Turnips

[boonieman]

I planted two 1/4 acre plots of turnips this year for the deer to feed on in winter. I've had some people say that deer won't eat them, others say they love them. Does anybody know from personal experience which is the case? I also planted some Austrian winter peas, which I do know that they love.

[tyusclan]

I don't know for sure about the deer, but if there are any wild hogs around, they'll love the turnips.

[Highground]

Deer will "learn" to eat just about anything, given time. I have hunted northern Michigan and deer would eat carrots and sugarbeets like candy. You put out carrots and sugarbeets around here and they will rot on the ground. Go 50 miles to the west of me and the deer will eat the carrots.
This is the first year they started to dig my taters up.

[boonieman]

Good point. Maybe if they don't work them this year, I'll put them out the next couple years and see. Heck, the seed is pretty cheap and will make a nice cover crop no matter what. Thanks!

I was hunting on a game reserve a couple of years ago and all there food plots was planted in turnips. I didn't see any deer out in them but I shore saw the wild turkeys lurking around them. I've heard a combination of turnips, sugar beets, and green peas will do the trick.

[elkhound]

you darn right they eat turnips.they love the tops the last batch i planted they kept mowed down and they never could develop.they will dig them up also to eat them.also one year i had a buch of butternut squash in storage and mice got in and messed all over them before i relized it.well i wsa scared of eating them so i just tossed them over the bank.well come driving in and the deer had found them as kept coming back till all gone.those squash are as hard as a rock.i watched the deer stand and take front foot and bash at squash untill they busted it open and then they ate them.

[Paquebot]

In our community gardens, probably a dozen plots had turnips the past several years and not a single leaf was lost to deer. The same goes for any other brassica plant. However, beets and chard can only safely be grown under heavy wire cages. I do know of one landowner who plants about an acre of rape and I do see deer feeding there November-December but not before. It's most likely depends upon what else is available at any given time.

Martin

[LindaVistaFarm]

I don't know about turnips but they love Buckwheat. I let stand about 5 acers every year to feed my wild critters.

[boonieman]

Sounds like I'll just have to see what these Kentucky deer do with the turnips. I'll report back later in the season if they were a waste of time or not. I planted them within rows of Austria winter peas. Maybe the peas will draw then in, which I know they like, and then maybe they'll sample the turnips. A couple years ago I planted peas on both sides of the creek. Unless it's running high, deer can easily cross this creek. One side of the creek the deer kept the peas mowed down to a golf green level, the other side they never touched. The patches were directly across the creek from each other by about 50 yards. I never can figure out the quirkiness of whitetails!