i bought a bag of the wal-mart brassica? mix about 4 weeks ago. planted it, it is coming up great over a 12 by 20 area in the woods. hardwoods all around me, oak and maple mixture, with beech' s up above me. deer only travel through the property because it is hardwoods, and don' t stay. tracks in the tilled soil, no sign of them eating it. when would they likely hit the brassica ( did i mention cornfields across the road, about half a mile away?). i realize this will not be the only or main food source, but would like to know what i should expect, because i have never planted anything before. grass is at least 6 inches high, so i think it is growing well, don' t know how high it should be. shady in that spot too, kind of suprised at height.

There is just too many unknowns to predict when the deer might catch on to it. Brassicas look like Beet tops or Turnips kind of - and will stay green into winter quite a while. Because the plot is not large enough to keep to sustain any deer, they will only feed on it as they pass by, and only if their security is not compromised. It could be your getting as much feeding on it as your going to get.

If you have acorns in the area, or other mast, you should see a pickup on feeding on the patch-plot once it drops.

There is a good article in the current edition of Quality Deer Management Association magazine regarding brassicas and more specifically turnips. You' re a member aren' t you?

Are you going to the Symposium on Sept 13th in Essex?

. . . Rob

farm, the seed that i have coming up looks more like grass than anything else. also, we have mostly red oaks, i think, which the deer have never taken an interest in from what i have seen. rob, still don' t know yet about going, i have always wanted to get my trapping license, and the vta is offering a course that weekend. would like to go, and give laroche an earfull, but still have to decide which i want most.

Sounds like the brassicas either did not germinate/grow, or were ate as soon as they emerged. Alot of the off brand mixes have Rye Grass as a good portion of the seed. I' m thinking that' s about all that you have, maybe a little timothy too. While not a preferred food deer will nibble at it, especially when its young.

Woodland food plots if smaller than 1/4 acre generally do not fare very well. The exception might be a september planted winter wheat or cereal rye, planted very heavy (100-120lb/acre) with 300 lb/acre 20-20-20 fertilizer.