Are Turnips th Best Fall Food Plot?

In this video I discuss why turnips are not the best choice for your fall brassica food plot. Turnips for deer can be very attractive when there is less natural forage available, or something they want more that fits the deer's nutritional needs better. After frosty weather, they can be very palatable.
However, with the wide use of brassicas as a cover crop and the consequent drop in seed prices, there are other alternatives available. The main alternative is daikon radish. This plant has become the most popular cover crop after corn since it mines phosphorous from the subsoil with its deep taproot and tills the soil by pushing a big root down to plow depth. I also like the rape/turnip crosses such as pasja or t-raptor. They put up a very attractive leaf that seems to be preferred even without frost. Other brassicas such as kale and collards are the most cold tolerant of all the brassicas and therefor are a great choice for hunting season plots. Turnips make a large bulb that is usually nit eaten and once it gets very cold, it breaks down and provides nothing for the deer to eat.
A good plot that takes you all the way to spring and beyond is winter peas, brassica, wheat. This will last all winter and be the first to grow in spring. When the brassica is done, the wheat and peas are still avaialable for forage through the snow.

[charlesrhea]

Could you tell us where you are located, when you planted and what your soil is like and weather situation - how much rain do you get each year? Thank you for this great video.🙂

[joewindiana]

I was really surprised to see someone have negative thoughts about turnip plots. Your the only person I have ever heard of who has that opinion. I live in southern Indiana and the deer absolutely love turnips here. I know a guy who puts out a 3 acre turnip plot every year and they kill tons of deer in that plot. The only thing that stops the deer from eating turnips is when the ground has frozen and they can't dig them up. When it's the middle of January and you have turnips in the ground it is the only food source available besides woody browse.

[nhmountains]

The deer on my land in NH eat turnips from October through February. We have no ag near us. No corn. They like the turnips when they freeze because they’re sweeter then. I’ve never had any make it until spring. They now have learned to like radishes and rarely let them get to maturity

[WhoDat-cczo]

I love experimenting with food plots. The deer loved the turnips I planted last year. Had a couple deer on camera with the turnip in there mouth. Lol... Nice video sir! 👋🏼