Summer food plot seed: what to plant and when it works

Last updated 2026-07-25

what is a food plot, and why does summer timing matter

A food plot is a planted patch of forage on hunting land meant to feed deer and other wildlife through part or all of the year, usually somewhere between a quarter acre and a few acres, planted with annuals, perennials, or a mix. Summer plots specifically target the stress window between spring green-up fading and fall mast dropping, late July through September in a lot of the whitetail's range, when natural browse gets thin and does are nursing fawns. The species that work in summer are not the same ones that work in fall. Warm-season plants need soil temperatures in the 60s (Fahrenheit) to germinate well and grow fast in heat, while cool-season plants like brassicas and cereal grains actually stall or bolt in July heat. Planting turnips in June is a common and expensive mistake; planting soybeans in September is another one. Timing by soil temperature and frost date matters more than the calendar month. USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service classifies plants by cool-season and warm-season growth habit for exactly this reason, and land-grant extension offices build their seeding calendars around regional average last-frost dates ^[1]. If you only remember one thing from this article, remember that summer food plot seed means warm-season annual or perennial species planted after your last frost date, not a specific list tied to a month.

when to plant food plots for deer, by season

Deep South (zones 8-9)	Late March to May	Late September to November
Mid-South/Transition (zones 7)	April to mid-May	Mid-September to mid-October
Midwest/Mid-Atlantic (zones 6)	Early May to early June	Late August to mid-September
Upper Midwest/Northeast (zones 4-5)	Mid-May to mid-June	Mid-August to early September	These are starting points, not guarantees. Local frost dates vary by elevation and microclimate even within a single county, so check your state extension's frost date tables before locking in a planting day. For a full breakdown of species options across plot types, see food plot whitetail and deer food plots.

Food plot timing splits into two windows almost everywhere in whitetail country: a spring/summer warm-season window and a late-summer/fall cool-season window. Warm-season plots (soybeans, cowpeas, sorghum, sunflowers, some clovers) go in after soil warms and frost risk passes, typically anywhere from late April in the Deep South to mid-June in the northern Midwest and Canada border states. Cool-season plots (brassicas, cereal grains, clover) go in from late July through September, timed so they mature before the first hard frost and reach peak palatability in fall and winter. A rough national planting window, adjusted from land-grant extension planting guides across zones ^{[2] [3]}: | Region | Warm-season plot window | Cool-season plot window |

what are the best warm-season summer food plot seed options

For pure summer growth and heat tolerance, five species show up again and again in extension trial data and deer plot programs: soybeans, cowpeas, grain sorghum, buckwheat, and sunflowers. Soybeans (forage or grain type) are the workhorse. They fix their own nitrogen through rhizobium bacteria in the root nodules, which cuts your fertilizer bill, and deer hit them hard through the growing season and again after leaf drop when pods mature. The catch: young soybean shoots are deer candy, and a heavy deer population can wipe out a small planting before it ever gets tall enough to survive browsing. Plant more acreage than you think you need, or fence a nurse crop in high-pressure areas. Cowpeas (often sold as iron and clay peas) tolerate drought and poor soil better than soybeans and still deliver high protein forage, commonly cited in the 20-30% crude protein range for the vine and leaf tissue depending on growth stage. They're a good choice on sandy or droughty ground where soybeans struggle. Grain sorghum and forage sorghum handle heat and dry spells about as well as any plot crop available, and they double as a standing grain source into fall for deer and turkey both. Sunflowers (black oil type) are mostly a summer draw and pollinator/bird plant, with deer browsing the leaves some but not relying on it as a primary food source the way they do soybeans or peas. Buckwheat is the fast one: it germinates and flowers in as little as 30 days, works as a short-season fill-in or a soil-building cover crop between other plantings, but it doesn't handle heavy grazing pressure well and burns out fast in real summer heat. For a rundown of how these compare against fall options, deer food plot seed and food plot seed cover species selection in more depth.

do deer eat sorghum

Yes. Deer browse sorghum leaves and stems during the growing season and eat the grain heads once they mature and dry down in late summer and fall. Sorghum is more valuable as a summer-into-fall standing crop than as a tender browse plant deer prefer over legumes. Wildlife agencies and extension programs list grain sorghum among crops that attract deer, turkey, and dove, and it's a common component in wildlife food plot mixes specifically because it tolerates heat and drought better than corn on marginal ground ^[3]. It is not usually a deer's first choice when soybeans or clover are available nearby, but it holds up in conditions where softer forage crops fail, and the grain provides late-season calories after other plots have been grazed down.

