Turnip and 46-0-0 Advice
Equipment
After two unsuccessful attempts the last two years with Purple Top Turnips...I'm ready to try growing them yet again. I have been told that my previous crop failures were most likely due to using too much seed and lack of Nitrogen in the soil. Looking for some last minute advice as to how much seed I should apply to my one acre food plot and how to correctly apply 46-0-0/Urea (how much & when).
My plan is to plant next week just before a rain. I'm in the Northeast.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance.
Well I can't say if you have poor nitrogen or if you had to much seed. Do you got any Pic's? Did you do a soil sample? Most samples don't tell you about Nitrogen. Now 46-0-0 is going to be a very strong mix you should be carefull not to put to much N down. What about putting some clover down to make it's own N ? How hard is the soil your planning in? I like to disc my soil to about 5 or 6 inches to loosen it up and to mix my fertilzer in. To me seed is cheap, so I alway mixed turnips with some clover and chicory. I'm interested in hearing what other here will have to say. Ed
CD,
You know the advice will be to get a soil sample first.
I will post a picture of a book I encourage all to order regarding planting food plots.
Here is what they say;
drill at 1.5-2.5 lbs. per acre, broadcast at 3-4 lbs. acre, then cultipack. Seed should not be buried more than .25".
Fertilize at planting with 300-400 lbs. per acre of triple 19, top dress with 100-150 lbs. of 34-0-0 nitrogen at 30-60 days. Boron and sulfur may be needed, but only if a soil test reveals it.
Hope that helps and GL!
Posted picture of book separately just in case mods do not want it.
Roughly, about 5 lbs per acre is recommended if you’re going with straight turnips. They are notorious for stunting if planted too thick. I’d recommend mixing some forage radishes, or some other brassicas with them to ensure at, least some forage. If using a mix, I’d go with about 8-10 lbs/acre, with no more than 4 lbs of turnips in your mix.
Following the steps outlined above, here was my results. As troy said, I did add something to the mix. I planted a little rye grain and oats, about 20 lbs. each per acre. The turnips did well enough that they shaded those plants almost completely out.
For the guys that have more experience with turnips. How do they grow if the soil is on the hard side? Can that make for the ball being to high?
Teeton,
I have mostly clay that you can cut into blocks when it dries out. Not being able to afford a drill, I typically break my soil first with a chisel, disk or tiller and get the results above. It was recommended to me to use radishes frequently in plots to help break the soil, and I do try and do that but no more than 2 years in a row in the same field.
