Deer are one of the most common animals to live around your house, but they can be a real pain. They will eat all the plants in your garden and destroy any flowers you have planted. These three tips from experts at Colorado State University Extension offer some ideas on what times of year it is best to plant turnips for deer: spring, summer or fall.
Turnips are a great plant to grow for deer, especially in the fall. Plant them when the soil is warm and moist, but not wet. Turnips need full sun or partial shade to grow well.
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Turnips are a kind of root vegetable that many people grow to feed their animals. Turnips are often used to feed animals, but they are also enjoyed by people.
These are beneficial to grow since they are abundant in fiber and vitamins. Iron, calcium, folate, and thiamine may all be found in them.
Although eating turnips is a good idea, you could be more interested in attracting deer by growing them. Many people use turnips as part of a food plot plan because they may be quite effective at bringing deer to an area.
But, if you want to utilize turnips to attract deer, when should you plant them? Continue reading to discover more about when to grow turnips if you’re attempting to attract deer with them.
Turnips should be planted in the fall.
When utilizing turnips to attract deer, the optimum time to sow them is usually in the autumn. You want to plant the deer turnips before the first hard frost, which means the autumn is the optimum time to do it.
Turnips take around 55 days to mature from the time they are planted to the time they are harvested. This assumes you’re using one of the most common turnip kinds, such purple top turnips.
If you follow these steps, you should have a lot of fun with turnips. They’ll grow beautifully and have attractive green tops, as well as produce turnips of a respectable intermediate size.
Things won’t work out if you plant the turnips too late, but you also don’t want to go too early. Because of the variances in weather patterns in various places, giving a precise date to sow the turnips for the deer might be difficult.
If you live in a cooler section of the Midwest, for example, you may suffer a deep frost in the fall. Some individuals in colder regions of North America must plant turnips in August to get the greatest results, but you just need to be aware of your local weather patterns to do it properly.
Why Are Turnips So Beneficial to Deer?
Turnips are beneficial to deer because they supply them with the necessary protein. The deer will benefit from the turnips’ protein content, which is found in both the tops and roots.
It’s wonderful to know that deer like both the turnips’ green tops and the turnips themselves. When seeking for information on turnips, the taproot is sometimes used instead of the root.
Turnips are excellent to grow in your feeding plots since they may help deer cover nutritional gaps throughout the winter months. Deer, on the other hand, like to wait until the tops of turnips have developed before eating them.
The turnip tops will taste sour before they’ve fully ripened, which may be off-putting to the deer. The turnip tops will start to get delicious after the first frost arrives.
The turnip leaves remain throughout the winter, providing food for the local wildlife. It’s easy to understand why turnips have become such an important element of many food plot schemes.
What Type of Turnip Is Best for Deer?
When it comes to selecting a turnip variety for the deer in your region, there are a number of elements to consider. Turnips come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, and deer will eat them almost any way they can.
Even yet, certain turnip varieties will be simple for the deer to consume. Purple tops may be the ideal option for your food plot since they are simple to get for deer.
The purple tips are ideal because they extend out far enough from the ground to provide deer free access. It allows the deer to readily nibble the crowns before moving on to the roots.
If you opt to grow purple top turnips in your food plot, you will have excellent overall results. The turnips will provide enough of nutrition for the deer, and you’ll have more healthy deer on your land for the next shooting season.
Of course, you’ll need to take good care of the turnips if you want everything to come out so well. Turnips aren’t very difficult to care for, but there are a few things to keep in mind.
What Is the Best Turnip Soil?
Now it’s time to brush up on how to properly cultivate turnips so that the deer receive the finest nourishment possible. Many elements must be considered if you want your turnips to grow well in your food plot.
The kind of soil in which you plant your turnips will have a significant impact on their overall performance. It will be simpler for the turnips to develop fast if the soil is rich.
Many different kinds of soil can suffice, but loam is a solid option for getting decent results. This should include all of the nutrients that turnips need to flourish, as well as the ability to easily maintain the proper acidity levels.
Turnips thrive best in soil with a pH balance of 6.5 to 6.8. Turnips need to be planted in well-draining soil since they may have root rot if they don’t get enough water between watering sessions.
To allow the roots to develop correctly, the soil should also be a little loose. If you properly aerate the soil, you should be able to observe turnips flourish in your food plot.
