Last updated 2026-07-26
TL;DR
For spring food plots, plant warm-season annuals: soybeans, cowpeas, sunn hemp, grain sorghum, or a clover/chicory perennial blend once soil temps hit 60°F and frost risk has passed. Test soil first, plant into a clean seedbed, and time seeding to your regional last-frost date, usually late April to early June depending on latitude.
What is a food plot, exactly?
A food plot is a planted patch of land, usually a quarter acre to several acres, managed specifically to feed and attract deer or other wildlife rather than to produce a cash crop. Most hunters plant them on field edges, interior clearings, or old ag ground on land they own or lease. Food plots fall into two broad categories: annuals, which you replant every year (or every season) and usually offer the highest tonnage of forage, and perennials, which you establish once and manage for two to five years before renovating. Spring plots are almost always warm-season annuals or perennial clover/chicory establishments, since cool-season crops like brassicas and cereal grains are fall plantings. The point of a spring plot isn't really hunting attraction, it's nutrition. Spring and summer plots feed does through lactation and bucks through antler growth, when protein demand is highest. A fall plot pulls deer in front of a stand; a spring plot builds the deer. USDA NRCS conservation practice standards for upland wildlife habitat management treat food plots and supplemental forage plantings as one part of a broader wildlife habitat plan, not a standalone substitute for natural browse and cover [1].
When should you plant food plots for deer?
Timing depends on whether you're planting a cool-season or warm-season crop, and both hinge on your local frost dates, not a calendar date that works nationwide. Warm-season spring plots (beans, peas, sorghum) go in after your last spring frost, when soil temperature is reliably above 60°F. Cool-season plots (clover, brassicas, cereal grains) get planted in early spring in the north or in fall almost everywhere else. Here's the practical breakdown: in the Upper Midwest and Northeast (roughly USDA cold hardiness zones 3-5), last frost dates run late April to late May, so warm-season plots go in from mid-May through early June. In the Mid-South and Mid-Atlantic (zones 6-7), last frost is typically early to mid-April, letting you plant warm-season crops by late April to mid-May. In the Deep South and Gulf Coast (zones 8-9), frost risk is usually gone by mid-March, and some growers plant warm-season plots as early as late March. A simple rule that holds up regionally: don't plant warm-season legumes or sorghum until soil temperature at 2-4 inches deep holds above 60°F for several consecutive days. Planting into cold, wet soil is one of the most common reasons spring plots fail to establish well, according to state extension planting guidance [2]. If you want a full year-round breakdown by zone rather than just spring, that's covered in a seasonal food plot calendar.
What should you actually plant in spring?
| Soybeans (forage type) | Soil temp 60°F+, after frost | 50-60 lb/acre drilled, 60-75 lb/acre broadcast | High-protein summer forage, antler growth | Needs fencing or large acreage; deer can wipe out small plots before pods form | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowpeas (iron & clay) | Soil temp 65°F+ | 60-90 lb/acre | Drought tolerance, high palatability | Same overgrazing risk as soybeans | |
| Grain sorghum | Soil temp 60-65°F | 6-10 lb/acre drilled | Drought/heat tolerance, fall seed head for birds and deer | Slow early growth; weed competition in first 4-6 weeks | |
| Sunn hemp | Soil temp 65°F+ | 15-20 lb/acre | Fast biomass, soil building, weed suppression | Not a preferred deer forage on its own; use in a blend | |
| White/red clover | Early spring (cool-season) | 6-8 lb/acre (white), 8-10 lb/acre (red) | Long-term perennial forage, spring-fall | Needs a firm seedbed and good pH; slow first-year establishment | |
| Chicory (blended with clover) | Early spring | 2-4 lb/acre in a blend | Drought tolerance, high mineral content | Bitter to some deer in high heat; best blended, not straight | Soybeans and cowpeas are the workhorses for pure tonnage and protein. Forage quality research on legumes, including work summarized by USDA's Agricultural Research Service, commonly puts vegetative-stage soybean and clover forage in the 25-30% crude protein range [3]. Grain sorghum earns its spot because it survives drought and heat that kill soft-leaved legumes, and it leaves a seed head that carries into fall. Clover and chicory are the exception to the "spring annual" rule: they're perennials you plant once in early spring (or fall) and maintain for years with mowing and periodic fertilization. For a broader rundown of species options beyond the spring window, see food plot seed and deer food plot seed. |
The right spring mix depends on your goal: pure tonnage for summer nutrition, a clover base you'll maintain for years, or a mix that also holds up under grazing pressure. Here's how the common options stack up. | Species | Planting window (soil temp) | Seeding rate | Best for | Watch out for |
Do deer eat sorghum?
