| -> | | | | factor in their food plots in late fall and early |
| Brassica's are a good choice for fall and winter | | | | winter during hunting season. Deer will be seen to |
| hunting deer food plots. They produce large | | | | eat the leaves first and then dig out the roots |
| amounts of quality deer food during the time of | | | | later in the season as the snow covers the plot. |
| year when perennial forages and native plants are | | | | Here are a few facts about the varieties of |
| limited in both production and quality. Seeding your | | | | brassica crops used by deer hunters. |
| brassica crops in the summer can attract deer | | | | Kale (Brassica oleracea): Varieties with a high leaf |
| late into the fall and early winter. | | | | to stem ratio are preferred by deer. If planted in |
| Food plots are used extensively by deer | | | | the spring the stemless is ready August through |
| management groups as well as hunters. There are | | | | September. The stemmed variety takes longer |
| two types of food plots, the forage plot and the | | | | and is usually ready October through December. |
| hunting plot. | | | | Turnips: (Brassica rapa):All parts of this plant are |
| Deer food plots used to attract deer for deer | | | | eaten by the deer. It can be late fall planted and |
| hunting are best chosen to be secluded and | | | | the deer will eat the leaves first and then dig out |
| smaller with ample cover to give deer a sense of | | | | the roots later. Choose a variety with a high |
| security. The idea here is we want the deer to | | | | proportion of leaves to provide a better deer |
| use these food plots during the day. That way | | | | attractant. |
| we can strategically hunt along the perimeter trails | | | | Forage Rape (Brassica napus): This variety is |
| and travel routes leading to the plot or adjacent | | | | tolerant of adverse conditions such as cold, heat |
| to the plot during legal daylight hours. | | | | and drought. It is often planted in mid to late July. |
| Good deer managers use brassica's in their food | | | | The dwarf types are best when using them as |
| plots because they realize the value of the | | | | deer lure for hunting plots. |
| brassica group. The specific varieties that deer | | | | Brassica crops are often used by hunters to |
| management specialists commonly use are kale, | | | | attract deer to their food plots, especially in the |
| rape, and turnips. | | | | fall and early winter months. They are strong |
| The leaves of these plants are bitter until hit by a | | | | nutritionally and provide good grazing during times |
| heavy frost. Deer managers capitalize on this | | | | of the year when the native plant choices have |
| deer behavior to get outstanding deer attractant | | | | deteriorated. |