When to plant deadly dozen food plot by planting zone

Last updated 2026-07-26

What is a food plot, and what is a "Deadly Dozen" style blend?

A food plot is a planted area on hunting land, usually a half acre to a few acres, seeded with forage that deer and other wildlife will eat. It's basically a small farm field built for attraction and nutrition rather than for harvest. Landowners plant them on private or leased ground to concentrate deer activity, improve herd nutrition, and create predictable spots to hunt near. "Deadly Dozen" is a marketing name used by a few seed companies (most notably Whitetail Institute, which sells a product under a similar multi-species branding approach) for a blend that mixes several plant types in one bag: usually a clover or legume, a brassica like turnip or radish, a cereal grain like oats or wheat, and sometimes a grain sorghum or corn component. The idea is that different species mature and peak in palatability at different times, so the plot stays attractive from early fall through late winter. These multi-species blends aren't complicated to understand even if the branding sounds it. You're really just planting a fall annual mix with staggered forage windows. If you want a plan built around your specific soil test and region instead of a generic bag mix, that's exactly the kind of thing a food plot whitetail plan should sort out for you.

When should you plant food plots for deer in general?

Timing depends entirely on whether you're planting a fall/winter attraction plot or a spring/summer plot, and on your local frost dates. For fall annual blends (which is what most Deadly Dozen type mixes are), the target is 60 to 90 days before your first average killing frost ^[1]. That gives brassicas time to bulb and sweeten, cereal grains time to establish tillering, and clover time to get a root system down before cold weather locks growth. Practically, that means: - Northern zones (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, northern New York, most of Canada-adjacent country): mid-July through mid-August.

• Mid-latitude zones (Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kansas): late July through early September.
• Southern zones (Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia, most of Texas, the Carolinas): August through mid-September, sometimes into early October in the Deep South. Spring plantings (clover, chicory, some cereal grains as a nurse crop) go in April through May in the north and March through April in the south, once soil temps hit the mid 50s and the ground is workable ^[2]. Your county extension office publishes exact frost date tables and can tell you the specific window for your county, which matters more than any national chart. If you're weighing a full spring vs. fall lineup, our deer food plots overview breaks that down species by species.

When to plant Deadly Dozen food plot blends specifically

Zone 1 (far north)	N. Minnesota, N. Wisconsin, N. Maine	July 15 to Aug 10	Sept 15 to Oct 1
Zone 2 (upper Midwest/Northeast)	Iowa, S. Wisconsin, upstate NY, Michigan	July 25 to Aug 20	Oct 1 to Oct 10
Zone 3 (mid-latitude)	Illinois, Ohio, Kansas, Pennsylvania	Aug 1 to Sept 1	Oct 10 to Oct 25
Zone 4 (mid-south)	Tennessee, Virginia, Missouri, Arkansas	Aug 15 to Sept 15	Oct 25 to Nov 10
Zone 5 (deep south)	Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, most of Texas	Sept 1 to Oct 1	Nov 10 to Dec 1	These are estimates built from USDA average frost date data [4], not a promise. Always check your specific county's average first frost through your local extension service before locking in a date. Planting too early in hot, dry August conditions can burn up tender brassica seedlings; planting too late means the clover component won't have enough fall growth to survive winter.

Deadly Dozen and similar multi-species fall blends go in the ground 60 to 90 days before your first frost, the same window as any brassica-and-clover fall mix. The reason for that window is agronomic, not marketing: brassicas like turnip and radish need 60 to 90 days to reach a mature bulb, and cereal grains need 4 to 6 weeks minimum before frost to establish tillers that will regrow after grazing ^[3]. Here's a rough planting calendar by zone: | Zone | Region examples | Planting window | First frost (typical) |

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

Yes. Clover is one of the most consistently preferred forages in whitetail diet studies, and it's the backbone ingredient in almost every multi-species blend including Deadly Dozen style mixes. Crude protein in actively growing clover typically runs 20 to 30%, which is well above what deer get from most native browse in summer ^[1]. Deer favor clover because it's high in protein, digestible, and available across a long window: spring through fall in most climates, and it regrows after grazing, unlike a lot of annuals that get eaten out in a few weeks. That regrowth trait (called "grazing tolerance") is why perennial clover often anchors the spring/summer side of a rotational plot plan while annuals like brassicas and grains fill fall and winter. One caution: heavy deer pressure on a small clover plot (under half an acre) in a high-density area can wear the stand down faster than it recovers, especially in dry years. If you're seeing clover get grazed to the dirt by July, that's usually a sign the plot is too small for your deer density, not that clover is a bad choice.

Do deer eat sorghum, and what's it doing in a fall blend?

