Vitalize Brassica Mix for Deer Plots with High Browse Tolerance

Vitalize Brassica Mix for Deer Plots with High Browse Tolerance

At Vitalize Seed, we’ve always believed in the power of high diversity mixes and in listening closely to our customers' needs.

Our Carbon Load Mix remains our top recommendation for fall cover cropping and food plotting. As the foundation of our One-Two System™, it delivers exceptional diversity, stimulates soil biology, and attracts wildlife throughout the season. It’s a regenerative system that works, and one we proudly stand behind.

However, we understand that every property, soil type, and management strategy is different. Many customers have requested more focused options, particularly a high-performance brassica blend that they can use as a standalone or in specific zones.

So, like any company committed to customer success and biological integrity, we got to work.

The result is what we believe to be the best brassica blend we could muster: a biologically functional, forage-first, frost-hardy mix that feeds both deer and soil.

What’s Inside and Why It Matters

The Vitalize Brassica Mix isn’t your typical fall brassica blend. Every species was selected to deliver multi-phase forage, soil-building benefits, and exceptional browse tolerance.

We believe in transparency, not vague labels or gimmicks. You deserve to know exactly what you’re planting and why it’s in the bag. This mix combines tuber-forming and regrowth-capable forage brassicas, each playing a unique role in attracting, nourishing, and enhancing soil health.

Here’s what you’ll find:

  • Daikon Radish – A deep-rooting brassica often called a “nitro-type” for its ability to scavenge nitrogen and break compaction. Its long taproot enhances water infiltration and nutrient cycling. Deer love the sweet taproots, especially after frost.
  • Purple Top and Barkant Turnips – These produce leafy top growth and energy-dense bulbs, offering deer forage early and late in the season.
  • Pasja and Winfred Forage Brassicas – Premium hybrids bred for fast regrowth, high crude protein, and excellent digestibility. These varieties are essential for areas with heavy browse pressure.

This mix delivers fast attraction, late-season nutrition, and the durability serious land managers require, all with complete label transparency.

A Standalone Powerhouse or Perfect with Clover

You can plant the Vitalize Brassica Mix as a standalone fall blend or pair it with our Annual Clover Mix to boost protein and extend green forage into spring.

Benefits include:

  • Early and late-season deer attraction
  • Regrowth after grazing
  • Natural nitrogen contribution from clover
  • Improved C:N ratios and biomass cycling

Built for Soil, Too

While designed for wildlife attraction, this mix also serves as a biological tool that supports long-term soil regeneration.

  • Taproots improve soil structure, water movement, and carbon deposition
  • Residue from roots and leaves supports microbial populations
  • Root exudates promote nutrient exchange and microbial diversity
  • Late-season activity keeps biology cycling into early winter

Pair it with clover or follow with a spring Nitro-Boost to reinforce natural nutrient cycling and reduce reliance on synthetics.

Final Thoughts

The Vitalize Brassica Mix is for land managers who want performance above ground and progress below it.

It’s:

  • ✅ Customer-inspired – Developed in response to grower feedback
  • ✅ Nutritionally diverse – Includes both bulbs and regrowth-capable forages
  • ✅ Biologically supportive – Promotes soil health, not just deer attraction
  • ✅ Fully transparent – You know exactly what’s in the bag and why
  • ✅ Backed by science – Supported by peer-reviewed agronomic research

👉 Explore the Brassica Mix
👉 Explore the Annual Clover Mix
👉 Explore the Fall Food Plot Value Mix

Whether you’re managing a food plot or stacking layers into your regenerative system, this is a mix built to work with nature, not against it.

Don’t Just Take Our Word for It, Here’s the Science

📈 Forage Quality and Nutrient Profile

Forage brassicas can reach 18–32% crude protein and over 85% digestibility, outperforming many cool-season grasses and legumes in fall. Their high sugar content and low fiber improve palatability and energy density.
Sources: Barry, 1998; Fales et al., 2000

🌿 Regrowth and Multiple Grazings

Hybrids like Pasja and Winfred recover rapidly after grazing and maintain nutritional quality.
Source: Judson & Edwards, 2008

🧪 Biomass Yield and Soil Impact

Brassicas can yield 4.5–7.5 tons of dry matter per hectare in 70–90 days and provide root biomass that improves porosity and stimulates microbial life.
Sources: Justes et al., 1999; Snapp et al., 2005

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