When do you plant fall food plots for deer

Last updated 2026-07-26

when do you plant fall food plots for deer

The short answer is 60 to 90 days before your first fall frost, but that date swings by six weeks or more depending on where you hunt. A grower in northern Minnesota might need seed in the ground by late July. Someone in southern Georgia can wait until mid-September and still be fine. The reason for the frost-based math instead of a fixed calendar date is simple: brassicas and cereal grains need a set number of growing days before cold weather locks up growth, and every plant has a different requirement. Turnips generally need 60 to 90 days to bulb properly ^[1]. Oats need less, often 45 to 60 days to reach a grazeable stage before a hard freeze knocks them back ^[2]. Most state extension services publish a fall planting window by county rather than a single statewide date, because frost dates vary that much even within one state. If you haven't pulled your county's average first frost date, the NOAA Climate Prediction Center tracks that data, and most land-grant extension offices publish local frost tables too. That single number, more than any generic "plant in September" advice, should drive your date. For a full breakdown of which species fit which planting window, see food plot whitetail for species-by-species guidance.

when to plant food plots for deer by region

Upper Midwest / Northern tier	mid-September to early October	late July to mid-August	mid-August to early September
Mid-South / Transition zone	mid-October to early November	mid-August to early September	early September to early October
Deep South / Gulf Coast	mid-November to December	early September to early October	late September to November	Brassicas planted too early in warm soil can bolt or take heavier insect pressure before deer ever touch them, while cereal grains planted too late just sit as seed until spring [3]. That's the tension every planting date has to balance: early enough to establish, late enough to avoid summer heat and pest pressure. If you're planting a mix, the brassica component should generally go in first. Cereal grains and clover follow two to four weeks later in a split planting, or you can plant everything together if your window is tight.

Here's a rough regional window based on typical first frost dates and extension planting guides. Treat these as starting points, not gospel. Your local extension office's frost map is the tiebreaker. | Region | Typical first frost | Brassica planting window | Cereal grain window |

when to plant turnips for deer

Plant turnips 60 to 90 days before your first expected frost. That timing lets the bulb size up and lets the plant build the sugar content that makes it more attractive to deer after a frost or two ^[1]. In most of the whitetail range, that means late July through late August. Turnips are frost-tolerant once established, and in fact a light frost improves palatability because the plant converts starches to sugars as a cold-response mechanism. Multiple land-grant extension programs describe this sweetening effect as one reason deer often ignore turnip plots until temperatures drop into the 30s ^[4]. Seeding rate matters here more than most people think. Turnips are typically drilled or broadcast at 4 to 6 pounds per acre, and going heavier doesn't get you more tonnage, it gets you a stand of skinny plants competing for the same nutrients. Get a soil test before you plant. Turnips and other brassicas are heavy nitrogen users, and your soil test lab's recommendation is the real authority on how much N, P, and K to put down, not a bag rate on the seed label.

when to plant oats for deer

Plant oats 45 to 60 days before your first killing frost, which is usually a few weeks after your brassica planting date in the same region. Oats germinate fast, often within 5 to 7 days in warm soil, and they can be grazed by deer within three to four weeks of emergence ^[2]. Oats work well as a standalone fall annual or mixed with a cereal rye or wheat for a plot that keeps producing through a mild winter. Unlike rye, oats generally winterkill once temperatures drop into the low 20s for an extended stretch, so in the northern tier they function as a fall-only food source. Further south, oats can stay green most of the winter. A lot of growers plant oats too early thinking earlier means more tonnage. In practice, oats planted in August heat can struggle with disease pressure and drought stress before fall rains show up. Splitting the difference and hitting that 45 to 60 day window before frost gives you the best balance of tonnage and timing.

do deer like clover and when should you plant it

Yes, deer readily eat clover, and it's one of the most consistently used food plot species across the whitetail's range. Clover is a perennial legume, so timing is different from annuals: you can plant it in late summer (August into early September in most regions) for fall establishment, or frost-seed it in late winter/early spring when the ground is still doing freeze-thaw cycles. Clover's real value is protein. University forage data commonly puts white and red clover crude protein in the 25 to 30 percent range when actively growing ^[5], which matters most during antler growth and lactation in spring and summer, not necessarily as a fall draw. That's worth knowing because a lot of hunters plant clover expecting it to be their best fall attraction plot, when its bigger job is spring and summer nutrition. Clover does keep growing into fall in most zones and will pull deer, especially after a frost knocks back competing food sources. But if fall attraction during gun season is your only goal, brassicas and cereal grains usually outperform clover on a pure draw basis. For species comparisons, deer food plots walks through how clover stacks up against annuals for different goals.