Turnips Should Be Spread Out Properly
When you want your turnips to grow as big as they can, you’ll need to spread them out appropriately. When turnips are overcrowded, the roots are smaller than they should be.
Crowding may sometimes have disastrous consequences, such as the roots being deformed. It may be tempting to attempt to jam as many turnip seeds as possible into a tiny food plot space, but this is probably not a good idea.
Try to space the turnips four inches apart for the best results. You may space them as widely apart as six inches, but many people prefer four inches so that they can plant as many turnips as possible in their food plots.
It’s also crucial to remember to plant seedlings four inches tall. If you follow the instructions carefully, you should be able to cultivate robust turnips that will appeal to the local deer population.
Getting Rid of Weeds Could Be Beneficial
When it comes to cultivating turnips, weeds may be a real pain. This is why, in order to keep things on track, many individuals who grow turnips in their food plots will undertake some light weeding here and there.
When you get an opportunity, it can be useful to weed the food plot area a little. This should ensure that the turnips continue to develop in the appropriate direction.
However, you must be cautious not to disrupt the roots of your young turnips. This means you should weed gently so as not to pull up any of your young turnips or disrupt them in any way.
Mulch would be a perfect choice if you weren’t growing turnips on a food plot. You probably won’t want to do that since you want the deer to flock to the location.
If you want the turnips to flourish, just weed a little bit, but don’t overdo it. Things will probably be OK even if you don’t weed, although weeding may be useful.
In order for turnips to grow well, they need to be in full sun.
If you have the opportunity to plant your food plot in full light, the turnips will thrive. Turnips thrive in broad sunshine and temperatures ranging from 40 to 75 degrees F.
You can’t control the temperature, but you may attempt to provide as much sunshine as possible to the turnips. Make every effort to plant the turnips in a spot that will provide them with plenty of sunshine.
It should be OK if you can’t give the turnips direct sunshine. Simply make sure they have enough light to function properly.
Food plots must be placed in areas where deer will feel at ease stopping to graze. This indicates that there are likely to be trees and tall grass nearby.
When caring for turnips, there may be a little more shadow than you’d want to see. This is still OK, but try to place the turnips in the most convenient and sunny location possible in the food plot area.
Make Sure the Turnips Have a Consistent Moisture Level
Another key aspect of the procedure is to keep the turnips wet at all times. You should aim to maintain the soil gently wet if as all possible.
To produce decent results, you don’t need to overwater the turnips, but the soil shouldn’t get dry. If you overwater the turnips, you risk creating root rot, which is a very undesirable thing.
Essentially, you don’t want to wet or dampen the soil since it would be excessive. If you’re watering the turnips yourself, don’t go any farther than gently moistening the soil if at all possible.
Turnips are known to do well with about an inch of rain each week. Because you’ll be planting the turnips in a food plot that’s likely a long way from your house, you may need to go out of your way to check on it if it hasn’t rained recently.
One of the most important parts of effectively cultivating turnips is consistent irrigation. Do your best and keep an eye on weather predictions to make sure the turnips receive the moisture they need.
Last Thoughts
When it comes to planting turnips for deer, knowing when to do so can help you get the greatest outcomes. You should aim to plant the deer turnips in the fall, but the precise timing will depend on a number of circumstances.
If you live in an area where the ground freezes sooner than typical, you may need to start planting turnips as early as August. Otherwise, depending on when your first hard frost hits, you may be able to plant in September or even November.
It’s crucial to keep track of the weather trends in your neighborhood. Use your knowledge of the local climate to determine when is the best time to sow turnips for deer.
Aside from understanding when to plant the turnips, you’ll need to know how to care for them as well. To ensure that the turnips develop properly, you’ll need to plant them in the appropriate soil.
It will also assist if you pay attention to the sunshine conditions and the turnip watering routine. If you correctly care for the turnips in the food plot, they will be able to supply excellent nourishment to the deer in your yard.
There are a variety of additional veggies that you may produce in your food plot to aid in the process. It’s a good idea to provide some diversity for the deer so that they will stay in the region.
Take all you’ve learned and apply it to attracting more deer to your land. You’ll be able to properly feed the deer, resulting in a highly successful next hunting season.
Turnips are a great plant for deer because they’re not edible and deer don’t like to eat them. They can be planted in the fall or winter, but should always be planted before the first frost. Reference: no till turnips for deer.
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