Yes, deer eat grain sorghum, both the young green plant and the mature seed head, though it's not usually their first choice when clover or beans are available nearby. Sorghum earns its place in spring plots for drought tolerance and late-season seed production, not raw palatability. Extension forage guides list grain sorghum as a viable deer and upland bird food plot crop, especially in hot, dry regions where soybeans struggle without irrigation [4]. Deer will graze young sorghum shoots in summer, then hit the mature seed heads in fall, which also makes it a dual-purpose planting for deer and turkey or quail. Plant it at 6-10 lb/acre drilled about 1 inch deep once soil hits 60-65°F. It's slow out of the ground compared to beans, so keep an eye on weed pressure in the first month.
Do deer eat clover, and do they actually like it?
Yes, deer eat clover heavily, and it's consistently ranked among the most preferred food plot forages by wildlife biologists and extension researchers. White clover and red clover both regrow quickly after grazing, which is exactly what makes them a good fit for high-pressure plots that get hit hard all season. Clover's appeal comes down to protein and digestibility. Forage analyses commonly show white clover crude protein in the 25-30% range during active growth, comparable to alfalfa and soybeans [3]. It's also one of the few plot species that stays productive from spring green-up through the first hard frosts of fall, since it's a perennial rather than something you replant. The catch: clover takes real seedbed prep. It needs a firm, weed-free surface, a soil pH close to 6.0-6.5, and seed placed no deeper than 1/4 inch, since it germinates from light. Broadcasting clover into rough dirt and walking away is the number one reason first-year clover plots look thin. If you're deciding between clover and other perennial or annual options for a given field, food plot whitetail walks through that comparison in more depth.
When should you plant oats for deer?
Oats are a cool-season cereal grain, so despite the spring topic here, oats are primarily a fall planting in most of the country, going in 6-8 weeks before your first fall frost. Some growers in the northern tier also plant a spring oat crop in March-April as a quick cover and early forage before summer annuals go in. Oats germinate fast (5-10 days in warm soil) and deer hit young oat shoots hard, which is exactly why oats are a staple in fall blends alongside brassicas and cereal rye. A spring-planted oat crop, by contrast, tends to head out and lose palatability by early summer heat, so it works better as a short-term nurse crop or early-season grazing plot than as your main spring plot. If oats are on your list, plant at 2-3 bushels per acre (roughly 64-96 lb) drilled 1-1.5 inches deep, per land-grant extension small grain seeding guidance [5].
When should you plant turnips for deer?
Turnips are also a cool-season brassica, planted in mid to late summer (roughly 60-90 days before your first fall frost) so the bulbs and leaves mature right as fall hunting season starts. They are not a spring planting. The confusion is understandable since turnips show up on a lot of "food plot" lists without a season attached. But turnip seed germinates best in warm soil with cooling temperatures ahead, and the sugar content that makes bulbs attractive to deer actually increases after a few frosts convert starches to sugar. University extension brassica forage guidance generally recommends a planting window of late July through early August in the Midwest and Northeast, and into September in the Deep South [6]. If you're building a full-season plan, spring gets you the tonnage crops, and turnips get slotted into your late-summer fall-plot planting instead.
What are deer's favorite foods, and does that change what you should plant?
Deer preference studies and state wildlife agency browse surveys consistently rank a handful of plants at the top: white clover, soybeans (both forage and standing grain), cowpeas, chicory, and, seasonally, acorns and other hard mast. Native forbs and legumes often get hit before planted crops when both are available, which is why plot placement near natural browse matters as much as species choice. State deer research units and land-grant extension offices have run preference and forage-quality work for decades, and results are fairly consistent: legumes (clover, soybeans, cowpeas) top the list for protein-driven preference in spring and summer, while acorns and browse dominate in fall when available [3]. That said, preference isn't the only variable that matters. A plot of pure soybeans in a 2-acre clearing surrounded by heavy deer density can get grazed to bare dirt in three weeks, well before it ever produces a bean pod. Preference has to be balanced against tonnage and grazing pressure, which is one reason many hunters blend a highly preferred legume with a more resilient companion like sorghum or sunn hemp.
