My Brassica Plots

These last few years of drought/dry and heat have convinced me that light tillage and fertlizer incorporation are the way to go with summer brassica plots. Spray/pray, mow/throw, whatever is just fine when you get dependable rain fall for the first few weeks after planting. This is the 3rd year where that didn't happen in this location.

that plot looks good to me too. The stand location looks ideal. Was that tilled plot?

the recent rains seem to have helped some of my crappy plots bounce back. I overseeded my corn and soybeans with brassicas back in late July, but the brassicas only really took hold in some of the shaded areas of the corn field, but even then, the weeds also grew well in these areas. Some brassicas germinated in the beans, but they were exposed to too much sun and they just cooked and didn't put on much growth. They didn't die though and now some of these brassicas are finally putting on some decent growth.

Then I overseeded everything with winter rye at least once, with some areas getting a couple shots of rye seed mixed with a few oats. Germination % of the cereal grains was pretty low right after planting, but it looks like some of that seed I planted over a month ago is starting to pop. It is pretty late to amount to much, but the warm weather next week coming right after the recent rain gives me a little hope.

Those weeds appear to be tall enough to offer some cover for pheasants if you have any in your area. Those brassicas should provide some impressive tonnage.

Sitting in deer blind waiting on deer. Looking at my brassica planting. I noticed a scattering of much greener and larger plants. I mixed some forage collards into the mix. The collards are still growing, and are green yet after a couple of freezes.

They hit the brassicas and beans hard in November. For some reason I had way less deer hitting plots than in other years. It might be that I didn't have any plots last year due to my heart issues or it could be that some of the neighbors illegally baiting.