What to plant in fall for deer: species, timing, and mixes

Last updated 2026-07-25

What is a food plot, exactly?

A food plot is a planted area of forage or grain, usually somewhere between a quarter acre and a few acres, put in specifically to feed and attract deer (and often turkey, or other wildlife) on land you own or lease. It's not natural browse. It's a managed planting, same as a small farm field, just aimed at wildlife nutrition and hunting opportunity instead of harvest for sale. Plots generally fall into two rough categories: food plots meant to hold deer through fall and winter (brassicas, cereal grains) and plots meant to provide season-long or perennial nutrition (clover, alfalfa). Most serious plot programs run both. State wildlife agencies and university extension programs treat food plots as a habitat management tool, not a guarantee of higher deer numbers or bigger antlers. Many state agencies offer cost-share programs for wildlife habitat plantings through USDA conservation programs, which tells you this is considered legitimate land management, more than a hunting gimmick ^[1]. If you're new to this, start smaller than you think you need to. A well-fertilized half-acre plot with the right species beats a neglected three-acre plot every time. For a fuller rundown on how plots differ by purpose and season, see food plot whitetail and deer food plots.

When should you plant food plots for deer?

Timing depends entirely on your frost date and what you're planting. As a general rule, fall annuals go in the ground 60 to 90 days before your area's first killing frost, which gives the plants enough of a growing window to establish before cold weather really shuts them down. In the Upper Midwest and Northeast (Zone 4-5), that usually means planting from early August through early September. In the transition zone (Zone 6, much of the mid-South and Mid-Atlantic), you've got more room, generally late August through mid-September. In the Deep South (Zone 7-8), you can often wait until late September or even October, since frost comes much later or not at all in some spots. Check your local frost date through your state's cooperative extension office or the National Weather Service climate normals before you commit to a date. Planting too early in hot, dry August conditions can burn up brassica seedlings before rain shows up; planting too late means your plants don't have enough top growth or root mass to survive winter. Most fall-seeded brassicas need roughly 80 to 90 days of growth to reach full maturity and bulb size, which is the number most planting calendars are built around, according to cool-season cover crop guidance from land-grant universities. For species-specific planting windows and a full annual calendar, deer food plot seed breaks it down further.

When to plant oats for deer

Plant oats in fall 60 to 75 days before your first hard frost. Oats germinate fast, usually within 5 to 10 days in warm soil, and they're one of the most reliable cool-season annuals for early attraction because deer hit young oat shoots hard as soon as they emerge. Oats are a cereal grain, and unlike wheat or rye, they're generally not very winter-hardy. In most of the whitetail's range, a hard freeze in the 20s F will kill oats outright, which is actually useful. It means oats provide great September and October forage, then die back, opening the canopy for other plants in the mix (like brassicas) to keep growing. A lot of plot mixes blend oats with wheat, rye, or brassicas exactly because of this staggered timing: oats give you fast, early tonnage, while wheat and rye carry the plot through winter after the oats are gone. Seeding rate for oats alone typically runs 2 to 3 bushels per acre (roughly 64 to 96 lbs, since a bushel of oats weighs about 32 lbs), a figure consistent with small-grain seeding guidance published in the Ohio Agronomy Guide, which lists oat seeding rates for forage and cover crop use in that same range ^[2].

When to plant turnips for deer

Plant turnips 80 to 90 days before your first expected hard frost, which in most of the whitetail range lands somewhere between late July and early September depending on zone. Turnips need that long runway to grow a bulb worth eating, more than leafy top growth. Here's the thing people get wrong with turnips: deer often ignore the bulbs completely until after the first hard frost. Frost converts starches in the bulb to sugars, which is why a turnip plot that deer walked past in October can get hammered in December. If you're hunting turnips in bow season before your first freeze, expect deer to eat the leafy tops and leave the bulbs alone. Seeding rate for turnips run alone is small, about 2 to 4 lbs per acre, since the seed is tiny and a little goes a long way. Turnips are commonly blended with radish and rape in commercial brassica mixes to spread out palatability and bulb size. A University of Tennessee Extension forage publication on brassicas for deer and other wildlife (PB1769) notes that cool-season brassicas rank among the most productive options for late-fall and winter deer nutrition, largely because of that post-frost starch-to-sugar conversion ^[3].

Do deer eat sorghum?

