brassicas- but it’s a great soil building and produces a ton of organic material and nitrogen if you’re planting in to a dead stand of it. 
You can swap out mowing for crimping if that’s the only option or you have too much duff, but it’s important to make sure the trimmings are evenly spread, which may require a rake or drag.  
 
Unfortunately, I don’t think radish can handle being mowed, but if it was part of a BOB blend that you planted in the spring or early summer, I say screw it- mow it anyway, the radish won’t regrow but the root will rot away and provide good fertilizer for the other crops and the cavity it leaves behind will provide aeration/moisture wicking for the other roots.  It’s Unlikely that early planted radishes would be attractive come fall anyway.   So if you need to mow to keep your perennials palatable or to suppress weeds go for it and just reseed radish and/or ptt in late July/early August.  

Welcome to the Board Putnam...hell of an informative first post.


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[LET EM GROW]

Perennials you can clip back to 8" inches or so.. Rule of thumb is take half and leave half.. but try not to take more than that. you should really just be clipping the tops and not cutting aggressively for best results. 

[rachunter]

Thanks guys I cut it down to 6” there was a bunch of radish and some clover.