Deer eat grain sorghum, but usually as a fall and winter carbohydrate source rather than a first choice forage. Sorghum (milo) in a blend is there to stand tall through fall, hold its seed head, and give deer a high-energy food source in late season when native browse has died back. It's the corn substitute for plots too small or too shaded to grow corn well. Deer will nibble sorghum leaves some in summer, but the real draw is the grain head once it matures and the plant dries down, typically 90 to 120 days after planting depending on the hybrid ^[5]. That's part of why sorghum shows up in blends meant to peak in late fall or winter rather than early season. Sorghum also gives you standing cover, which matters for hunting strategy. A strip of standing sorghum next to a clover or brassica plot gives deer a reason to feel comfortable approaching in daylight, and it gives you a screen to move behind.

When to plant oats for deer

Plant oats for deer in late summer to early fall, 6 to 8 weeks before your first frost, the same general window as the rest of a fall cereal grain mix. Oats germinate fast (5 to 10 days in warm soil) and put on a lot of leafy growth quickly, which is why they're often the first thing deer hit in a new fall plot. Oats are cold-tolerant but not as winter-hardy as winter wheat or cereal rye; a hard freeze in the low 20s F will usually kill oat forage back for the season, though the plant often keeps some green leaf down into the mid-20s. If you want grazing that lasts deep into winter, pairing oats with winter wheat or rye in the same blend covers you: oats for early attraction, wheat or rye for late-season standing forage after the oats die back. Spring oat plantings are less common for deer plots specifically, but some hunters use them as a quick nurse crop for spring clover establishment, since oats germinate fast and protect young clover seedlings from crusting soil and heavy rain.

When to plant turnips for deer

Plant turnips for deer 80 to 90 days before your first expected frost, which for most of the whitetail range lands somewhere between late July and early September. Turnips need that full runway to grow a bulb and to go through the process where cold weather converts starches to sugars, which is what makes the bulbs and tops palatable to deer in the first place. Here's the timing quirk that trips a lot of people up: deer often ignore turnip tops and bulbs almost entirely in September and October, then hammer the plot in December and January once a few hard frosts have sweetened the plant. If you plant turnips expecting heavy October action and don't see it, that's normal, not a failure. The real payoff usually comes in late season. Turnip seed is tiny (about 1/8 inch) and needs to be broadcast shallow, no deeper than 1/4 to 1/2 inch, into a firm, weed-free seedbed. Drilling it too deep is the single most common reason turnip plots fail to establish.

What do deer eat, and what are their actual favorite foods?

Deer are opportunistic browsers, and their "favorite" food changes by season, region, and what's actually available. There's no single universal favorite, but research and extension data consistently point to a short list of consistently preferred foods: acorns (especially white oak acorns, which are lower in tannins and more palatable than red oak), clover, soybeans, and agricultural crops like corn and alfalfa when accessible ^[6]. Acorns deserve special mention. In fall, white oak acorns are often the single most preferred food source in the woods, and deer will frequently walk past a planted food plot to get to a dropping white oak. That's not a knock on food plots, it's just a reminder that plots supplement natural food, they don't replace it. A useful plot strategy accounts for what's happening on the rest of the property, more than what's in the ground you planted. Outside of hard mast, the general hierarchy most wildlife biologists describe runs something like: soft mast and legumes in summer, agricultural crops and mast in fall, woody browse and remaining forbs in winter when everything else is gone ^[7]. That's exactly why multi-species blends like Deadly Dozen exist, to try to have something available across that whole shifting window.

Do deer like honey, or is that just marketing on seed bags?

Deer don't eat honey in any meaningful dietary sense; whitetails are herbivores and honey isn't part of their natural foraging behavior at all. If you've seen "honey" show up around food plot marketing, it's typically referring to a brand name, a scent or attractant product, or a plot mix name rather than an actual food source deer seek out. There's no research or extension data suggesting honey plays any role in deer diet or attraction. If a product claims deer are drawn in by honey, treat that as a branding claim, not a biological one. Deer attraction to food plots comes down to protein content, sugar content in browse (which is real and measurable, as with frost-sweetened brassicas), and digestibility, not sweeteners applied externally.

How do you prep soil before planting a fall blend like this?

Start with a soil test 60 to 90 days before your planting window, not the week before. Most state extension labs turn results around in 1 to 2 weeks, but you need time to apply lime if your pH comes back low, since lime can take months to fully react in the soil . Most food plot species, including clover, brassicas, and cereal grains, want a soil pH between 6.0 and 7.0. Below 6.0, nutrient availability drops fast, and no amount of fertilizer fixes a pH problem, you're just wasting money on nutrients the plants can't take up. Your soil test report will tell you exactly how much lime and fertilizer your specific field needs; that's the actual authority here, more than any generic chart, since soil type and existing nutrient levels vary field to field. Basic prep sequence: spray existing vegetation with glyphosate 2 to 3 weeks before planting, let it die back, then either disk it under or drill directly into the residue if you're no-till. Broadcast lime and fertilizer per your soil test recommendations, work it into the top few inches if you're tilling, then plant at the seeding depth and rate on your seed tag. Brassica and clover seed is small and shouldn't go deeper than 1/4 to 1/2 inch; cereal grains and sorghum can go 3/4 to 1.5 inches. If you'd rather not guess at species ratios or rates for your specific ground, a $99 Custom Food Plot Plan builds a planting plan around your actual soil test and zone instead of a one-size-fits-all bag mix. It's a planning tool, not a replacement for your soil lab's specific lime and fertilizer recommendations.