do deer eat sorghum

Yes, deer eat grain sorghum, both the standing seed heads and the leaves, though it's more commonly planted as a summer annual or a standing grain crop for winter cover and late-season food than as a typical fall plot species. Sorghum is drought-tolerant and often shows up in food plot mixes aimed at holding deer through late season when the seed heads mature and other food sources thin out. Sorghum is warm-season, so it goes in the ground in late spring to early summer, not in the typical fall planting window most of this article covers. If you're planning a fall plot specifically, sorghum planted now in most regions won't have time to mature before frost. It's more of a companion planning decision: plant it in May or June alongside your fall brassica and cereal grain rotation so you've got a standing grain option by hunting season. One caution: sorghum contains compounds that can produce cyanogenic glycosides (prussic acid) under certain stress conditions such as drought or frost damage to young growth. That's a known livestock concern documented by land-grant extension forage programs ^[6]. It's a smaller concern for deer than for cattle grazing stressed sorghum continuously, but it's worth knowing if you're combining sorghum with livestock grazing on the same ground.

what is a food plot

A food plot is a planted area, usually somewhere between a quarter acre and several acres, seeded with forage or grain specifically to feed and hold deer or other wildlife on a property. Food plots range from small hidden "kill plots" tucked near a stand to large destination fields meant to draw deer from a distance. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service supports wildlife habitat work, including food plot and forage establishment, through conservation programs, because well-managed habitat practices can supplement natural forage and improve deer body condition, particularly in areas with poor native browse ^[7]. That said, a food plot is a supplement to habitat, not a replacement for good cover, water, and natural browse. Most hunters plant one of a few plot categories: brassicas (turnips, radishes, rape), cereal grains (oats, wheat, rye), legumes (clover, soybeans, peas), or perennial grass/forage blends. Each category has a different planting window, growth speed, and role on the property. For a rundown of which category fits which piece of ground, food plot seed covers the tradeoffs in more depth.

what are deer's favorite food plot species

There's no single universal favorite; deer preference shifts by season, region, and what else is available on the landscape. But a few species show up again and again in state agency and university studies as high-preference forages: soybeans and clover during the growing season, and brassicas and cereal grains in fall once temperatures drop. Acorns often beat any planted food plot species outright in years with a good mast crop. Ongoing deer research from Penn State and the Pennsylvania Game Commission's Deer-Forest Study has tracked how acorn availability affects deer movement and habitat use each fall, since deer will shift to mast when it's abundant and rely less on other forage ^[8]. That's a real limitation of food plots worth being honest about: they work best as a supplement during lean mast years or as a draw during hunting season, not as a guaranteed override of whatever the woods are already producing. Within planted options, soybeans are frequently cited as one of the most preferred summer forages where deer density allows the plant to survive past the seedling stage, and brassicas plus cereal grain blends are consistently named as strong fall and winter draws once a frost or two sweetens them up.

do deer like honey

No, deer don't eat honey, and there's no wildlife agency or extension guidance recommending it as bait or attractant. Deer are herbivores built to digest plant fiber through a four-chamber rumen system, not the concentrated sugars in honey. The confusion probably comes from mineral and salt-based attractant products sometimes marketed with names or flavoring that reference sweetness, but actual honey isn't a deer food or a functional attractant. Worth noting separately: using any bait or attractant, honey or otherwise, is regulated or outright banned in a meaningful number of states, and rules differ by whether you're hunting over standing crops versus placed bait piles. Michigan's Wildlife Conservation Order 2.10 prohibits baiting and feeding deer and elk across most of the Lower Peninsula and in parts of the Upper Peninsula, largely over chronic wasting disease and bovine tuberculosis transmission concerns; the order defines baiting as placing feed to attract animals for the purpose of hunting ^[9]. Always check your state wildlife agency's current baiting and feeding regulations before putting anything out that isn't a standing food plot, since rules change year to year and even county to county in some states.

how do you build a fall planting calendar for your property

Start with your county's average first frost date, pulled from NOAA climate data or your state extension office. Work backward from there: 60 to 90 days for brassicas, 45 to 60 days for oats and other cereal grains, and either late summer or a spring frost-seed window for clover. Next, pull a soil test. Most state extension labs charge somewhere in the $10 to $20 range per sample and turn results around in one to two weeks, and the lime and fertilizer recommendations that come back are specific to your soil, not a generic bag rate. Your soil test lab is the authority here on pH and nutrient needs; a food plot plan can tell you what to plant and roughly when, but it can't replace an actual test of your dirt. This is where a lot of hunters get stuck comparing seed bags and guessing at rates for their specific acreage, soil type, and region. That's the gap PlotSeason's $99 one-time Custom Food Plot Plan is built to close: you get a planting plan matched to your property's zone, soil test results, and equipment, without guessing at generic bag instructions. It's general planning guidance built from your inputs, not site-specific agronomy advice, and it doesn't replace your soil lab's lime and fertilizer recommendations. Check it out at /plot-plan-builder. Finally, match your seed and equipment. A no-till drill handles small grains and clover better than broadcasting, while brassicas broadcast reasonably well into a prepared seedbed. For equipment-specific planting advice, deer food plot seed and domain food plot seed both cover rate and method by species.

what mistakes push a fall plot planting date too late

The most common mistake is waiting on rain. A lot of growers hold off planting because the ten-day forecast looks dry, then keep waiting, and suddenly they're two weeks past their ideal window with a brassica crop that won't bulb before frost. If your window is closing, plant into marginal moisture rather than miss the window entirely; a light rain within a week or two will usually still get you a stand, just a slower one. Another mistake is copying a neighbor's or a hunting show's planting date without checking your own frost data. A plot calendar built for central Illinois doesn't transfer to the Georgia Piedmont or to northern Wisconsin. Your county extension office's frost date table takes five minutes to find and saves you from planting three weeks too late or too early. Last one: skipping the soil test to save time. Planting into soil at pH 5.2 without lime will stunt clover and brassica growth regardless of how perfectly you time the calendar date. A $15 soil test and two weeks of lead time is cheap insurance against a planting date that looks right on paper but fails because the dirt wasn't ready.

