Perennial deer food plot guide: what to plant and when

Last updated 2026-07-24

What is a food plot, exactly?

A food plot is a planted area on hunting land, usually somewhere between a quarter acre and several acres, put in specifically to feed and hold deer or attract them to a huntable location. It is not a lawn and it is not a farm field in the commercial sense, though it uses the same basic tools: a soil test, lime and fertilizer, a seed drill or broadcast spreader, and a mower or sprayer for upkeep. Food plots fall into two broad categories. Annuals get planted fresh each year (brassicas, cereal grains, soybeans, sorghum) and finish their life cycle in one season. Perennials (clover, alfalfa, chicory, some clover-grass blends) come back on their own for multiple years off one planting, as long as the stand gets mowed, weeds get controlled, and soil fertility gets maintained. State wildlife agencies generally treat food plots as habitat management rather than baiting, but the line matters and it varies by state a lot. Michigan's DNR treats baiting and feeding as a defined regulatory category separate from standing crops or planted vegetation left to grow naturally, with its own set of restrictions and, in parts of the state, outright bans tied to CWD management. Always check your specific state's regulation before assuming a plot is legal to hunt over, especially in states with active CWD-related feeding bans. For a broader look at how food plots fit into an overall deer management plan, see food plot whitetail and deer food plots.

What's the difference between an annual and perennial food plot?

An annual plot is a one-season investment: plant it, deer eat it (or it matures and gets terminated), and you start over next year. A perennial plot is a multi-year investment. The first year costs more in labor and seed, but years two through four or five just need mowing, spot spraying, and a fertility top-dress. Perennials like clover typically cost more per acre to establish (seed, lime, sometimes an inoculant) but spread that cost over several growing seasons, which usually makes the annualized cost lower than replanting brassicas or cereal grains every fall. The tradeoff is site selection. Perennial clover needs decent drainage and a pH close to 6.0 to 6.5 to really produce. Annuals are far more forgiving of a mediocre or wet site because you're not asking the plant to survive a winter and multiple summers in the same ground. A lot of experienced plotters run both: a perennial clover or alfalfa field as the anchor plot for spring and summer protein, with annual brassicas, oats, or a grain plot rotated in nearby for fall hunting pressure and late-season tonnage. If you're deciding between the two for a specific field, deer food plot seed breaks down species by planting window.

When to plant food plots for deer, in general

Timing depends entirely on your USDA plant hardiness zone and whether you're planting a spring/summer perennial or a fall annual. As a broad framework: perennials (clover, alfalfa, chicory) go in during spring (April to May in northern zones) or late summer/early fall (August to September) when soil moisture is more reliable and weed competition is lower. Fall annuals (brassicas, cereal grains) get planted 60 to 90 days before your first hard frost so they mature going into hunting season. The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is the standard reference for figuring out your frost windows and growing season length ^[1]. A grower in zone 4 (much of Minnesota, Wisconsin, northern Michigan) is planting perennials in May and fall annuals by early August. A grower in zone 7 (Virginia, Tennessee, parts of Oklahoma) has until September or even early October for fall plantings and can often get away with an April perennial seeding. Soil temperature matters as much as calendar date. Clover and alfalfa germinate best once soil temps hold consistently in the mid-50s Fahrenheit or warmer, and cold, wet soil in early spring just rots the seed or lets weeds outcompete slow-germinating legumes. That's the mistake most first-timers make: they plant on a date instead of planting on a soil condition.

When to plant clover for deer

Spring planting windows for clover run roughly April through May in the north (zones 3-5) and February through April in the south (zones 7-8), based on frost-free soil conditions. Late summer plantings (August to early September) work too, and many plotters actually prefer them because there's less weed pressure than in a fresh spring seedbed. Clover is a frost-seeding candidate too. Broadcasting clover seed onto frozen or thawing ground in late winter (frost-seeding) lets natural freeze-thaw cycles work the seed into the soil without any tillage, a method documented by University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension for pasture and forage establishment ^[2]. This works well for overseeding thin clover stands or adding clover into an existing grass field. Once established, clover is a multi-year plant. Most white clover varieties (Durana, Ladino types) hold a stand for 3 to 5 years before thinning enough to need renovation or reseeding, and red clover tends to run shorter, often 2 to 3 years, per extension forage variety trials. Mow clover to 4 to 6 inches through the growing season to keep it vegetative and prevent it from going to seed and getting stemmy, which deer eat less readily.