Yes, deer eat sorghum, particularly grain sorghum (milo) heads and, to a lesser extent, the leaves and stalks, but it's not a top-tier fall food plot choice for most whitetail programs. Sorghum is more commonly planted as a warm-season crop for dove fields, screening cover, or as a component in wildlife blends aimed at multiple species, not as a primary fall deer attractant. Where sorghum earns its keep is standing cover and a late-winter food source once other plots are picked clean. The stalks hold up well into winter and the grain heads, once mature, give deer and turkey a carb source when snow covers everything else. But if your main goal is fall attraction and hunting over food, cereal grains and brassicas outperform sorghum by a wide margin because deer prefer the tender, high-sugar forage those crops provide over dry grain heads. If you already have standing corn or sorghum nearby from a neighboring farm field, don't expect a small sorghum plot to compete for attention in September and October. Save it for structure and late-season backup instead.

Do deer eat clover, and do deer like clover?

Yes, deer eat clover readily, and it's consistently one of the most preferred forages in food plot research and observational studies. Clover (both white clover varieties like ladino and red clover) is high in crude protein, often 25 to 30% on a dry matter basis in vegetative growth stages, which matters most in spring and summer for antler growth and lactation, but deer will hit clover in fall too if it's still green and growing. The catch with clover in a fall-planting context: it's a perennial, so if you're planting new clover in fall, you're not planting it for fall hunting season attraction, you're planting it to establish before winter so it's ready to produce heavily the following spring and summer. Fall-seeded clover (roughly 6 to 8 weeks before frost, which is earlier than most annual grains) needs time to develop a root system before cold weather, or it risks winterkill or heaving out of frozen ground. If you already have an established clover plot, don't ignore it for fall. Deer will browse actively growing clover well into October and even November in mild falls, especially once cooler temps knock back competing weeds and the clover gets a second flush of growth. Clemson Cooperative Extension's food plot guidance recommends white clover as one of the most durable, high-value perennial forages for deer food plots specifically because it tolerates repeated grazing pressure better than most legumes ^[4]. For building a mix or standalone clover plot, food plot seed and domain food plot seed cover species combinations in more depth.

What are deer's favorite foods overall?

There's no single universal answer, because deer preference shifts by season, region, and what's available naturally, but research and field observation consistently put a short list at the top: acorns (especially white oak family acorns, which are lower in tannins and more palatable than red oak acorns), soybeans and other legumes, clover, and, in fall specifically, brassicas after a frost. Acorns are worth calling out directly because they often outcompete anything you plant. In a heavy mast year, deer will bypass a food plot entirely for a white oak flat dropping acorns, and there's decent research behind this: acorns are calorie-dense and deer key in on them hard in September and October specifically to build fat reserves before winter. Research summarized by the Quality Deer Management Association (now the National Deer Association) and multiple university deer programs shows mast crop variability drives deer movement and habitat use from year to year, which is part of why food plot activity can swing wildly between a good acorn year and a poor one ^[5]. Beyond acorns, soybeans (as a standing summer/fall food source) and corn rank high where they're available, but they're often cost-prohibitive or impractical for small food plot acreage compared to cereal grains and brassicas. For most hunters planting a half-acre to five-acre plot, a mix of clover, brassicas, and cereal grains covers the bulk of deer nutritional preference across the year without needing row-crop equipment.

Do deer like honey?

There's no real evidence that whitetail deer specifically seek out honey, and it's not part of any legitimate food plot planting strategy. Deer are herbivores built around browsing plants, forbs, mast, and agricultural crops; nectar and honey aren't part of their natural diet or foraging behavior. Some hunters ask this because of scent or mineral-lick product marketing that includes honey or molasses as an ingredient, mostly as a flavor and scent attractant mixed into mineral supplements, not because deer are drawn to honey itself. More relevant: many states restrict or outright ban baiting (which can include sugar-based attractants, mineral licks, and supplemental feed) for deer hunting, and the rules vary sharply state to state and sometimes county to county. Pennsylvania, for example, maintains a feeding restriction tied to Chronic Wasting Disease management under its wildlife regulations, and other states run their own feeding and baiting statutes with real penalties . Before you put out anything beyond a planted food plot, actually check your state wildlife agency's current baiting and feeding regulations, since a food plot is legal essentially everywhere but supplemental feed or bait piles are a different legal category in many states.

What's the difference between fall annuals and fall-planted perennials?

