I have several plots that have seeded with blends consisting of red and white clover, trefoil, brassicas, turnips, oats, and a few others. I planted these in the spring to get the max tonage from them. They grew well, but some of the annuals are going to seed now. Would it make sense to mow these now, leaving 6" to 8"?

I did a second planting of this same blend Aug 1st and the deer seem to be liking the new growth.

. . . Rob

I would not.

I'd mow it off to get rid of the old stuff the deer isn't going to ever eat and to stimulate the new growth that the deer prefer. The clover and trefoil would respond well to being cut. The Oats is probably nothing but straw by now.

+1 for mowing. New growth is always more palatable than old, and your clover will fill in some of the space occupied by the annuals that have matured.

If you planted the same mix again, you will kill your brassicas and turnips by mowing. Also, your oats are probably getting hit nicely by the deer, they may only be 6 or 8 inches high so you might be able to mow over the top of them, but I would still vote no on the mowing. That's why I keep my annuals and my perennials separate so that if I want to mow the clover I can. Blended mixes sound nice to me, but not practical if you want to mow. Just my 2 cents. I hope it works out either way you go.

First, I don't think he was asking about mowing the August planting. Perhaps he will clarify.

And who ever told you mowing would kill brassicas, turnips would be very wrong. They are used as cattle pasture in my area and they are grazed more than once. Ever seen what a herd of cattle do to a brassica field? lot worse than mowing....

"Grazing can begin when the forage is about 12 inches tall (70 to 90 days after planting. The pasture should be grazed for a short time period and the livestock removed to allow the Brassica to regrow. Rape may be grazed to a 10 inch stubble and 1 to 4 grazing periods may occur, depending on planting date and growing conditions. Turnips may be grazed to the ground the first time and the both tops and beets grazed in the second grazing. It is usually not necessary to dig the beets unless the soil is very hard."

http://www.uwex.edu/ces/forage/pubs/brassica.html