Turnips ?? When will the deer show interest ?

[Armed in Utah]

Have a good number of resident deer...only more to filter in when they get moved off the mountain because of snow fall....planted an acre of chicory & turnips...seperate patches....along with having alfalfa...apple orchards...sweet corn (which they really ate)....in the same area....
Plowed up 3-4 turnip rows with my middle buster today...maybe if they see & smell them better they will start on them.....they can't miss them for sure...

 

[RandyT]

Around here the deer don't touch them till after it freezes. the frost causes the starch to be converted to sugar then the deer will eat them down to the ground in one night if it is a small patch and you have a few deer

 

[KYDan]

40 years ago you could not find a buck in this area, therefore, our fish and wildlife agency went on a repopulation binge. To say it was a success is the understatement of the century! This year in our county hunters may take unlimited does! They eat everything in sight here and what the don't eat they seem to manage to trample. I used to think they were pretty, however, that has changed since I am no longer able to harvest the fruits of my labors. I consider them vermin along with most of the rodents and other bums that want to live from someone else's labor.

 

[tmajor]

You can't stand out in the turnip patch with a gun and camera! However, a golf club will be OK.
Golf Course Invaded by Hundreds of Elk - YouTube

 

[hrcarver]

Use of brassicas, and especially turnips, varies widely. Use even varies in the same geographic areas.

Use tends to be higher after a hard freeze and in the northern parts of the country.

My deer will barley touch them. Most will rot in late winter. I have planted them for other people less than 10 miles away (same density) and the deer absolutely hammered them. Only thing I can figure is more options at my place.:confused2:

 

[redlevel]

I grew turnips commercially for 45 years. I have never seen where I thought deer ate any of the turnips and/or other greens (collards, mustard, cabbage) I planted. This was in the same fields that deer would keep soybeans clipped to the ground, making it practically not feasible to plant them.

 

[Briar Hill Brittanys]

At my place, they're interested as soon as the plants start putting on tops. One of my plots is bordered by woods. The rye was drilled up to the fence, and then turnips broadcast next to the rye. When the deer jump the fence, they go face down in the rye, grazing into the turnips and never miss a beat. The tops are lush and succulent right now. A little later, after a few hard freezes, they'll paw through the ground to get to the bulbs. I got them planted late this year, waiting on a good rain forecast. The first picture is this year, turnips just germinating. The rest of the pictures are from last year, and that is pretty much how they look. Second picture shows what it looks like when they eat the tops. Third is after a good, hard freeze in late December. The last picture is looking out over the plot. By planting them kind of late the bulbs don't get very big. During the early bow season, the tops are thick. After the tops wither, they still come to the bulbs themselves. I even get to eat a few turnips the deer don't get. :licking:
Mark

 

[EddieWalker]

I've been playing around with different plants in my food plots and so far, the only thing that I ever see them eating is the tops of the turnips. There seems to be a window when they like them, because they will ignore them until the day they start to eat them. Then one day, they lose interest in them again.

What surprised me more then that is the wild hogs have no interest in them. By spring, I will have thousands of turnips popping out of the ground. I don't like them, so they all get disked in when I plant my spring food plot.

Eddie

 

[Redneck in training]

You can't stand out in the turnip patch with a gun and camera! However, a golf club will be OK.
Golf Course Invaded by Hundreds of Elk - YouTube

Saves on mowing expenses and grass fertilizer I suppose.

 

[mender]

I sure wish I had this problem with deer.... my freezer would stay full