Do deer like clover, and do deer actually eat it?

Yes. Clover is consistently one of the most heavily used food plot plantings across whitetail range, and it's a legume, which means it's fixing nitrogen and running higher protein than most grasses, typically in the 20 to 30% crude protein range depending on growth stage and clover species. That protein content is a big part of why clover gets planted specifically for antler growth and lactation support in spring and summer. Deer preference isn't uniform everywhere, though. In areas with heavy ag (corn and soybean country), clover competes with a lot of high-value natural forage, and deer use may be more concentrated in early spring green-up and late fall when other food is scarce. In areas without row-crop ag nearby, a well-maintained clover plot can get hit hard nearly year-round. One honest caveat: nobody has a clean national dataset ranking deer's absolute favorite forage species, because preference studies are localized, seasonal, and dependent on what else is available. Extension and wildlife agency literature generally agrees that clover, soybeans, and native forbs rank high in deer diet studies across most of the whitetail's range.

What are deer's favorite foods overall?

There's no single universal answer. Deer diets shift by region, season, and what's locally available, but agricultural crops (soybeans, corn), legumes (clover, alfalfa), and acorns consistently show up at the top of deer diet studies across the whitetail's range. Acorns in particular can dominate fall diets in years with a heavy mast crop, sometimes pulling deer completely off planted food plots for weeks. Soybeans are often cited as one of the highest-preference plantings where they're grown as a food plot, both for the beans themselves (very high in fat and protein) and the leafy growth through summer. Standing corn is another high-preference late-season food, mostly for the calorie density during cold weather. Brassicas (turnips, radishes, kale) become highly preferred after a hard frost, when the cold converts starches to sugars and makes the plant noticeably sweeter. So if you're asking what to plant to maximize use, the honest answer is: it depends on your region, your soil, and what's already growing nearby. A soybean field surrounded by 2,000 acres of soybeans isn't special. A clover plot in a hardwood-dominated area with little other spring forage can be the best food source for a mile in any direction.

Do deer eat sorghum?

Yes, deer eat grain sorghum (milo), both the standing grain heads in fall and winter and the young green growth earlier in the season. Sorghum is more commonly planted as a fall/winter standing grain crop or as a component in wildlife blend mixes than as a primary summer food source. Sorghum is more drought-tolerant than corn, per Kansas State University Extension's grain sorghum production guidance, which is part of why it shows up in food plot mixes for drier regions and sandier soils . It's generally not a top-tier preference food compared to soybeans, corn, or brassicas. But it holds up well as a standing winter food source when other plots have been grazed down, and it adds cover value that a mowed clover field doesn't.

Do deer like honey, or anything sweet?

Deer don't eat honey in any meaningful, documented way as part of their natural diet, and there's no wildlife agency or extension research treating honey as a deer attractant or food source. Deer are herbivores that browse plants, forbs, mast, and agricultural crops; they aren't drawn to honey the way, say, bears are. What's true is that deer strongly prefer sweeter forage when it's available, which is exactly why brassicas like turnips get better after a frost (starches convert to sugars) and why deer hit soybeans and corn hard for their sugar and fat content. Some commercial mineral and attractant products use sugar or molasses as a carrier or flavor additive, but that's a manufactured product claim, not a documented dietary pattern backed by wildlife research. If you're seeing "honey" mentioned near deer attractants, it's almost always marketing language on a mineral or scent product, not an actual forage recommendation.

When to plant oats for deer

Oats go in as a fall annual, typically 45 to 60 days before your average first frost date, which puts most of the country in an August to mid-September planting window (earlier in the north, later in the south). Oats germinate fast, often in 7 to 10 days with adequate moisture, and produce a lot of tonnage quickly, which makes them a favorite for early fall hunting plots. Oats are also one of the more cold-tolerant cereal grains for fall growth, staying green and palatable well into cooler weather compared to some other grains, though a hard, sustained freeze will eventually kill the plant back in most zones. Some growers in the south (zones 7-8) get a spring oat planting to work too, going in as soil temps warm in February-March, though fall plantings are far more common for deer plots specifically because that's when hunting pressure and daylight shortening drive deer toward high-carb forage. Oats are frequently blended with clover as a nurse crop: the oats come up fast and give the slower-germinating clover some cover and weed suppression in that first season, then the oats die back naturally and the clover carries the plot in years two and beyond.

