Chicory Not Desirable?
 

Planted a variety of small food plots this spring.Of the few plants that came up good for us, the rape got hammered,but the chicory has hardly been touched.
Should we disc it up now and plant something else or will the deer come after it later on?

RE: Chicory Not Desirable?
 

If they haven't started eating it by now you may want to start over.

There are quite a few differnet varieties of chicory. Some are very palatable, some are not. I don't know if you just went to the coop and bought it or not but my neighbor is testing a chicory blend that is getting eaten to the dirt. I don't know who he is working with but will try to get the info.

I tried Puna chicory from Pennington and it was poor, at best. They ate some of it but not like my neighbors is getting eaten.

Otis

RE: Chicory Not Desirable?
 

Thanks,Otis.
We planted the Tecomate brand chicory.

RE: Chicory Not Desirable?
 

Here in Missouri it grows along the roads and just about anywhere else, I work with some guys who planted it last year and said they would have rather left the field idle, rather than plant chicory. It came up perfect, too bad nothing really ate it.

RE: Chicory Not Desirable?
 

The native weed chicory we have in midwest is not at all the same as forage chicory

RE: Chicory Not Desirable?
 

Wrackmaster,

That seems strange. Your seeing the exact opposite of what I've seen.Our chicory seems to get hit hardest in the summer and fall and the rape doesn't get touched at all except maybe in the late winter.

RE: Chicory Not Desirable?
 

It's those durn finicky deer we got, here in SC.What brand chicory do you use,hogboss?

RE: Chicory Not Desirable?
 

hogboss, rape is a tender green similar to collards or turnips, the sugar content in tender greens soars after first frost. This is when deer prefer to eat greens. Deer have a sweet tooth, they browse and taste almost everything in the woods, when the sugar content is highest, watch-out, they willquicklydevourthe whole crop, then they keep tasting and find the next sweet thing to eat. I haven't tried any chicory type plant, but if I were you, I would call your local extension service and find out when the plant should be highest in sugar content, wait 'till after this time to decide whether you want to start over, in the meantime, hunt acorns first, then tender greens, then grain crops in late winter.