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Post by nitro27 on Sept 9, 2020 9:56:49 GMT -6
Wow, what a change, a week ago before frost I'd see 1-3 deer on the sugar beets. After frost 11 in one pic.
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Post by nhmountains on Sept 9, 2020 18:31:32 GMT -6
A guy near our land grew sugar beets last year. They grew large for him but, the deer hardly touched them until this spring after snow melt. They hammered them then. So he decided not to plant them this year. I told him sometimes the deer need to learn to eat them and then they destroy them. That’s what happens now to groundhog radishes on our place now. They don’t make it to maturity now.
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Post by nitro27 on Dec 8, 2020 12:40:43 GMT -6
It was interesting to watch the deer feeding on my sugar beet plot this season. Was a bit surprised that the deer usually fed on the dead frost killed tops first.. They'd bite the top off and kind of sucked in it like a little kid eating spaghetti.
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Post by Catscratch on Dec 8, 2020 12:47:40 GMT -6
A guy near our land grew sugar beets last year. They grew large for him but, the deer hardly touched them until this spring after snow melt. They gdmmered them then. So he decided not to plant them this year. I told him sometimes the deer need to learn to eat them and then they destroy them. That’s what happens now to groundhog radishes on our place now. They don’t make it to maturity now. When you say they hammer your radishes before maturity do you mean they eat the tops, or do they eat the tubers also?
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Post by nhmountains on Dec 8, 2020 12:51:02 GMT -6
A guy near our land grew sugar beets last year. They grew large for him but, the deer hardly touched them until this spring after snow melt. They gdmmered them then. So he decided not to plant them this year. I told him sometimes the deer need to learn to eat them and then they destroy them. That’s what happens now to groundhog radishes on our place now. They don’t make it to maturity now. When you say they hammer your radishes before maturity do you mean they eat the tops, or do they eat the tubers also? They eat everything. There's no trace when they get done. Years ago they'd eat the tops of the radishes first. then hit the radishes after the first frost. Then eat the turnips after several frosts. Now they eat them all before the frosts. It was probably worse this year due to the drought.
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Post by Catscratch on Dec 8, 2020 12:59:56 GMT -6
When you say they hammer your radishes before maturity do you mean they eat the tops, or do they eat the tubers also? They eat everything. There's no trace when they get done. Years ago they'd eat the tops of the radishes first. then hit the radishes after the first frost. Then eat the turnips after several frosts. Now they eat them all before the frosts. It was probably worse this year due to the drought. Cool! I can't get deer to eat any part of a turnip. They love radish tops but won't touch the tuber. Those giant tillage type radishes smell nasty once they start to rot. My plots are near the house so it's not a great deal when they stink. I'm working on growing smaller radishes so it's not an issue. Maybe they'll start eating the root too.
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Post by nhmountains on Dec 8, 2020 13:06:06 GMT -6
They eat everything. There's no trace when they get done. Years ago they'd eat the tops of the radishes first. then hit the radishes after the first frost. Then eat the turnips after several frosts. Now they eat them all before the frosts. It was probably worse this year due to the drought. Cool! I can't get deer to eat any part of a turnip. They love radish tops but won't touch the tuber. Those giant tillage type radishes smell nasty once they start to rot. My plots are near the house so it's not a great deal when they stink. I'm working on growing smaller radishes so it's not an issue. Maybe they'll start eating the root too. We actually had a few radishes rot the first year or two. Same with the turnips. Not anymore. I'll try again next year.
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Post by Catscratch on Dec 8, 2020 13:13:30 GMT -6
Cool! I can't get deer to eat any part of a turnip. They love radish tops but won't touch the tuber. Those giant tillage type radishes smell nasty once they start to rot. My plots are near the house so it's not a great deal when they stink. I'm working on growing smaller radishes so it's not an issue. Maybe they'll start eating the root too. We actually had a few radishes rot the first year or two. Same with the turnips. Not anymore. I'll try again next year. I think your guys's deer "need" food differently than mine do. With said I want to provide as much and as diversified as possible. I like radishes for the soil benefits as much as anything. I failed a plot with them last summer. Maybe this summer will be different. Need to start looking at what I need in my mixes this coming season and put an order in. Would be nice if they ate the tubers!
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Post by Bwoods11 on Dec 8, 2020 13:26:32 GMT -6
Sugar beets are very attractive to deer, we see deer walk by corn and beans to go eat in the sugar beets in my area.