When to plant turnips for deer

Turnips go in 80 to 100 days before your first expected hard frost, which puts most of the country somewhere between mid-July and late August. Turnips need that lead time to bulb up properly; planting too late means you get leafy green growth but small or nonexistent bulbs by the time deer start hitting the plot hard. Here's the timing quirk that trips people up: turnips (and other brassicas) are a preferred food after a hard frost, not necessarily before it. The cold triggers starch-to-sugar conversion in the leaves and bulbs, and deer that ignored the plot in October will often hammer it in December and January once a few frosts have hit it, per Pennsylvania Game Commission food plot guidance on brassica plantings . If you plant turnips expecting heavy use in early October, you may be disappointed. The real payoff usually comes in late season when other food is scarce and the plant has sweetened up. Because of that late-season pull, turnip and brassica plots pair well as a fall/winter companion to a perennial clover field that's mostly dormant or grazed down by December. For species-by-species planting windows across your specific zone, deer food plot seed has a more detailed breakdown.

How do you build and maintain a perennial plot for the long run?

Start with a soil test, every single time, before you spend a dollar on seed. Your soil test lab is the actual authority on how much lime and fertilizer your specific field needs; a general article like this one can only give you ranges. Most clover and alfalfa perform best in a pH range of 6.0 to 6.8, and clover establishment often fails not from bad seed but from planting into soil with a pH below 6.0, where the plant simply can't take up nutrients efficiently. Lime takes time to work, often 6 months or more to fully adjust soil pH, so if your test comes back at 5.2, get lime down as early as possible, ideally the season before you plant, not the same week. Once established, perennial maintenance is mowing, mowing, and mowing. Keep clover and alfalfa mowed to 4-6 inches through the growing season to prevent it from going reproductive (flowering and seeding), which makes it stemmier and less palatable. A single application of nitrogen isn't needed on clover (it fixes its own), but potassium and phosphorus top-dressing based on a fresh soil test every 2 to 3 years keeps a stand productive. Most well-maintained clover fields need full renovation (tillage and reseeding) somewhere around year 4 or 5, when grass and weed pressure finally out-compete the clover itself. If you'd rather skip the guesswork on species mix, seeding rates, and a planting calendar built for your specific ZIP code and soil test numbers, that's exactly the gap PlotSeason's $99 one-time Custom Food Plot Plan is built to fill. It's general planning guidance based on your inputs, not a substitute for your soil lab's specific lime and fertilizer recommendation.

Perennial vs. annual plots: which should you actually plant?

Factor	Perennial (clover, alfalfa, chicory)	Annual (brassicas, oats, sorghum)
Establishment cost	Higher upfront (seed, lime, inoculant)	Lower per planting
Years of production	3-5+ years before renovation	1 growing season
Site requirements	Needs good drainage, pH 6.0-6.8	More tolerant of marginal soil
Peak use season	Spring through fall	Late summer through winter
Annual labor	Mowing, spot spray, periodic fertilizer	Full replant, tillage, seeding each year
Protein/tonnage	High protein, moderate tonnage	Lower protein, often higher tonnage (grains)	Most experienced plotters don't pick one and stick with it. A common setup is a perennial clover field as the year-round anchor plot, paired with an annual brassica or cereal grain plot nearby for fall hunting and late-season food when the clover goes dormant or gets buried in snow. If you only have one field to work with, the choice comes down to whether you need summer nutrition (go perennial) or fall/winter hunting-season tonnage (go annual).

What equipment do you actually need for a perennial plot?

For a small perennial plot (under 2 acres), a lot of guys get by with an ATV/UTV, a drag harrow or cultipacker, a broadcast spreader, and a sprayer for burndown and spot spraying. Clover seed is tiny and needs good seed-to-soil contact but very shallow planting depth, often 1/4 inch or less, which is why cultipacking after broadcasting matters more than deep tillage. For larger acreage or if you're planting a mix that includes bigger seed (like some chicory blends or if you're drilling instead of broadcasting), a no-till drill saves a step and improves germination consistency, especially into existing sod or a cover crop residue. Mowing equipment (brush hog or rotary cutter behind a tractor, or a heavy-duty ATV mower for small plots) is non-negotiable for perennial maintenance. You'll be mowing multiple times a season, every season, for as long as the stand lasts. For a full breakdown of specific seed blends by region and site condition, see food plot seed and deer food plots.