do deer eat clover, and do deer like clover

Yes, deer eat clover readily, and most deer managers rank it among the top few forages for both attraction and nutrition. Clover is a perennial or biennial legume, meaning a single planting can produce forage for two to five years with proper mowing and fertility maintenance, which makes it one of the better cost-per-year options in a food plot program. White clover (including ladino types) and red clover both show up constantly in university deer forage trials, commonly tested at crude protein levels in the 25-30% range for actively growing clover ^[4]. Clover also handles moderate summer heat reasonably well if soil moisture holds, though it slows down and can go semi-dormant during the hottest, driest stretches of July and August, then rebounds with fall rain and cooler nights. The tradeoff with clover is establishment patience and weed pressure. It's slower to establish than annual grains, needs a clean, well-limed seedbed, and competes poorly with weeds in the first year if you skip a burndown herbicide or don't mow at the right intervals. Once it's established, though, clover is close to a set-it-and-maintain-it plot for several seasons.

when to plant oats for deer

Oats are a cool-season cereal grain, not a summer crop, and the honest planting window is late summer into early fall, roughly August through September depending on zone, timed 60 to 90 days before your average first hard frost. Oats germinate fast, green up within days in cool, moist fall soil, and deer often prefer them over wheat or rye early in the growing period because the leaf tissue is more tender and palatable ^[2]. Some food plotters do plant a small spring oat crop in early spring in northern climates as a quick green browse before summer annuals go in, but that's a shoulder-season fill-in, not the main use case. If your goal is summer food plot seed, oats aren't the answer; save them for the fall cool-season rotation covered in food plot whitetail.

when to plant turnips for deer

Turnips are a brassica and a cool-season crop, planted from late July through early September in most of the whitetail's range, timed so the plant has 80 to 100 days to mature before a killing frost sweetens the bulb and leaves. Planting turnips in June or early summer is one of the more common food plot mistakes: the heat causes the plants to bolt to seed early, stunts bulb development, and wastes the seed and the growing season. Brassicas including turnips, radishes, and rape become more palatable to deer after a frost converts starches to sugars, which is why hunters see turnip plots get hammered in November and December, not September. If summer food plot seed is your search, turnips belong on next month's shopping list, not this one.

what do deer eat most, and what are deer's favorite foods

Deer are opportunistic browsers, and their diet shifts constantly with season and availability, but state wildlife agency food habit studies consistently rank a handful of categories at the top: acorns and other hard mast, soft mast (fruit), agricultural crops like soybeans and corn, and high-protein legume forage like clover and alfalfa. Acorns in particular show up as a preferred, high-energy fall food in state agency deer nutrition guidance, valuable for fat deposition heading into winter ^[5]. During spring and summer, deer lean more on forbs, new woody browse, and legume forage because their protein needs spike with antler growth and lactation. There's no single "favorite" food across all regions and seasons; a deer in Georgia pine country and a deer in Iowa corn country are working with completely different natural menus. What's consistent is that deer favor whatever is highest in protein and easily digestible relative to what's locally available, which is exactly why soybeans, clover, and acorns all rank near the top almost everywhere they grow.

do deer like honey

Deer don't eat honey in any meaningful, documented way as part of natural foraging behavior, and there's no wildlife agency or extension research treating honey as a deer food or attractant. Deer are herbivores built to digest plant fiber through a four-chambered rumen system, not to seek out concentrated sugars from a beehive. Some commercial deer attractant products use sweet scents or sugar-based additives to draw deer in, and anecdotal reports exist of deer licking spilled syrup or sugary residue, but that's opportunistic curiosity, not a dietary preference worth planning around. If you're building a summer food plot, spend the budget on soybeans and clover, not honey.

how do you prep soil for a summer food plot

Soil prep decides more of your plot's success than seed selection does, and it starts with a soil test, not a bag of seed. A basic test measures pH and major nutrient levels (phosphorus, potassium, and often organic matter), and most land-grant labs return results with specific lime and fertilizer recommendations in pounds per acre . Most food plot species, including soybeans, clover, and cowpeas, grow best in a pH range around 6.0 to 6.8; below that, lime is not optional; it's the single highest-return input most plotters skip. Lime takes months to fully react in soil, which is another reason fall soil sampling for a spring/summer plot beats waiting until planting week. Your soil test report from your own state or university lab is the real authority here, not a generic online chart. Recommendations vary by soil type, existing nutrient levels, and the specific crop you're planting, so follow what your lab actually prints on the results, and treat any general guidance (including this article) as a starting framework, not a substitute for your test. If you want a plan built around your specific test results and property goals rather than a generic seasonal calendar, PlotSeason's $99 one-time Custom Food Plot Plan turns your soil test and property details into a species and planting schedule, though your soil lab's lime and fertilizer numbers still take priority over any general plan.

what equipment do you actually need for a summer planting

A summer annual planting doesn't require a full tractor line to succeed, but bare minimum you need a way to kill existing vegetation, break or scratch the seedbed, get seed-to-soil contact, and (for some species) cultipack or drag seed in. For small plots (under an acre) an ATV or UTV with a small disc, a broadcast spreader, and a drag section made from chain-link fence or a chunk of cyclone fencing weighted down covers most of what you need. Larger acreage benefits from a tractor with a disc harrow or field cultivator, a no-till drill if you're planting into standing residue without tillage, and a cultipacker for small-seeded species like clover that need firm, shallow contact rather than deep burial. Seeding depth matters more than most people think. Soybeans and cowpeas want roughly 1 to 1.5 inches deep; clover and small brassica seed want a quarter inch or less, essentially pressed into the surface. Planting clover at soybean depth is a common failure mode. Check the seed tag or your extension's specific planting guide for exact depth and rate by species before you run the drill.

