My Deer Garden

Planting Forage Radish for deer

Raphanus sativus

Cool season

Deer hit this hard. That is the point.

Seeding rate
8 to 10 lb
per acre, broadcast
Minimum plot
1 acre
smaller gets browsed out
Plant
Mid to late summer, 60 to 80 days before first frost

Rates are broadcast figures. Drilling runs roughly a third lower. These are starting points from extension guidance and have not yet been re-checked against a second source per record, so treat them as indicative and soil test before you buy seed.

Type
Food plot forage
Hardiness
Zones 3–9
Light
Full sun
Height
6–36 in
Bloom
Spring
Maintenance
Low
Family
Brassicaceae

About Forage Radish

A brassica that earns its place twice, once as forage and once as tillage.

The root drives a foot or more straight down through compacted layers, then winterkills and rots, leaving an open channel behind it. On old pasture or anywhere that has been driven on, a radish crop does more for soil structure than a subsoiler and costs a fraction as much.

As food it behaves like turnip: tops taken after frost sweetens them, roots dug through winter.

Broadcast at 8 to 10 lb per acre. Same timing discipline as turnip, same rotation warning about club root, same acreage floor.

Be ready for the smell. A field of radish rotting off in a February thaw is genuinely unpleasant and it catches people out.

Protecting Forage Radish

Deer will destroy this without protection, so the question is which kind you are willing to pay for.

  1. 1How tall a deer fence needs to beEight feet, and six is the most common expensive mistake in deer fencing.
  2. 2What a deer fence costsMaterial ratios are stable even when prices are not, and installation reliably doubles the figure.
  3. 3Repellent that actually worksThe egg-based recipe that reproduces the active ingredient in the commercial sprays that win university trials.
  4. 4Check it is actually deerDeer tear and leave a ragged stub. A clean 45-degree cut is rabbits, and slug holes get blamed on deer constantly.

Soil and care

Soil pH
6 to 7.5
Drainage
Average garden soil
Water
Moderate
Growth rate
Fast
Maintenance
Low

Where Forage Radish grows

Hardy across every state on zone range alone. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering. Select any state, including one it will not grow in, for what is resistant there.

Alabama — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Alaska — hardy here. Zones 1 to 8.Arizona — hardy here. Zones 5 to 10.Arkansas — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.California — hardy here. Zones 7 to 10.Colorado — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Connecticut — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Delaware — hardy here. Zones 7 to 7.District of Columbia — hardy here. Zones 7 to 8.Florida — hardy here. Zones 8 to 11.Georgia — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Hawaii — hardy here. Zones 9 to 12.Idaho — hardy here. Zones 3 to 7.Illinois — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Indiana — hardy here. Zones 5 to 6.Iowa — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Kansas — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Kentucky — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.Louisiana — hardy here. Zones 8 to 10.Maine — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Maryland — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Massachusetts — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Michigan — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Minnesota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Mississippi — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Missouri — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Montana — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Nebraska — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Nevada — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.New Hampshire — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.New Jersey — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.New Mexico — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.New York — hardy here. Zones 4 to 7.North Carolina — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.North Dakota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 4.Ohio — hardy here. Zones 5 to 6.Oklahoma — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Oregon — hardy here. Zones 6 to 9.Pennsylvania — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Rhode Island — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.South Carolina — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.South Dakota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Tennessee — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Texas — hardy here. Zones 6 to 9.Utah — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.Vermont — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Virginia — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Washington — hardy here. Zones 5 to 8.West Virginia — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Wisconsin — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Wyoming — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.
Hardy on zone rangeNot hardy — still linked
Choose a state from the listeasier on a phone

Common questions about Forage Radish

What is the seeding rate for Forage Radish?
Broadcast 8 to 10 lb per acre. Drilled rates run roughly a third lower. Soil test before buying seed, because pH matters more to the outcome than the rate does.
When should I plant Forage Radish?
Mid to late summer, 60 to 80 days before first frost. It is a cool-season crop, so the window is set by your average first frost rather than by the month.
How big does a Forage Radish plot need to be?
About 1 acre as a realistic floor. Below that, deer graze the crop faster than it establishes and you get bare ground instead of forage. Local deer density moves this number more than anything else.
Do deer actually eat Forage Radish?
Frequently Severely Damaged on the four-step damage scale, which measures how heavily deer feed on a plant. On an ornamental that is a warning. On a food plot crop it is the specification.
What hardiness zones does Forage Radish grow in?
Forage Radish is hardy in USDA zones 3 to 9. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
How big does Forage Radish get?
Mature height is roughly 6–36 in. Growth rate is fast.

Browse from here

Every list Forage Radish belongs to.

Deer favorites·Full sun plants·Food plot crops

Hardy in these zones

Zone 3·Zone 4·Zone 5·Zone 6·Zone 7·Zone 8·Zone 9

Damage ratings follow the four-step field scale published by Rutgers University. Growing data is compiled from state extension sources and still being verified record by record. Last reviewed .