Tillage Radish vs Turnips?
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: Hunt98
09-Nov-21
I hunt two different plays that are about 50 miles from each other. Both places have food plot with tillage radish, turnips and some others. We have had little rain since planting but the rain we did get seemed timely.. Considering the little rain the plots have done well. The tillage radishes out grew the turnips and others. Normally it seems the other way around.
Are tillage radishes more drought resistant or ??
From: craigmcalvey
09-Nov-21
I’ve had far more success in dry weather with tillage radish. Plus in my area deer like them more than turnips.
From: Hunt98
09-Nov-21
Also we’ve had warmer weather lately which seems to extend the growing season making everything grow bigger. Can radishes and turnips get too big and not be as palatable for the deer?
From: RIT
09-Nov-21
Size isn’t a factor but maturity is. Most radishes reach maturity in 55-60 days. Radish at my place have always outpaced turnips.
From: Hunt98
09-Nov-21
From: elkaddict
09-Nov-21
Radishes and Turnips have different strengths. Radishes seem to grow quicker and even appear to be more attractive early on. On the other hand, they wilt and the tubers turn significantly quicker to mush. Most years, I plant 5+ acres of brassicas. And prefer mixes that grow lots of long lasting forage, and longer lasting tubers. Although I use different mixes each year, my go to is Winfred Brassicas and Rutabagas. The Winfred puts on more forage that lasts longer. The Rutabaga forage is also attractive but has the added benefit of producing large tubers that deer seem to prefer to standard turnips.
From: Bow Crazy
10-Nov-21
West Central Wisconsin - This year I planted a test plot with radish, turnips and kale. The deer prefer the radish tops so far, not eating much of the bulbs right now but will. In the past our deer prefer the bulbs before they get "stringy". I planted the first week in August, the first frost was mid October and from the looks of it all is good. BC
From: MQQSE
10-Nov-21
We have about 20 acres in and had quite a drought as soon as we planted. The alfalfa sprouted and then died but the turnips and radishes had no issues. With all of the corn and soybeans on my farm I can’t say I see a focused interest in them eating these until winter when they eat the leaves that remain and scrape the tops of the bulbs.
