Good summer food plots for deer: what to plant and when

Last updated 2026-07-25

what is a food plot, exactly

A food plot is a planted area, usually somewhere between a quarter acre and several acres, seeded with forage that deer (and often turkey, rabbits, and other wildlife) will eat. It's not the same as a wildlife feeder and in most states it's treated very differently under the law. A feeder dispenses processed feed on a schedule; a food plot is a growing crop in the ground, planted and managed like any small farm field. The distinction matters because a lot of states regulate baiting and feeding but allow food plots as a normal agricultural practice. Rules vary a lot though. Michigan, for example, defines baiting as placing food to attract deer for hunting purposes and treats it separately from a standing crop ^[1]. Always check your state wildlife agency's current baiting and feeding regulations before you hunt over anything you planted, because "food plot" doesn't automatically mean legal in every situation, especially near a stand or blind. Most hunters plant food plots for two overlapping reasons: to hold deer on the property through better nutrition, and to create a huntable opening with good visibility and a predictable food source. Summer plots lean harder into the nutrition side. Antler growth, lactation, and fawn-rearing all happen in summer, and does and bucks alike need protein-rich forage during that window ^[2]. A fall plot is often more about attraction near a stand; a summer plot is about keeping deer healthy and on your ground during the toughest nutritional stretch of the year. If you're new to this, start with a soil test and a realistic plot size before buying seed. A food plot whitetail planted on bad soil with no lime will underperform a smaller plot planted right, every time.

when to plant food plots for deer

Deep South / Gulf Coast	March - April	September - October
Mid-South / Southern Plains	April - May	September
Midwest / Mid-Atlantic	Late April - May	Late August - September
Northern tier (MN, WI, ME, upper MI)	Late May - early June	Mid-August - early September	The biggest mistake hunters make with summer plots is planting too early into cold, wet soil. Soybeans and sorghum both want soil temperatures around 60-65°F to germinate reliably [4]. Planting three weeks early to "get a jump on it" usually just means rot, poor germination, and a reseed.

Timing depends entirely on which plot you're planting and where you live. Broadly, spring/summer plots (clover, soybeans, sorghum, chicory) go in after your last frost date and once soil temps are consistently warm; fall plots (brassicas, cereal grains, winter peas) go in 60 to 90 days before your first fall frost so they mature heading into hunting season. Cooperative extension services publish planting windows by zone, and they're the best free resource for local dates. As a rough national guide: Deep South and Gulf Coast growers can plant warm-season forages as early as March, the Midwest and mid-South usually wait until late April through May, and northern tier states (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Maine, upper Michigan) often hold off until late May or early June because of frost risk ^[3]. Here's a simplified planting calendar by general region. Treat it as a starting point, not gospel, your local extension office has better precision. | Region | Spring/summer plot window | Fall plot window |

do deer eat sorghum

Yes, deer eat sorghum, particularly the grain heads once they mature, and it's a solid drought-tolerant summer option in hotter regions. Sorghum (grain sorghum, also called milo, and forage sorghums like sorghum-sudangrass) handles heat and dry stretches better than corn, which makes it a practical choice for southern and Great Plains plots where July and August turn brutal. Deer will browse young sorghum leaves some, but the real draw comes later in the season when seed heads form and dry down. It's often planted as a standalone summer plot or blended with a legume like cowpeas or soybeans to add protein early while the sorghum builds structure and grain later. Extension trial work on forage sorghum and sorghum-sudangrass hybrids shows they can produce very high tonnage per acre in hot, drier conditions compared to corn, which is part of why it shows up in southern wildlife plantings ^[5]. One caution: sorghum species contain compounds that can produce prussic acid (cyanide) under stress, especially after a frost or during severe drought wilting. This is a documented risk for livestock grazing sorghum and sorghum-sudangrass, and while it's mostly discussed in cattle contexts, it's worth knowing if you're managing a mixed-use field or grazing livestock nearby. It's not a reason to avoid sorghum in deer plots, but don't graze livestock on frost-damaged or drought-stressed sorghum without checking with your extension office first.

