I have been puzzled as to why no one suggests planting carrots. I tried to have a garden away from the house a couple of years ago and my carrots looked like little bonsai plants. As soon as they put out a new leaf they`ed be nipped off again.
In any case the seeds are small and not planted deep so I`d try the same rate as clover and see what happens.

 

yeah its kinda mysterious why you never hear of anyone planting carrots for deer.. ive never met a deer that would pass on a carrot haha. ive been kicking around tons of ideas as of what to put in as a plot for spring and i think it sounds like a winner!

 

I think one of the reasons is that the seed is expensive and tough to find in bulk (retail).

A pretty decent alternative to carrots is forage or oilseed radish. The seed is relatively inexpensive and you can find it in a few places. I mix some with my fall brassica plots. The forage radish get browsed much earlier than the other brassicas.

 

Google frigid forage and look at their carrot seed

 

Wow, thats a good idea.

What time of year do they plant them and would they do good in a black sandy soil?

the deer have come in my garden and tear up my red beets that were planted.

 

IMHO, you never see carrots mentioned because they are such a poor quality food for deer. I believe that carrots are more like popcorn and candy, as far as nutritional value for deer, since a deer can only eat so much food a day.

From a few sources...
It looks like carrots have 1.2% protein, .05% calcium, and .04% phos.
Compare that to rye with 16% protein, .43% calcium and .42% phos.
Or clover with 25% protein, 1.27% calcium and .38% phos.

Ed Spin would be the guy to ask if these numbers are about right or not.

 

I think one of the reasons is that the seed is expensive and tough to find in bulk (retail).

A pretty decent alternative to carrots is forage or oilseed radish. The seed is relatively inexpensive and you can find it in a few places. I mix some with my fall brassica plots. The forage radish get browsed much earlier than the other brassicas.

SMSMITH, Thanks for the info! I read through a few weblinks but was not clear on preferred soil, i am assuming it likes a loamy/wet soil if indeed it was recommended as a soil cover crop after corn silage/soy harvest. Being it has a longer than normal tap root do you know how it would perform in sandy soil conditions. The tonage looks preyty good for a short season, how does your deer herd like it? Do they like both the green forage and root?

 

You bring some good points to the table pinefarm

I would use the carrots as a draw to the other stuff I plant

One things for sure we all get a craving for things that might not be the best for us, I would think deer would not be any different :lol:

 

Carrots are fairly demanding of site conditions. Commercially, as far as I know, they're grown exclusively on muck ground.

 

Now granted - they did eat the tops, but they never did dig after them (before the big freeze). Most rotted. Surprising as they stood and ate the ***** out of a Norway Spruce of my neighbors (after the big freeze).

 

IMHO, you never see carrots mentioned because they are such a poor quality food for deer. I believe that carrots are more like popcorn and candy, as far as nutritional value for deer

MMMMMMmmmm.... candy. but in all seriousnes i see why you would not want it as a main crop. thanks for all of the input guys.

 

SMSMITH, Thanks for the info! I read through a few weblinks but was not clear on preferred soil, i am assuming it likes a loamy/wet soil if indeed it was recommended as a soil cover crop after corn silage/soy harvest. Being it has a longer than normal tap root do you know how it would perform in sandy soil conditions. The tonage looks preyty good for a short season, how does your deer herd like it? Do they like both the green forage and root?

Mine do well in both loamy and gravelly ground. I would imagine they would do fine in a sandy soil as long as it had a decent level of moisture. A sandy topsoil with a clay under layer would be fantastic. I planted some of them in (along with other brassicas) a very sandy plot near my folks' home last August. The old man watered them every 3 days using a sprinkler set up. They did very well. Like most rootcrops, I doubt they'd want a constantly moist ground. That can lead to a variety of disease issues.

I haven't noticed any use of the taproot. Planting them in late summer does give them a long enough growing season I don't think. To develop a good sized root I would think you'd want to plant them late June. Not 100% sure on that.

My deer do love the tops. They walk thru my waist high d.e. rape and knee p.t. turnips to get to the forage radishes.

 

Pinefarm and Farm Legend are correct. Even though I push hard for variety when estabilshing food plots I don't advise to plant carrots. Very little nourishment unless your deer have poor eyesight. They do as FL suggests have demanding site conditions.

 

Mine do well in both loamy and gravelly ground. I would imagine they would do fine in a sandy soil as long as it had a decent level of moisture. A sandy topsoil with a clay under layer would be fantastic. I planted some of them in (along with other brassicas) a very sandy plot near my folks' home last August. The old man watered them every 3 days using a sprinkler set up. They did very well. Like most rootcrops, I doubt they'd want a constantly moist ground. That can lead to a variety of disease issues.

I haven't noticed any use of the taproot. Planting them in late summer does give them a long enough growing season I don't think. To develop a good sized root I would think you'd want to plant them late June. Not 100% sure on that.

My deer do love the tops. They walk thru my waist high d.e. rape and knee p.t. turnips to get to the forage radishes.

The pictures of the tap root looked like small parsnip that is why i asked about deer munching them. I think if i can find seed cheap i am going to give it a try. I really like their ability to hold up under semi cool temps. if i get them planted I'll let you know how it worked out ,again smsmith thanks for the info

 

Alot of guys broadcast them in the fall in some areas.

 

The pictures of the tap root looked like small parsnip that is why i asked about deer munching them. I think if i can find seed cheap i am going to give it a try. I really like their ability to hold up under semi cool temps. if i get them planted I'll let you know how it worked out ,again smsmith thanks for the info

Best place I found was www.alseed.com

Their online ordering isn't set up yet, but they did have them in the spring catalog. Have to either call or email an order in.

 

Pinefarm and Farm Legend are correct. Even though I push hard for variety when estabilshing food plots I don't advise to plant carrots. Very little nourishment unless your deer have poor eyesight. They do as FL suggests have demanding site conditions.

:yikes: you mean to say more deer would bust me sitting up in the tree!!!

 

I would say to go one better and broadcast a pound or two of the
PURPLE TOP TURNIPS! THey grow to soft ball size and are left alone
untill the frost hits them and they turn very sweet.
They also sit halfway out of the ground and the deer hit them hard till
they were covered by all the snow!!
The seed is very cheap and easy to grow with the right amount of sun!!:lol:
You can see the results on the "moabhunting" site under food plots,giant
turnip patch!!