Brassica & Turnip Food Plot with Mustard Weed

[hunt4ever]

Hey Guys, I said I would get back to you on the results of trying to get rid of the mustard weed in my turnip & brassica food plot.    As indicated in previous posts, fortunately for me, the turnip & brassica came up 1st and grew to approximately 2' or more in most spots before the mustard weed shot up.  As indicated in the 3 photos, my brother and I soaked a sheet in gly and dragged it on top of the weed above the turnip and brassica.  The results was mixed, at the beginning of a 50' drag, with the sheet soaked, it did pretty well.  However, after about 15' or so it basically was ineffective.  IMO I also think trying to get rid of this weed with not much leaves/contact area for the gly to be applied made it less effective. Therefore, I am going to let it go and deal with it next spring.  I will let it come up & than hit it with a good application of gly.  BTW - Goose had indicated that this might be whats happens and both he and I feel that the deer will find the brassica & turnip after a couple of frosts.  I thank all for their inputs, particularly Goose.  In addition to the gly application, for your viewing pleasure, I am attaching a photo of my tree house expansion project that oversees the food plot with the mustard weed.  Thanks again, [size="4"]Tom Mac[/size]

[msbadger]

Holy cow...OK thats a weed problem...and each of those flowers will be producing seed....I think personally I'd get my brother to grab a hand held weed wacker ...and I would as well and just skim oner the top of the braccs to cut off at least some of thoses seed producing flowers....braccs look good....good luck ...nice condo you have there...[;)]

[buckhunter21]

Yea those bracs do look great, but man that mustard is getting out of control!  Looks like it's about 7 feet tall!  lol  Maybe do what msbadger stated, and weed wack the tops so it doesn't spread more seed than it has already done. 
 
That is a nice condo...How much per night?

[hunt4ever]

That's a good idea msbadger, I will have to look into a weed wacker and spend a day wacking the h--- out of the mustard weed.  The less flowers I can cut, the less I will have to deal with next spring.  I also have some itch plants in the plot.  I am sure that this is not the official name of this weed, but it is a plant that can grow to 6-7' high and the plant has tiny spins on them and produces 1000's of seeds.  I get near those babies without long pants and a long sleeve shirt, I start itching like an old hound dog with a bad case of fleas. As indicated in previous posts, this plot is located in an old pasture in back of the cow barn which has existed since the early 1900's, so the weed problem is not surprising. I am sure the pasture hasn't been disked in 30+ years, before I disked it late this spring. However, the weeds are the bad news, the good news is that cows enriched the soil tremendously during 50+ years.  I am not sure what the ph (got to get that checked), but based on the way everything grows there, including brassica and turnips that are almost 3' high in some spots, you know it has to be good.  BTW, my brother and I enjoyed a few of the red top turnips last weekend with grilled venision chops from a doe fawn I got late in the season last year. Check out the photos of my brother with turnip and yours truly grilling some chops. Perhaps maybe some don't like the idea of shooting doe faws, but I normally try to get a one late with my muzzle loader just because it is sooo good etten  IMO, since it helps keep the doe population and buck:doe ratio in check, this is a good thing.  The danger of doing this is that you may harvest a button horn if you are not careful.  Therefore, I normally harvest the fawn when she is romping around with her bigger brother or that she is so close that I can see she does not have any button horns.  In addition to the vension, the turnips were GREAT, but feel a little bit guilty taking them away from the deer.  I will keep all updated on my progress and will posts photos of bucks hitting the plot, and hopefully, one laying in the back of my pick up. Thanks guys for all your inputs, this is great, [size="4"]Tom Mac[/size]

[Blazed]

Japaneese beetles are just tearing up the turnips. Hopefully they will endure.

[hunt4ever]

Badger, I got my son-in-law to bring his weed wacker up to the plot early last week, & he wacked the heck out of the mustard weed, ref. photo.  I definitely think it will help next year as far as all those seeds seeding themselves.  This should lessen the weed problem next year when I go in there and disk-let-grow & kill a couple of times before planting. I was up @ the farm yesterday and it looked like the turnips & brassica liked the additional sunlight and have greened up a bit.  Still not pretty & something to be proud of, but it will do for this year.  [size="2"]Again thanks for your help, [/size][size="4"]Tom Mac[/size]

[msbadger]

Tom...Remember any work we do to improve our property is something to be proud of....
 
As hard as I work to control weeds, this year mother nature beat me on a couple of fronts...yet I won on a couple of unexpected ones...just how it goes...
 
I just told another poster today never be discouraged...half your work for next year is already done....sod broken..liming well under way ...soil tilth improved . You know your drainage and sun better in that area and deer have found it....I bet you'll have a great season over that spot...good luck and enjoy the season [;)]...Badger

[buckhunter21]

No reason to get discouraged...Planting food plots and hunting is a trial and error type of deal.  Only makes you better the next time!

[hunt4ever]

Thanks for your comments, Badger!  I am sure the deer will come this fall regardless of the weeds.  I look forward to seeing the improvements next year. As the saying goes: Live & learn by trial & error.  [size="4"]Tom Mac[/size]