Do deer like honey (honey locust, honeysuckle, or actual honey)?
If the question is about the sweetener, no, deer don't eat honey and it has no place in a food plot; that's a bee product, not a browse plant. If the question is really about honey locust or honeysuckle, the answer is yes, deer readily eat both, though neither is a typical planted food plot crop. Honey locust pods (Gleditsia triacanthos) are a well-documented deer food in fall and winter, high in sugar content, and trees are sometimes retained or planted as a mast supplement on hunting land rather than drilled into a plot. Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) is heavily browsed by deer but it's also an aggressive invasive plant in much of the eastern United States, and the USDA NRCS Plants Database lists it as an introduced species in the United States, which is why some state agencies discourage or restrict planting it [7]. Neither honey locust nor honeysuckle is a spring food plot species in the traditional annual/perennial sense; they're woody perennials you manage over years, not something you drill in April.
How do you prep soil for a spring food plot?
Start with a soil test, not a guess. A basic soil test costs roughly $7-15 per sample through most land-grant university extension soil testing labs and tells you your exact pH and nutrient levels rather than a rough estimate . Most food plot legumes and clover do best at pH 6.0-6.5; below that, lime is the fix, and your soil test report will tell you how many tons per acre to apply, since lime rates depend on your specific soil's buffer pH, not a flat number. Once lime and fertilizer recommendations are in hand (apply lime months ahead if you can, since it takes time to move through soil), the practical steps are the same across most spring annuals: kill existing sod or weeds with tillage or a burndown herbicide, work up a seedbed that's firm but not compacted, broadcast or drill seed at label rate and depth, and roll or cultipack small-seeded species like clover for good soil contact. Skipping the weed kill step is a common failure point, since spring warm-season plots planted into thick sod get outcompeted by grass before the plot crop ever gets established. A soil test is also the one thing that keeps a spring plot plan from being generic. Your specific field's pH, phosphorus, and potassium levels drive lime and fertilizer rates that no seed bag label or blog post can give you without that data; the lab that ran your test is the real authority on those numbers, and any planting plan should treat that report as the baseline. If you'd rather have a written plan built around your test results and property instead of piecing it together yourself, that's what the $99 one-time Custom Food Plot Plan is for.
What equipment do you need to plant a spring food plot?
The minimum viable setup is a broadcast spreader, some kind of ground disturbance tool (disc, tiller, or a herbicide burndown plus a no-till drill), and a way to firm the seedbed after planting. You don't need a tractor to plant a small plot, but you do need to get seed-to-soil contact right, which is where most DIY spring plots go wrong. For food plots under an acre, a hand-crank or ATV-mounted broadcast spreader, a hand tiller or ATV disc, and a lawn roller or a section of chain-link fence dragged over the plot for a cultipacker substitute will get you through. For plots over an acre, a tractor with a disc or field cultivator and a drill or cultipacker attachment saves real time and gets more consistent seed depth, which matters most for small-seeded species like clover that fail badly if buried too deep.
Do you need to check state rules before planting?
Yes, and this is a step people skip. Food plots themselves are legal planting activity everywhere, but some states regulate how close a plot can be to a hunting stand, whether supplemental feed (as opposed to a planted crop) counts as baiting, and whether certain seed mixes or attractant additives cross into baiting rules. Baiting and feeding regulations vary significantly by state and even by county in some cases (often tied to chronic wasting disease management zones). Check your state wildlife agency's current hunting regulations before you plant, especially if you're using any mineral or feed supplement alongside your plot, or if you're near a CWD management zone where feeding bans are common. State agency regulation pages are updated annually and are the only source that reflects this year's rules, not a blog post from three seasons ago.
Frequently asked questions
Do deer eat sorghum?
Yes. Deer graze young grain sorghum shoots in summer and eat the mature seed heads in fall. It's not usually a deer's first-choice forage compared to clover or soybeans, but it earns a spot in spring plots for its drought and heat tolerance, especially in the Deep South and Mid-South.
Do deer eat clover?
Yes, heavily. White and red clover rank among the most preferred food plot forages in extension and wildlife research, commonly testing at 25-30% crude protein during active growth. Clover also regrows fast after grazing, making it a good fit for plots that see heavy pressure all season.
When should you plant food plots for deer?