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Post by badgerfowl on Dec 8, 2020 14:44:27 GMT -6
We actually had a few radishes rot the first year or two. Same with the turnips. Not anymore. I'll try again next year. I think your guys's deer "need" food differently than mine do. With said I want to provide as much and as diversified as possible. I like radishes for the soil benefits as much as anything. I failed a plot with them last summer. Maybe this summer will be different. Need to start looking at what I need in my mixes this coming season and put an order in. Would be nice if they ate the tubers! Do you guys even get cold enough to turn them onto radishes and turnips?
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Post by Catscratch on Dec 8, 2020 14:50:42 GMT -6
I think your guys's deer "need" food differently than mine do. With said I want to provide as much and as diversified as possible. I like radishes for the soil benefits as much as anything. I failed a plot with them last summer. Maybe this summer will be different. Need to start looking at what I need in my mixes this coming season and put an order in. Would be nice if they ate the tubers! Do you guys even get cold enough to turn them onto radishes and turnips? Ha! I'm tellin ya, it gets cold (low's in the negatives and high's in the 10's). Doesn't do it for a long time, but it gets cold(ish). That said I wouldn't trade my climate for yours!!!
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Post by wiscwhip on Dec 8, 2020 16:13:45 GMT -6
They eat everything. There's no trace when they get done. Years ago they'd eat the tops of the radishes first. then hit the radishes after the first frost. Then eat the turnips after several frosts. Now they eat them all before the frosts. It was probably worse this year due to the drought. Cool! I can't get deer to eat any part of a turnip. They love radish tops but won't touch the tuber. Those giant tillage type radishes smell nasty once they start to rot. My plots are near the house so it's not a great deal when they stink. I'm working on growing smaller radishes so it's not an issue. Maybe they'll start eating the root too. You need to try some hybrid forage brassicas. Have you ever tried Seven top, Pasja or Appin forage turnips? Dwarf Siberian or Kestrel kale? Winfred, T-Raptor, or Bonar forage rape. All of these varieties produce a small root and huge amounts of leafy growth. Might be a better option for usable tonnage for your deer vs the tonnage produced by the root bulbs, which they won't use.
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Post by Catscratch on Dec 8, 2020 16:41:06 GMT -6
Cool! I can't get deer to eat any part of a turnip. They love radish tops but won't touch the tuber. Those giant tillage type radishes smell nasty once they start to rot. My plots are near the house so it's not a great deal when they stink. I'm working on growing smaller radishes so it's not an issue. Maybe they'll start eating the root too. You need to try some hybrid forage brassicas. Have you ever tried Seven top, Pasja or Appin forage turnips? Dwarf Siberian or Kestrel kale? Winfred, T-Raptor, or Bonar forage rape. All of these varieties produce a small root and huge amounts of leafy growth. Might be a better option for usable tonnage for your deer vs the tonnage produced by the root bulbs, which they won't use. I have not! Would be a great solution though. I need to make a list for later. Thanks.
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Post by badgerfowl on Dec 8, 2020 16:53:47 GMT -6
You need to try some hybrid forage brassicas. Have you ever tried Seven top, Pasja or Appin forage turnips? Dwarf Siberian or Kestrel kale? Winfred, T-Raptor, or Bonar forage rape. All of these varieties produce a small root and huge amounts of leafy growth. Might be a better option for usable tonnage for your deer vs the tonnage produced by the root bulbs, which they won't use. I have not! Would be a great solution though. I need to make a list for later. Thanks. The mix I planted this year had Seven Top Forage Turnip, Winfred Forage Brassica, Rangi Forage Brassica, and Daikon Radish. It grew great. Produced a bunch of leafy matter and a few bulbs. I didn't noticed the bulbs until just a few weeks ago while gun hunting. They were digging at them and they were eaten to the dirt. We grew T-Raptor in the garden test plot along with DER and PTT. They demolished them after only a few weeks of growth. Didn't even wait for a frost.
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Post by Catscratch on Dec 8, 2020 17:18:09 GMT -6
I have not! Would be a great solution though. I need to make a list for later. Thanks. The mix I planted this year had Seven Top Forage Turnip, Winfred Forage Brassica, Rangi Forage Brassica, and Daikon Radish. It grew great. Produced a bunch of leafy matter and a few bulbs. I didn't noticed the bulbs until just a few weeks ago while gun hunting. They were digging at them and they were eaten to the dirt. We grew T-Raptor in the garden test plot along with DER and PTT. They demolished them after only a few weeks of growth. Didn't even wait for a frost. Any cereal grains or legumes in that mix, or all brassicas?
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