Oats	Annual	60-75	Low	Early-mid fall
Wheat	Annual	60-90	High	Fall through winter
Winter rye	Annual	45-75	Very high	Late fall through winter
Turnips	Annual (brassica)	80-90	High (sweetens after frost)	Late fall, post-frost
Radish	Annual (brassica)	60-90	Moderate	Mid-late fall
Clover	Perennial	45-60 (for fall seeding)	High once established	Following spring/summer, light fall use

Annuals (oats, wheat, rye, brassicas like turnips and radish) germinate, grow, and die within one growing season. You plant them fresh each fall (or you plant a spring variety in spring), and they're built to deliver a lot of forage fast, then fade. Perennials (clover, chicory, alfalfa) live multiple years from one planting, but they take longer to establish and need fall planting timed early enough to build root reserves before winter dormancy, not for fall hunting attraction that same season. Most plot programs that actually work well use both. A common setup: perennial clover in one plot for spring/summer nutrition and light fall browsing, and a fall annual blend (oats, wheat, and a brassica) in a second plot specifically timed to peak in October and November hunting season. Running only one or the other leaves a gap either in early season or late season food availability. Here's a simple comparison of common fall options: | Species | Type | Plant (days before frost) | Frost-tolerant? | Best hunting window |

How do you decide what to actually plant this fall?

Start with a soil test. Your state land-grant extension office or a private ag lab will run pH and nutrient analysis for somewhere around $10 to $20 per sample in most states, and the results tell you what lime and fertilizer you actually need before you spend money on seed. Brassicas and clover both do best in soil with pH near 6.0 to 6.5; if your soil test comes back at 5.0, you're wasting seed money until lime is applied and has time to work (which itself can take months, so test early). Your soil test lab is the actual authority on lime and fertilizer rates for your specific field. General planting guides, including this one, can only give you typical ranges. If your test recommends 2 tons of lime per acre and 300 lbs of 19-19-19 per acre, follow that number, not a generic bag-label recommendation. After soil fertility, think about what gap you're filling. If you already run a clover perennial plot, fall planting probably means adding a brassica/cereal grain plot for hunting season food and late-season backup. If you're starting from bare ground, a simple oats-plus-brassica blend is about as forgiving and low-cost a starting point as exists, with seed costs typically running $20 to $50 per acre depending on blend and whether you're buying a branded mix or straight commodity seed. We put together a $99 one-time Custom Food Plot Plan that takes your soil test results, location, and equipment on hand and builds a specific planting plan around it, species, rates, timing, the works. It's meant to save you the guesswork of matching a generic calendar to your actual dirt.

What equipment do you actually need for a fall plot?

For most annual grain and brassica plots, you need a way to kill existing vegetation (herbicide and a sprayer, or disking), a way to work the seedbed (disk, tiller, or no-till drill), a way to spread seed (broadcast spreader, or a drill for more precise placement and depth control), and a way to fertilize (spreader again, or a drill with a fertilizer box). A lot of small-plot brassica and clover seed is tiny and needs to be planted shallow, often just an eighth to a quarter inch deep, or even just pressed into the soil surface with a cultipacker or roller. Planting brassica seed too deep is one of the most common mistakes new plotters make, because the seed simply doesn't have enough stored energy to push up through more than a half inch of soil. If you don't own a tractor, plenty of hunters run these plots successfully with an ATV or UTV, a pull-behind disk, a broadcast spreader, and a cultipacker or drag harrow. It's slower than a tractor-drill setup, but perfectly workable on plots under a few acres. For a full breakdown of gear options by plot size and budget, see the equipment guidance linked from deer for food.

Regional fall planting windows by zone

Rough fall planting windows below are built around USDA Plant Hardiness Zones as a proxy for frost timing, cross-referenced against typical land-grant extension fall planting calendars. Treat these as starting points; your local extension office's specific frost date data for your county is more accurate than a national zone map. Zone 3-4 (northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan UP, northern New England): plant late July through mid-August. Zone 5 (southern Wisconsin, Iowa, most of Pennsylvania, New York): plant early August through early September. Zone 6 (Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, southern Ohio, Missouri): plant mid-August through mid-September. Zone 7 (North Carolina, South Carolina interior, Arkansas, north Georgia): plant late August through late September. Zone 8 (south Georgia, south Alabama, Louisiana, coastal Carolinas): plant mid-September through mid-October, sometimes later depending on the fall. The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, maintained by the USDA Agricultural Research Service, is the standard reference tool for this kind of regional planning and is updated periodically with current climate data.

Frequently asked questions

Do deer eat sorghum?