It depends on the crop type. Warm-season annuals (soybeans, cowpeas, sorghum) go in after your last frost, once soil temps hold above 60°F, typically late April to early June depending on region. Cool-season crops (clover, brassicas, cereal grains) get planted in early spring in the north or in late summer to early fall almost everywhere else.
Do deer like clover?
Yes, clover is one of the most consistently preferred plot forages in wildlife research, ranking alongside soybeans and cowpeas for palatability and protein. It's also a perennial, so a well-maintained clover plot can produce forage from spring through fall for two to five years before it needs renovation.
When should you plant oats for deer?
Oats are mainly a fall crop, planted 6-8 weeks before your first fall frost so young shoots are available when hunting season opens. A spring oat planting is possible in northern regions as an early cover crop, but oats head out and lose palatability quickly once summer heat arrives.
When should you plant food plots for deer generally, by region?
In cold northern zones (roughly USDA zones 3-5), warm-season spring plots go in mid-May to early June. In the Mid-South and Mid-Atlantic (zones 6-7), late April to mid-May works. In the Deep South and Gulf Coast (zones 8-9), planting can start as early as mid to late March once frost risk passes.
When should you plant turnips for deer?
Turnips are a late-summer, not spring, planting. Put them in 60-90 days before your first fall frost, typically late July through early August in the Midwest and Northeast, and into September in the Deep South. Frost actually improves turnip palatability by converting starches to sugar.
What is a food plot?
A food plot is a planted area, usually a fraction of an acre to several acres, managed specifically to feed wildlife like deer rather than to produce a sellable crop. Plots are either annuals (replanted yearly) or perennials (established once, managed for several years) and are usually planted on private or leased hunting land.
What are deer's favorite foods?
Preference research consistently ranks white clover, soybeans, cowpeas, and chicory near the top of planted food plot species, alongside natural acorns and hard mast when available. Legumes tend to top preference trials in spring and summer due to their protein content, while mast and browse take over in fall.
Do deer like honey?
No, deer don't eat honey (the bee product); it has no role in food plots. If the question means honey locust pods or Japanese honeysuckle, deer do eat both readily, but neither is a typical planted spring food plot crop, and honeysuckle is invasive and restricted in some states.
How much does a soil test cost before planting a spring food plot?
A standard soil test through most land-grant university extension labs runs roughly $7-15 per sample and takes one to two weeks for results. It's one of the cheapest inputs in the entire food plot process and the most reliable way to get an accurate lime and fertilizer rate for your specific field.
Can you plant clover and soybeans in the same spring plot?
Not usually as a direct mix, since soybeans are annual and clover is perennial with different management needs. A common strategy is splitting the field: a perennial clover section for season-long forage and a separate warm-season annual section (beans, peas, sorghum) for summer tonnage.
Why did my spring food plot fail to come up?
The most common causes are planting into cold soil before the 60°F threshold, poor seed-to-soil contact (seed too deep or left on top of loose dirt), and heavy weed or sod competition that wasn't killed before planting. A soil test that reveals wrong pH is another frequent, invisible cause.
Sources
- USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Conservation Practice Standard: Upland Wildlife Habitat Management (Code 645): Food plots and supplemental forage plantings are treated as one part of a wildlife habitat management plan, not a standalone substitute for natural habitat.
- Sollenberger, L.E. et al., "Herbage Quality of Warm-Season Legumes," Crop Science / USDA ARS forage nutritive value research: Clover and soybean forage commonly test at 25-30% crude protein during active vegetative growth.
- University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture Extension, PB1769: Wildlife Food Plots: Grain sorghum is a viable warm-season food plot crop for deer and upland birds, especially in drought-prone areas.
- University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension, ID-139: A Comprehensive Guide to Wheat Management in Kentucky (small grain seeding rate guidance): Oats and other small grains are typically seeded at 2-3 bushels per acre drilled about 1 to 1.5 inches deep.
- Clemson Cooperative Extension, Brassica Crops for Deer Food Plots (Land-Grant Press LGP 1037): Brassica crops like turnips are planted in mid to late summer, 60-90 days before first fall frost, for fall maturity.
- USDA NRCS Plants Database, Species Profile for Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle): Japanese honeysuckle is browsed by deer but is listed as an introduced species that is invasive in much of the eastern United States.
- University of Missouri Extension, Soil Testing publication G9110: A basic soil test through university extension labs typically costs a small fee per sample, in the range of about $7-15.