When should you plant rapeseed and brassicas for deer in South Carolina?

In South Carolina, plant rapeseed and the other brassicas from September 1 through October 15. Radish can go in earlier, from August 15 to October 1. Deer mostly leave it alone until after a hard frost, which in the Lowcountry usually means November.

When should you plant rapeseed and brassicas in South Carolina?

September is the working month. The National Deer Association forage rape guide tells northern planters to go in late July or early August. In the South, it says to wait until September.

The Mississippi State Deer Lab lists brassicas at September 1 through October 15. Alabama Extension splits the window finer by species.

Windows and rates above come from Alabama Extension and the Mississippi State Deer Lab. Inside the window, moisture picks the day. Alabama Extension says to plant when the soil holds moisture and rain is in the forecast. It also wants frost a month or more away.

That last line is the real zone rule for this state. The Upstate frosts earlier, so plant the front of the window up there. The Lowcountry frosts late, which leaves room to run into early October. Our food plot establishment service drills to those dates across the Lowcountry.

How much brassica seed do you need, and how deep?

Rates are low because the seed is tiny. The National Deer Association puts forage rape alone at 8 pounds per acre broadcast, or 4 pounds drilled. The Mississippi State Deer Lab lists brassicas at 10 pounds broadcast and 5 pounds drilled. Alabama Extension lists 10 pounds for rape or kale, 10 for turnip and 12 for radish.

Depth is where most brassica plots die. The National Deer Association puts rape seed at one eighth to one quarter inch. Mississippi State says cover brassica seed one quarter to one half inch.

Clemson Extension is stricter, and says small forage seed should not go deeper than one quarter inch. A drill or a cultipacker hits that depth. A disk pass rarely does.

Soil pH sets the ceiling on everything else. Clemson puts the target for food plot crops at 6.0 to 6.5. It calls liming the most critical practice in plot production.

Coastal Plain soils here run acidic on their own. Test early, because lime takes months to move a number. Our South Carolina fall planting calendar covers the grain and clover dates that pair with these.

Fertility is simple after that. The National Deer Association recommends 60 pounds of nitrogen per acre at planting, then again about two months later. It also calls for 1 to 2 pounds of boron per acre where the soil test asks for it. The Mississippi State Deer Lab keeps it to 100 pounds per acre of 15-15-15 at planting.

What is the best brassica mix for a deer plot?

Blends beat single species on most plots, and the rate drops hard when you blend. The National Deer Association says brassicas in a mixture go in at 2 to 3 pounds per acre. Alabama Extension publishes a winter greens mix. Per acre it runs 5 pounds radish, 3 pounds rape or kale, and 1 pound turnip.

Give brassicas part of the plot, not the whole thing. Carolina Sportsman recommends 10 to 15 foot strips along the outer edges of a plot in partial shade. The rest stays open for cereal grains planted in September. Rape is the most common brassica in deer plots, and Dwarf Essex is a common variety.

One more note on rotation. The National Deer Association warns against brassicas in the same plot more than two or three years straight. Brassica ground wants a rotation like any other crop.

Why do brassica plots fail in the Lowcountry?

Food plots are not a small thing here. Clemson Extension reports roughly 182,000 acres of food plots in South Carolina’s Coastal Plain. That beats the state’s acreage in corn, cotton, soybeans or peanuts. Most failures trace back to heat at planting, insects on young seedlings, or ground that was never limed.

August plantings chase a date instead of a rain, which is why the southern guidance starts in September. Fall armyworms are the part people miss. Clemson Extension says armyworms are most numerous in late summer and early fall, and that damage often appears overnight. A count of 2 to 3 per square foot is a reasonable treatment threshold.

Newly established stands can be stunted or killed when armyworms feed far down the plant. Clemson’s brassica pest guide also lists flea beetles as worst when plants are small and tender. Scout a young brassica stand every few days.

Planting too late is the other half of the trap. Brassicas need growing time before cold slows them down. Alabama Extension frames it as planting while frost is still a month or more away.

Overseeding is a quieter failure. Carolina Sportsman warns against overseeding a brassica plot.

When do deer actually start eating brassicas?

After frost, and later than most hunters expect. Carolina Sportsman calls brassica foliage bitter and not palatable until after a hard frost. The National Deer Association says palatability climbs after a couple of frosts. In the Lowcountry, that pushes brassicas well past opening day.

Freeze normals from the National Weather Service for 1991 to 2020 put real dates on it. The average first freeze is November 6 at Yemassee, and November 12 at Walterboro and Summerville. On the coast it runs later: November 27 at Charleston International and December 6 at Edisto Beach. A Lowcountry brassica plot is late-season and post-rut food.

The sugar story behind the frost rule turned out to be wrong. University of Tennessee researchers tested brassicas before and after frost in Tennessee and North Carolina. Sugar in kale, radish and turnip leaves rose slightly, but starch rose too, and taproot sugar held steady.

Deer move onto brassicas when cold arrives and they need energy-rich food. That is why brassicas work best inside a season-long plan.

The family plants and hunts its own plots on the family’s 327-acre tract in the ACE Basin each fall. The brassica ground there gets hunted late. Our hunting land management program sequences plots, lanes and access the same way.

Getting brassica ground ready this season

Seedbed and lime matter more than the seed bag. We site plots where deer already move, and drill small seed to depth. We will also tell you which ground will carry a stand.

Call or text (843) 696-7162, or start at the contact page. Estimates are free.