Yes, deer eat grain sorghum (milo) heads and some foliage, but it's a secondary food plot choice compared to cereal grains and brassicas. Sorghum works better as standing winter cover and a late-season backup food source than as a primary fall attractant, since deer generally prefer tender cereal grain shoots and frosted brassica bulbs over dry grain heads.

Do deer eat clover?

Yes, clover is one of deer's most preferred forages, often running 25 to 30% crude protein in active growth. Deer browse it heavily spring through fall whenever it's actively growing. It's a perennial though, so fall-planted clover is really an investment in next year's plot, not this season's hunting attraction, unless you already have an established stand.

When should you plant food plots for deer?

Fall annuals typically go in 60 to 90 days before your area's first hard frost. That's roughly early August in the Upper Midwest and Northeast, late August to mid-September in the transition zone, and late September into October in the Deep South. Check your county's frost date through your state cooperative extension office before committing to a date.

Do deer like clover more than other forages?

Clover ranks consistently high in deer preference studies and extension recommendations because of its protein content and regrowth after grazing. It's not universally their single favorite (acorns often outcompete everything in a good mast year), but among planted forages, clover is one of the most reliably preferred and most durable under repeated browsing pressure.

When should you plant oats for deer?

Plant oats 60 to 75 days before your first hard frost, generally late July through early September depending on your zone. Oats germinate fast (5 to 10 days) and give quick early-fall forage, but they're not very winter-hardy and usually die back after a hard freeze, which is why they're often mixed with wheat or rye for season-long coverage.

When should you plant turnips for deer?

Plant turnips 80 to 90 days before your first expected frost, typically late July through early September depending on region. Turnips need that long window to bulb up properly, and deer often ignore the bulbs until after a hard frost converts starches to sugars, which is why turnip plots get hit hardest in late fall and early winter.

What exactly is a food plot?

A food plot is a planted area, usually a quarter acre to several acres, seeded specifically to provide forage for deer and other wildlife on hunted land. It's managed like a small farm field: soil-tested, fertilized, and planted with specific species chosen for nutrition, attraction, and season-long timing rather than for commercial harvest.

What are deer's favorite foods in general?

Acorns (white oak family especially), clover, soybeans, and frosted brassica bulbs consistently rank at the top across research and field observation. Preference shifts by season and by what's naturally available; in a heavy acorn year, deer will often bypass planted food plots entirely in favor of mast.

Do deer like honey?

There's no evidence deer specifically seek out honey; it's not part of their natural browsing diet. Some mineral supplement and attractant products include honey or molasses as a scent and flavor additive, but that's a marketing choice, not a documented deer food preference, and it has nothing to do with legitimate food plot planning.

Can you plant a fall food plot without a soil test?

You can, but you're guessing on lime and fertilizer rates, which is where a lot of plot budgets get wasted. A soil test costs roughly $10 to $20 through most state extension labs and tells you exactly what your soil needs. Skipping it often means underfeeding or overfeeding the plot and getting weaker growth than the seed is capable of.

What's the cheapest fall food plot combination that actually works?

An oats and brassica (turnip or radish) blend is about as forgiving and low-cost as it gets, often $20 to $50 per acre in seed depending on the blend. Oats give fast early-fall growth, and the brassica sweetens after frost for late-season food. Add lime and fertilizer per your soil test results for the best results.

Is it legal to bait deer with food plots?

A planted food plot is legal in every state; baiting and supplemental feeding rules are a separate legal category and vary widely. Some states restrict feeding due to Chronic Wasting Disease concerns or general fair-chase rules. Always check your specific state wildlife agency's current regulations before adding any bait, mineral, or supplemental feed beyond a planted plot.

Sources

1. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP): USDA NRCS offers cost-share conservation programs applicable to wildlife habitat plantings including food plots
2. Ohio State University Extension, Ohio Agronomy Guide, 15th Edition (Bulletin 472): Standard oat seeding rate for forage and cover crop use runs about 2 to 3 bushels (64-96 lbs) per acre
3. University of Tennessee Extension, Brassicas for Deer and Other Wildlife (PB1769): Brassicas including turnips are among the most productive cool-season options for late-fall and winter deer nutrition due to post-frost sugar conversion
4. Clemson Cooperative Extension, Wildlife Food Plots (Land-Grant Press LGP 1101): White clover is recommended as a durable, high-value perennial forage tolerant of repeated grazing pressure
5. Pennsylvania Code, Title 58, Chapter 147.741 (Feeding of Wildlife): Pennsylvania restricts feeding of wildlife including deer under specific regulations tied to disease management