Brassica alternatives

[stubborn1VT]

Brassicas are my go-to for food plots, but it's time to rotate crops.  I'm looking for an alternative for late season.  I'm looking to rotate out about half an acre.  I could do corn, but I would need to fence it to protect it from coons and bears. The whole plot is almost an acre and divided into narrow strips, some clover, some field corn for cover, some sorghum.  Deer haven't touched the sorghum yet, so I probably won't be planting that again.  The simplest would be to plant clover, but that doesn't do much as a late season food source.  Has anyone had experience with WI winter oats?.  I have lots of years of farming experience, but it never hurts to hear from other about their experiences.  Thanks.

[DDT]

Put buckwheat in spring before brassica. Crimp or spray.  No till plant brassica.

I plant 4 or 5 acres of food plots,  rotating corn, brassicas, and soybeans.  I'm going to  try buckwheat rotation in the spring.

[E J]

I have used whitetail institute oat mix and it works for me. The deer on my place eat it and they are very fussy deer. They won't even look twice at a brassica or regular oat plot but will go to the whitetail institute mix.

[stubborn1VT]

16 minutes ago, DDT said:

Put buckwheat in spring before brassica. Crimp or spray.  No till plant brassica.

I plant 4 or 5 acres of food plots,  rotating corn, brassicas, and soybeans.  I'm going to  try buckwheat rotation in the spring.

Sounds like a good rotation, but I don't have the acres to rotate soybeans.  They would make a decent late season option, but I don't want to deal with fencing them.  Same with corn. We only own 12 acres.  I wish I had a crimper.

I have been thinking about trying buckwheat too.  Sometimes I think it is just as easy to frost seed annual clovers though.  I may try some just to support the honeybees.

[wolc123]

Brassicas are a heavy nitrogen user so clover or soybeans would be best next.  Sounds like you ruled out the soybeans.  I would seed it with a wheat / white clover mix in late August.  Wheat provides good late fall attraction.  Mow it down the next spring, and the clover should last you a few years, until you are ready for brassicas again.  You will be able to get by with less nitrogen then, thanks to the clover.  That is a good reason to plant clover even if your deer don’t like it (I have not heard of any that didn’t). 
 

If you get the ground worked up in the spring, then buckwheat (planted after mid June) would be a good cover until the late August wheat/clover planting.  

Edited December 5, 2021 by wolc123

[DDT]

46 minutes ago, stubborn1VT said:

Sounds like a good rotation, but I don't have the acres to rotate soybeans.  They would make a decent late season option, but I don't want to deal with fencing them.  Same with corn. We only own 12 acres.  I wish I had a crimper.

I have been thinking about trying buckwheat too.  Sometimes I think it is just as easy to frost seed annual clovers though.  I may try some just to support the honeybees.

Funny you mentioned honey bees. I keep a few hives next to my food plots.  Always plant some sunflowers for them too.

I quit using wheat for a nurse crop for clover,  switched to rye or oats so I don't need to mow in the spring.  Rye stays green longer and attracts deer first few snows. Also hold back some soybeans to plant with the brassica.  We frost seed our established clover every spring to keep it going. Also fertilize.

My theory is to keep the does fat and happy year round and on the property.  They bring the bucks. Give them a smorgasbord and they choose what to eat.  I haven't planted anything yet they don't eat.  

The corn is by far the best late season.  Cover and food.

[stubborn1VT]

I may just swap to clover as Wolc suggested.  I get the legumes are nitrogen fixers, but I'm not sure they are the best late season draw.  Then again, we don't get the amount of snow that we used to.  That would mean they could get to clover still.  Presently, a doe and fawn are feeding on grass, clover and trefoil in the back of the plot.  Yesterday's half inch of snow didn't last the day.  

I think I will try WI oats as a nurse crop for some white clover.  That's the nice part of planting in strips.  I can plant a little bit of everything.  

I have a strip of field corn that I plant as cover.  The coons and birds pretty well stripped it by rifle season.  I may have my buddy build me a solar fencer.  He puts them together himself for half the money and uses a slightly bigger solar panel.  

It's fun to try new stuff and to plan.  I wish I could just keep planting brassicas year after year.  Every year is different.  Too wet this year.  Too dry last year.  I've managed to keep deer around though and killed a nice 8 point here last year.  Either way, it's good entertainment.

[bigpaul]

I rotate Winter Rye and Brassica. I always plant buckwheat as a summer cover crop. This past year I no tilled my fall plantings into the Buckwheat with great success.

[land 1]

Hard to beat brassicas if your in an area that deer like them not hard say up till Nov1st with oats/ rye but late season those bulbs really shine ive had deer dig threw feet of snow to get to them they do love WI oats but my are normally down to nothing by nov still green but look as short as a putting green and never had much attraction when 6 or 8in of snow get on them

[stubborn1VT]

1 hour ago, land 1 said:

Hard to beat brassicas if your in an area that deer like them not hard say up till Nov1st with oats/ rye but late season those bulbs really shine ive had deer dig threw feet of snow to get to them they do love WI oats but my are normally down to nothing by nov still green but look as short as a putting green and never had much attraction when 6 or 8in of snow get on them

Good to know Land.  I will have some strips that I can rotate into brassicas, but more to rotate out.  The snow is the real issue.  I had 6 deer feeding this afternoon and they alternated between grass/clover and brassicas.  I was really hoping that sorghum would be the answer since it is 3.5' tall and won't get buried.  They haven't touched it so far.  I've never had success with corn here.  I probably don't plant enough of it.  I'm not really concerned with replacing the brassicas, just brainstorming for next year since I don't have a buck tag left to fill.

[Berniez]

Sorghum is tricky as some varieties have a natural coating on them that the deer do not favor; others are palatable.  Also it sometimes takes a while for the deer to realize that it’s not just cover but food. ( I had to plant beans for 2 years before they figured out beans were bucco A-Number 1.

I’VE NEVER REALLY HAD LUCK WITH ANY OF THE BRASSICAS OTHER THAN THEY LOOK GREEN. 

The deer in my area (4f by Oneonta) prefer oats, cereal rye, Beans, corn and clover. Buckwheat does

 keep the weeds down and both deer and bees love it.  NO-till whatever you want into it in August and

you will have success.  

This year I had to replant soybeans real late. I initially used 1 pass of glycophosphate.  I was worried if any beans would set so in August I broadcast cereal rye into the bean field.  To my surprise when the bean leaves fell off the cereal rye grew and left a green blanket.  The deer now have both beans and rye in the field and seem to spend more time in the field.

                Next spring the rye will suppress the weeds and when time I can spray and no-till the beans. Hopefully this will work out great.

Good luck and try it all

[SWEDE]

Have tried. Beet turnip and would eat tops not touch bulbs till after season was over. Went to diakon radish straps in middle. Eating those and beginning to munch beet.  Mostly at night. Arrowed doe day one eating tops. No draw for bucks. Thinking some cereal grains  next year. Can u broad cast

[Glen]

Try and oats and winter wheat mix  50/50,  plant in late August and overseed with winter cereal rye 2 to 3 weeks later. You should have something green and desirable through December.  Had success with the buck forage oats. Good Luck!

[Robhuntandfish]

I'm gonna try some winter peas in a spot this year and see how it goes. Got a new spot picked to put a plot in and am gonna try winter peas in part of it and radish in another. 

Edited December 29, 2021 by Robhuntandfish

[Robhuntandfish]

Have a bunch of different things to try this year and see what takes the best. Hoping for less rain than last year that wiped out one of the food plots.  The other one was eaten to the ground by season.  Adding in two different spots this year.  And also more frost seeding which took real well last year.