do deer eat clover, and do deer like clover

Deer eat clover heavily and it's one of the most consistently preferred forages in food plot use, which is why it shows up in nearly every regional deer forage list. Clover is also one of the most forgiving plots for a new plot manager because it's a perennial (or reseeding annual, depending on type) that comes back year after year without a full replant. White clovers (Ladino and intermediate types like Durana or Alice) and red clover are the most common choices. They're high in crude protein, often tested at 20-25% depending on maturity and fertility, and they green up early in spring and stay palatable through summer as long as they get enough moisture ^[6]. Clover is also nitrogen-fixing, meaning it pulls nitrogen from the air and stores it in root nodules, which improves soil for whatever you plant after it. The tradeoff is that clover struggles in drought and doesn't love acidic or poorly drained soil. A soil test matters more here than almost anywhere else in food plot planning, because clover really wants a pH in the 6.0-7.0 range to thrive and fix nitrogen effectively. If your soil test comes back at 5.2, don't skip the lime and expect the clover to perform. It won't. Clover pairs well in a rotation with brassicas or cereal grains for fall, and a lot of experienced plotters keep at least one perennial clover field going at all times as the backbone plot on the property. If you're comparing clover against other perennial or annual options for your specific ground, a deer food plot seed comparison is worth reading before you commit acreage.

when to plant oats for deer

Oats are primarily a cool-season crop, so most hunters plant them in late summer to early fall (roughly August through September depending on zone) for a fall/winter food plot, not as a true summer planting. Oats germinate fast, grow fast, and are extremely palatable to deer while young and leafy, which makes them a favorite in fall blend mixes with brassicas and winter peas. Some growers do a spring oat planting too, mainly in northern climates with short summers, planted as soon as the ground can be worked in March or April. Spring oats mature and head out by early summer and then decline in quality, so they're not a great choice if your goal is a plot that holds through July and August. For a true summer plot, oats aren't the right tool; they're a shoulder-season crop. University forage guides generally list oats as tolerating light frost but not summer heat well, they tend to go to seed and lose palatability once temperatures climb consistently into the 80s ^[7]. If you want a grain-type plant that actually performs in summer heat, sorghum or corn are better fits; save the oats for your September planting.

when to plant turnips for deer

Turnips are a fall/winter brassica, planted in late summer, usually late July through early September depending on your zone, so they mature into a food source right as hunting season and cold weather arrive. They are not a summer plot crop despite the confusion some hunters have about timing. The trick with turnips is that deer often ignore the tops for weeks and then hit the plot hard once a hard frost sweetens the bulbs and leaves by converting starches to sugars. Extension guidance on brassica plantings for deer generally recommends planting 80 to 90 days before the first expected fall frost so the plants have time to bulb up before that sugar conversion happens. Plant turnips too early and you get bolted, woody plants; too late and they never bulb before frost stops growth. A lot of hunters blend turnips with oats, radishes, and clover in a brassica mix. That gives you the fast-growing leafy oats early, a taproot radish that breaks up soil, and turnip bulbs that become the late-season draw. If you're mapping out a rotation, treat turnips as your late-summer planting task, not a summer-plot crop, and pencil in the actual planting date based on your local first frost, which your state extension office or the state wildlife agency's hunting guide often lists by region.

what are deer's favorite foods

Deer are opportunistic browsers, and "favorite" changes by season, region, and what's available, but research and extension surveys consistently point to a short list: acorns, soybeans, clover, and other legumes rank at or near the top almost everywhere deer are studied. Native browse like greenbrier, blackberry, and honeysuckle also gets heavy use, especially outside of plot season. Acorns deserve a special mention because in fall, deer will often abandon a food plot entirely for a good acorn drop. Studies on white-tailed deer diet composition in the Southeast and Midwest repeatedly find acorns making up a large share of fall diet by volume when they're available, because of their high fat content, which deer need heading into winter ^[8]. That's not something a food plot competes with directly; it's a reason a lot of plot managers focus summer and early fall plots on filling the nutritional gap before acorns drop, not on out-competing a good oak flat. In a planted-forage context specifically, soybeans, clover, and standing corn tend to top most preference studies and hunter-reported use, with brassicas and cereal grains close behind once cold weather hits and sugar content rises ^[2]. If your goal is one plot to prioritize, a legume (clover or soybeans) is almost always the safest, highest-value bet across regions.

do deer like honey (and does it matter for food plots)