Frequently asked questions

When is the best time to plant fall food plots for deer?

Generally 60 to 90 days before your area's first killing frost. In most of the whitetail range that's late July through mid-September, but check your county's average frost date through NOAA or your state extension office since the window shifts by weeks depending on region.

When should you plant turnips for deer?

Plant turnips 60 to 90 days before your first frost, usually late July through late August in most regions. That timing lets bulbs size up, and a frost or two afterward sweetens the plant by converting starches to sugars, which is when deer typically start hitting it hard.

When should you plant oats for deer food plots?

Plant oats 45 to 60 days before your first killing frost, typically a few weeks later than your brassica planting date in the same region. Oats germinate fast, often within a week, and can be grazed within three to four weeks of emergence.

Do deer actually like clover?

Yes. Clover is one of the most consistently used food plot species and offers crude protein commonly in the 25 to 30 percent range while actively growing, according to university forage data. It's stronger as spring/summer nutrition than as a pure fall attraction plot compared to brassicas.

Do deer eat sorghum?

Yes, deer eat both the leaves and seed heads of grain sorghum. It's a warm-season crop planted in late spring or early summer, more useful as a standing late-season grain source than as part of a typical fall-planting rotation.

What is a food plot exactly?

A food plot is a planted area, usually a quarter acre to several acres, seeded with forage or grain to feed and hold deer or other wildlife. It supplements natural browse and cover, it doesn't replace them, and USDA conservation programs often support establishing wildlife habitat plantings.

What are deer's favorite foods overall?

Acorns often beat any planted crop outright in a good mast year, according to state wildlife agency research. Among planted options, soybeans and clover rank high during the growing season, while brassicas and cereal grains are frequently preferred once fall frosts hit.

Do deer like honey?

No. Deer are herbivores with a rumen digestive system built for plant fiber, not concentrated sugar. No wildlife agency or extension source recommends honey as deer food or attractant, and using any bait product is restricted or banned outright in a number of states.

Can you plant a fall food plot too early?

Yes. Brassicas planted in still-hot summer soil can bolt or take heavier insect damage before establishing, and cereal grains planted too early can face drought and disease stress before fall rains arrive. Hitting the 45 to 90 day window before frost, by species, avoids both problems.

How late is too late to plant a fall food plot?

If you're inside 30 days of your average first frost, brassicas likely won't bulb and cereal grains may not establish enough growth to survive winter. At that point, either switch to a fast-growing cereal grain in a warmer-zone window or plan for spring planting instead.

Should you plant clover in fall or spring?

Both work. Late summer planting (August into early September in most zones) gets clover established before winter. Frost-seeding in late winter/early spring, when freeze-thaw cycles work seed into the soil, is a cheaper, lower-effort alternative that many extension programs also recommend.

Do you need a soil test before planting a fall food plot?

Yes, ideally. Soil pH and nutrient levels directly affect how well brassicas, clover, and cereal grains establish, and a $10 to $20 extension soil test gives you specific lime and fertilizer recommendations. Skipping it means guessing at rates that a generic seed bag label can't tailor to your dirt.

Sources

1. University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, Forage Brassicas for Grazing: Turnips typically need 60 to 90 days to reach maturity and bulb size, with frost improving palatability
2. Oklahoma State University Extension, Oats: Overview and Management: Oats germinate quickly and can be grazed within a few weeks of establishment as a fall annual
3. Mississippi State University Extension Publication 2111, Establishing and Managing Wildlife Food Plots: Brassicas planted too early face bolting and insect pressure; cereal grains planted too late fail to establish before frost
4. Purdue University Extension, Food Plots for Wildlife (FNR-228-W): Frost converts starches to sugars in brassicas, increasing palatability for deer after cold weather
5. University of Kentucky Forage Extension, Clover Species for Kentucky (ID-197): White and red clover forage commonly tests in the 25 to 30 percent crude protein range during active growth
6. University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, Prussic Acid Poisoning of Livestock (G1710): Sorghum can produce cyanogenic glycosides (prussic acid) under drought or frost stress conditions
7. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Fact Sheet: USDA NRCS supports habitat and forage establishment work through conservation cost-share programs like EQIP
8. Penn State and Pennsylvania Game Commission, Deer-Forest Study: Deer shift heavily toward acorns during strong mast years, affecting food plot and habitat use
9. Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Conservation Order 2.10 (Baiting and Feeding of Deer and Elk): Michigan prohibits baiting and feeding deer across most of the state under its Wildlife Conservation Order