Frequently asked questions

Do deer eat sorghum?

Yes. Deer browse the leaves during the growing season and eat the mature grain heads in late summer and fall. Sorghum handles heat and drought better than corn, which makes it a solid summer-into-fall plot crop, though deer usually prefer soybeans or clover when both are available nearby.

Do deer eat clover, and do deer like clover?

Yes, clover ranks among the most preferred and most tested deer forages, commonly showing crude protein in the 25-30% range when actively growing. It's a perennial that can produce forage for several years from one planting, though it establishes slower than annual grains and needs decent soil pH and weed control to thrive.

When should you plant food plots for deer?

Warm-season plots (soybeans, cowpeas, sorghum) go in after your last frost, roughly late March in the Deep South to mid-June near the Canadian border. Cool-season plots (clover, brassicas, cereal grains) go in late summer to early fall, timed 60-100 days before your area's first hard frost. Check your state extension's frost date tables for local specifics.

When do you plant oats for deer?

Oats are a cool-season cereal grain best planted late summer into early fall, roughly August through September depending on zone, timed 60 to 90 days before the first hard frost. A small spring oat planting works as an early green browse in some northern climates, but fall is the primary window.

When do you plant turnips for deer?

Turnips are cool-season brassicas planted late July through early September in most whitetail range, giving the plant 80 to 100 days to mature before frost. Planting earlier in summer heat causes the plant to bolt to seed and stunts bulb growth, wasting the planting.

What is a food plot?

A food plot is a planted area on hunting or wildlife land, typically a quarter acre to several acres, seeded with forage crops meant to feed deer and other wildlife. Plots use annual crops like soybeans and brassicas, perennials like clover, or a mix, timed around warm-season and cool-season growing windows.

What are deer's favorite foods?

There's no single favorite across all regions, but acorns and other hard mast, soft mast like fruit, soybeans and other row crops, and legume forages like clover and alfalfa consistently rank at the top in state wildlife agency food habit studies. Preference shifts by season and by what's locally available.

Do deer like honey?

No, honey isn't a documented deer food or attractant in wildlife research. Deer are herbivores adapted to digest plant fiber, not concentrated sugars. Occasional reports of deer licking spilled syrup are opportunistic, not a real dietary preference, so it's not worth building any plot strategy around.

What's the best summer food plot seed for a first-time planter?

Soybeans or cowpeas are the most forgiving starting points: both fix their own nitrogen, tolerate average soil once pH is corrected, and give deer a high-protein forage through summer. Cowpeas handle drought and poor soil slightly better than soybeans if your ground is sandy or inconsistent on rainfall.

Can you plant clover and soybeans together in summer?

It's uncommon and not usually recommended, since soybeans grow tall and can shade out clover's low growth habit, and their maintenance needs (mowing timing, herbicide options) differ. Most plotters run them as separate plots or in rotation rather than mixed together in one planting.

How hot can it get before summer food plot seed stops germinating well?

Most warm-season plot species germinate fine through typical summer heat once soil temperature is in the 65-85°F range, but extreme heat paired with drought stress can hurt germination and early growth regardless of species. Soil moisture at planting matters more than air temperature alone for most summer annuals.

Do you need to check state rules before planting a food plot?

Yes. Some states regulate what counts as legal hunting over a planted area versus baiting, and rules differ on standing crops, mowed plots, and supplemental feed. Check your state wildlife agency's current baiting and feeding regulations before hunting over any plot, since rules and definitions vary by state and can change.

Sources

1. USDA NRCS Plant Materials Program: Regional guidance on species growth habits and planting timing
2. University of Tennessee Extension, Establishing Wildlife Food Plots: Regional warm-season and cool-season food plot planting windows
3. University of Georgia Extension, Clover for Wildlife: Crude protein levels of actively growing clover forage
4. Pennsylvania Game Commission, Deer Management Program: Acorns as a high-energy preferred fall food important for deer fat deposition
5. University of Missouri Extension, Soil Testing for Lawns, Gardens, and Wildlife Plots: Soil test reports provide specific lime and fertilizer recommendations in pounds per acre