There's no research showing deer specifically seek out honey, and it's not a practical food plot ingredient. This one probably gets searched because of confusion with "honey locust" trees, whose seed pods deer do eat readily, or because of commercial deer attractant sprays that use sweet, sometimes honey-scented formulas to draw deer to a mineral site or trail camera location. Honey locust pods are a real, documented deer food. The pods are sweet, high in sugar, and drop in fall, and deer browse them heavily where the trees grow, particularly in the Midwest and mid-South ^[9]. If you've got mature honey locusts on your property, that's a bonus food source, but it's not something you plant as part of a summer food plot rotation. Bottom line: skip the honey question as a planting decision. It's not a crop, it's not a legitimate summer forage strategy, and any attractant product claiming otherwise is selling scent, not nutrition.

what should go in a good summer food plot mix

Soybeans (forage type)	Moderate	Very high	Late spring after soil hits ~60°F
Cowpeas / iron-clay peas	High	High	Late spring - early summer
Grain/forage sorghum	High	Moderate-high (grain stage)	Late spring, warm soil
White/Ladino clover	Low-moderate (needs moisture)	Very high	Early spring or late summer
Chicory	Moderate	High	Spring, with clover blends	Soil test results should drive your fertility plan more than any generic recommendation, including this one. Your soil test lab knows your actual pH, phosphorus, and potassium levels, and their lime and fertilizer recommendations are specific to your dirt, not a national average. A plot plan can tell you what species fit your region and goals, but it's not a substitute for that lab report. This is exactly the gap a $99 one-time Custom Food Plot Plan is built to fill: species selection and a planting calendar matched to your zone and goals, while your soil test stays the final word on lime and fertilizer rates.

The best summer plots combine a protein-heavy legume with a heat-tolerant grain or broadleaf, so the plot keeps producing through the hottest, driest stretch of the year instead of burning out in July. A simple, proven combo: soybeans or cowpeas for protein, plus grain sorghum or forage sorghum for drought tolerance and late-season grain. Here's a comparison of common summer plot species and how they actually perform: | Species | Drought tolerance | Deer preference | Typical planting window |

how much acreage and what equipment do you actually need

For most hunters on 20 to 200 acres, a half-acre to two-acre summer plot per opening is a reasonable target, big enough to produce tonnage but small enough to manage with a UTV and a few basic implements. You don't need a full tractor and disk to plant a good summer plot, though it helps on tougher ground. Minimum viable setup: a way to kill existing vegetation (herbicide and a sprayer, or a disk), a way to work the seedbed (disk, tiller, or a no-till drill), a way to spread seed (broadcast spreader, often ATV or UTV mounted), and a way to fertilize based on your soil test. Cultipacking or dragging after broadcast seeding improves seed-to-soil contact a lot, especially for small-seeded legumes like clover. If you're deciding between a full perennial clover plot, an annual grain plot, or a blended plot, comparing deer food plots styles side by side before buying seed will save you money over buying a bag of everything and hoping.

how do zone and climate change the summer planting calendar

Your USDA Plant Hardiness Zone and your local extension office's frost date charts are the two most useful tools for nailing summer plot timing, more useful than any generic "plant in May" rule. The USDA hardiness zone map is built from 30-year average annual extreme minimum temperatures and is updated periodically, most recently in 2023. A zone 8 property in Georgia and a zone 4 property in northern Minnesota are not on the same calendar, not even close. Georgia might plant sorghum or soybeans in late March; Minnesota might not have safe soil temps until late May or even early June. Frost-free date maps from NOAA and university extension offices give a more precise local answer than the hardiness zone alone, since hardiness zones are about winter cold, not spring planting safety ^[10]. Practically, this means: don't trust a seed bag's national planting window as gospel for your farm. Cross-reference it against your county extension's local planting guide, and when in doubt, wait an extra week or two rather than rushing a summer legume into cold, wet ground.

Frequently asked questions

Do deer eat sorghum?

Yes. Deer browse young sorghum leaves some, but they primarily use it once grain heads mature and dry down in mid to late summer. It's a strong drought-tolerant option in hot regions, often paired with a legume like cowpeas or soybeans to add early protein while the sorghum builds grain.

Do deer eat clover, and do deer like clover?