Frequently asked questions

Do deer eat sorghum?

Yes. Deer eat both the young green growth and the mature grain heads of sorghum (milo), though it's typically planted more as a drought-tolerant standing winter grain than a top preference food. It's less commonly a deer's first choice compared to soybeans or corn but works well as late-season standing cover and food in drier regions.

Do deer eat clover?

Yes, clover is one of the most consistently used food plot plantings for whitetail deer across most of their range. It's a legume high in protein (often 20-30% crude protein depending on growth stage), which makes it especially valuable in spring and summer for antler growth and lactation.

When should I plant food plots for deer?

It depends on species and your USDA hardiness zone. Perennials like clover typically go in April-May or August-September; fall annuals like brassicas and cereal grains go in 60-100 days before your first hard frost, timed so they mature heading into hunting season. Check your zone on the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map first.

Do deer like clover more than other plantings?

Clover ranks consistently high in deer diet studies and food plot use across most whitetail range, largely because of its protein content and long growing window. Preference isn't universal though; in heavy row-crop areas deer may favor soybeans or corn over clover at certain times of year.

When should I plant oats for deer food plots?

Plant oats 45 to 60 days before your average first frost date, which lands most regions in an August to mid-September window. Oats germinate quickly (often 7-10 days with moisture) and are commonly planted alongside clover as a fast-growing nurse crop that protects young clover seedlings.

When is the best time to plant food plots overall?

There's no single date; it depends on whether you're planting a spring/summer perennial or a fall annual, and on your specific USDA hardiness zone. Perennials generally go in spring or late summer; fall annuals go in mid-to-late summer so they mature before your first hard frost.

When should I plant turnips for a deer food plot?

Plant turnips 80 to 100 days before your expected first hard frost, usually mid-July through late August depending on region. Turnips need that lead time to bulb properly, and they actually become more palatable after a few frosts convert starches to sugars, so peak use often comes in late fall or winter.

What exactly is a food plot?

A food plot is a planted area on hunting land, ranging from a quarter acre to several acres, established specifically to feed and attract deer or other wildlife. It uses standard soil test, lime, fertilizer, and planting practices, and can be either perennial (clover, alfalfa) or annual (brassicas, cereal grains, soybeans).

What are deer's favorite foods in general?

There's no single universal favorite; it varies by region and season. Soybeans, acorns, clover, and standing corn consistently rank high in deer diet studies across the whitetail's range, with acorns sometimes dominating fall diets entirely during heavy mast years and pulling deer off planted plots.

Do deer like honey?

No, there's no documented evidence that deer eat honey as part of their natural diet. Deer are browsers that eat plants, mast, and agricultural crops; honey shows up occasionally in marketing for mineral or attractant products, but that's a manufactured claim, not a wildlife-research-backed food preference.

How long does a perennial clover food plot last before I have to replant it?

Most well-maintained white clover stands last 3 to 5 years before thinning enough to need renovation or reseeding. Red clover tends to run shorter, often 2 to 3 years. Mowing regularly and top-dressing fertilizer based on a fresh soil test every 2 to 3 years extends the productive life of the stand.

Is it legal to hunt over a food plot?

Generally yes, food plots are treated as habitat management rather than baiting in most states, but rules vary significantly and some states restrict feeding or baiting near CWD zones. Always check your state wildlife agency's specific regulations before assuming a plot is legal to hunt over in your area.

Sources

1. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Plant Guide: White Clover: Clover and alfalfa germinate best once soil temperatures are consistently warm in spring
2. University of Wisconsin-Madison, Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, Frost Seeding Legumes into Pastures: Frost-seeding uses freeze-thaw cycles to work broadcast clover seed into soil without tillage
3. USDA Forest Service, Fire Effects Information System, White-tailed Deer Food Habits: Clover, soybeans, and native forbs rank consistently high in whitetail diet studies
4. Kansas State University Extension, Grain Sorghum Production Handbook (C-687): Sorghum is more drought-tolerant than corn and used in wildlife plots in drier regions
5. Pennsylvania Game Commission, Food Plot and Habitat Guidance: Brassica forage becomes more palatable to deer after frost due to starch-to-sugar conversion