QUESTION: I grow a food plot every year. This year I planted rye, turnips and clover. This is my first experience with turnips, and I need to know if I should mow it. It’s really getting tall, and I need to know if I need to do anything to keep it under control. — Ryan
ANSWER: That’s an interesting combination since each plant has a slightly different prescription. I wouldn’t mow rye; the deer should do that for you if you have a dense enough population, and your goal is to create a standing crop of biomass.
As for the clover, you could mow it, depending on which type it is, but it could be better to let it grow, too. I would not mow the turnips. Deer will eat the tops early on, then switch to the tubers as it gets colder and food becomes more scarce. Mowing will immediately remove top growth and likely result in stunted or no growth in the roots (the tubers).
Based on your photo, it appears you have a very healthy crop of weeds and forbs, which will be less attractive to deer and compete with your crops for soil nutrients and moisture. I’d say, let it go for this year. Give it a healthy dose of Round-Up next spring to kill off the weed crop, then select a more user-friendly blend of seeds. Or, you could segregate parts of the plot with different plants.