Deer eat and prefer clover strongly across most regions and food plot studies. White and red clover are high in crude protein (often 20-25%), stay palatable through much of the growing season, and rank among the top preferred food plot forages nationally, second mainly to soybeans in most comparisons.

When should I plant food plots for deer?

It depends on the plot type. Spring/summer forages like soybeans, sorghum, and clover go in after your last frost and once soil hits about 60-65°F. Fall plots like brassicas and cereal grains go in 60-90 days before your first fall frost. Check your local extension office for zone-specific dates.

When should I plant oats for deer?

Oats are mainly a fall crop, planted August through September depending on zone, for a plot that matures into hunting season. A spring planting is possible in northern climates but oats decline fast in summer heat, so they're not a good true summer-plot choice.

When should I plant turnips for deer?

Plant turnips 80 to 90 days before your area's first expected fall frost, usually late July through early September depending on region. Turnips need a hard frost to sweeten the bulbs and leaves, which is when deer use really picks up, so they're a fall/winter plot crop, not a summer one.

What is a food plot?

A food plot is a planted area of forage, often a quarter acre to several acres, seeded specifically to feed deer and other wildlife and often to create a hunting opening. It differs legally from a feeder or bait pile in most states, though baiting and feeding rules vary, so check your state wildlife agency's current regulations.

What are deer's favorite foods?

Acorns typically top the list in fall due to high fat content, followed closely by soybeans and clover among planted forages. Native browse like greenbrier and honeysuckle also gets heavy use. Preference shifts by season and region, but legumes are consistently among the highest-ranked planted options.

Do deer like honey?

There's no research supporting honey as a deer food or effective plot ingredient. The search confusion likely comes from honey locust tree pods, which deer do eat heavily in fall, or from sweet-scented commercial attractant sprays, which are scent products, not nutrition sources.

What's the best summer food plot mix for deer?

A legume plus a drought-tolerant grain works well almost everywhere: soybeans or cowpeas for protein, paired with grain or forage sorghum for heat and drought tolerance. Clover works too but needs consistent moisture and a pH in the 6.0-7.0 range to perform well through summer.

How big should a summer food plot be?

Most hunters on mid-size properties do well with a half-acre to two-acre plot per opening. That's large enough to produce real tonnage and hold up to browsing pressure, but small enough to manage with a UTV, sprayer, and broadcast spreader instead of full tractor equipment.

Do I need a soil test before planting a summer plot?

Yes, strongly recommended. Clover and soybeans both perform best in a 6.0-7.0 pH range, and most planting failures trace back to skipped lime or wrong fertilizer rates. Your soil test lab's specific recommendations for your field should always override any generic planting guide, including this one.

Is it legal to hunt over a food plot?

Usually yes, since a planted, growing crop is treated differently from bait or feed in most states, but rules vary. Some states have specific distance or timing restrictions near a standing crop versus a bait pile. Always confirm current rules with your state wildlife agency before hunting near any planted or supplemental food source.

Sources

1. Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Baiting and Feeding Regulations: States regulate baiting and feeding of deer separately from standing crop agricultural practices, and rules vary by state
2. Mississippi State University Extension, Deer Nutrition and Food Plots: Does and bucks require higher protein forage in summer for lactation and antler growth
3. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Plant Materials Program: Regional planting timing for warm-season forages varies substantially by climate zone across the U.S.
4. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Corn and Soybean Planting Guide: Soybeans require soil temperatures around 60-65 degrees F to germinate reliably
5. University of Georgia Extension, Forage Sorghum and Sorghum-Sudangrass Production: Forage sorghum and sorghum-sudangrass hybrids tolerate heat and drought better than corn and can produce high tonnage in hot conditions
6. University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension, White Clover for Wildlife Food Plots: White clover forage commonly tests in the 20-25 percent crude protein range depending on maturity and fertility
7. University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension, Small Grains for Forage: Oats tolerate light frost but decline in quality and palatability once summer heat sets in
8. USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, White-tailed Deer Food Habits: Acorns make up a large share of white-tailed deer fall diet by volume when available due to high fat content
9. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Plant Fact Sheet: Honey Locust: Honey locust pods are sweet, high in sugar, and heavily browsed by deer where the trees occur
10. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Frost/Freeze Data: Local frost-free date data gives more precise spring planting guidance than hardiness zone alone