TNhobbyfarmer said:
John Bud:
What are the plants in the first 3 photos? My plants never get that big. The deer maul them before thay get too much growth.
If you suspect that the plants are not able to mature, build a chicken wire fence with a top about 5-6' across and 5' high. Stake it to the ground and see how the plants inside do compared to plants outside. You may have to adjust ph and fertilizer levels, maybe add some organics to the soil. Or, just kill more deer...
Brassica (forage rape) - Grows fast with correct N2 levels - lots and lots! Plant few seeds. Too many and they won't grow tall, wide or thick. Just stemmy junk that nobody likes to eat. The deer don't mess with it much until after the first frost. Grasshoppers LOVE the leaves and birds love the hoppers.
Buckwheat (white seed heads)- It grows FAST. Need to set the ph and fertilize. They are very frost sensitive. Lost the crop twice, due to late shallow patch frost. Wierd, a 3" depression will have frost damage and either stunt or die and the rest is fine. Deer will eat an entire plant down to stems and it is back leafed out in a week. Turkey's love the seeds. Sandy loam
Turnips - I go out and check out the activity daily and eat several. Some have gotten larger than softballs. Really giant. Around that plot, deer don't eat them much. Other plots in the woods - the turnips are smaller and they get paw'ed out of the ground. Odd how browse changes like that, but that's why you have to plant multiple species.
The last one is a mix of oats, wheat, and white, medium red, yellow blossom clover. 5 fields from 40x60 to 500 x 200'. I can't hardly keep the deer out of them long enough to tell what plants are coming up. Bear too love that stuff.
jb