What equipment do you actually need to plant a blend like this?

For a small plot (under 2 acres), you can get by with a lot less than the internet implies. A UTV or ATV with a pull-behind disk or cultipacker, a broadcast spreader, and a sprayer for burndown herbicide covers most small food plot needs. A no-till drill is nicer to have for cereal grains and sorghum, since it gets consistent depth, but it's not required if you're willing to disk, broadcast, and drag or cultipack to firm the seedbed. The part people skip that actually matters most: seed-to-soil contact. Broadcasting seed onto loose, fluffy dirt and walking away gives you a poor stand no matter how good the seed blend is. Cultipacking or lightly dragging after broadcasting makes a bigger difference to germination rates than almost any other single step in the process. If you're outfitting a plot program from scratch, check out food plot seed and deer food plot seed for species-specific rate and equipment notes before you buy anything.

Check your state's baiting and feeding rules before you plant near a stand

Food plots are generally legal everywhere and are not considered baiting under most state definitions, since they're planted and grown in place rather than placed or distributed as bait. But rules vary by state, and some states regulate feeding, minerals, or supplemental feed differently from planted forage. Before you plant close to a stand or add any mineral or supplement alongside your plot, check your state wildlife agency's current baiting and feeding regulations, since some states (Michigan and parts of the upper Midwest, for example, due to CWD concerns) have tightened feeding rules in recent years . Your state fish and wildlife agency's hunting regulations page is the authoritative source here, not a seed company's marketing copy or a hunting forum thread.

Frequently asked questions

Do deer eat sorghum?

Yes. Deer eat grain sorghum, mostly as a fall and winter energy source once the seed head matures and dries down, usually 90 to 120 days after planting. They'll nibble the leaves some in summer, but the seed head is the main draw, which is why sorghum is added to blends meant to peak in late season.

Do deer eat clover?

Yes, clover is one of the most consistently preferred deer forages and anchors most multi-species food plot blends. It runs 20 to 30% crude protein when actively growing, well above most native summer browse, and it regrows after grazing, which makes it valuable across a long spring-through-fall window.

When should you plant deer food plots?

Fall annual blends go in 60 to 90 days before your area's first killing frost, typically late July through early September depending on latitude. Spring plots (clover, chicory) go in April to May in the north or March to April in the south, once soil temps hit the mid 50s.

Do deer like clover?

Yes, clover is a top-preference forage due to its high protein content and long grazing window. It's the most commonly planted perennial in food plot programs for exactly this reason, and it's the base ingredient in nearly every multi-species blend, including Deadly Dozen style mixes.

When should you plant oats for deer?

Plant oats 6 to 8 weeks before your first fall frost. Oats germinate in 5 to 10 days and grow fast, making them one of the first things deer hit in a new plot, but a hard freeze in the low 20s F usually kills the forage back for the season.

When should you plant food plots for deer overall?

It depends on the species and your goal. Fall annuals (clover, brassicas, cereal grains) go in 60 to 90 days before first frost. Spring/summer plots go in once soil temps warm in April or May. Always check your county's average frost dates through your local extension office.

When should you plant turnips for deer?

Plant turnips 80 to 90 days before your first fall frost, usually late July through early September depending on region. Deer often ignore turnips until after a few hard frosts sweeten the bulbs and tops, so don't expect heavy use until December or January in most areas.

What is a food plot?

A food plot is a planted area on hunting land, typically a half acre to a few acres, seeded with forage crops to attract deer and improve their nutrition. It functions like a small farm field built specifically for wildlife attraction rather than for harvest and sale.

What are deer's favorite foods?

There's no single universal favorite, but white oak acorns, clover, soybeans, and other agricultural crops rank consistently high in deer diet studies. Preferences shift by season: soft mast and legumes in summer, hard mast and crops in fall, woody browse in winter when other food is gone.

Do deer like honey?

No, honey isn't part of a deer's natural diet since whitetails are herbivores. If you've seen honey referenced in food plot marketing, it's a product or brand name, not an actual attractant with any biological basis in deer feeding behavior.

What is a Deadly Dozen food plot blend exactly?

It's a marketing name for a multi-species fall blend, typically combining clover, brassicas (turnip, radish), cereal grains (oats, wheat), and sometimes sorghum in one bag. The mix is built so different plants peak in palatability at different times, extending plot attraction from early fall into winter.

Can you plant a fall blend like this too early?

Yes. Planting brassicas and clover too early into hot, dry August soil can burn up tender seedlings before they establish. It's generally safer to plant slightly late within your window than too early, since fall annuals tolerate a compressed growing season better than drought stress at germination.

How much lime does a food plot need before planting?

It depends entirely on your soil test results; there's no universal rate. Most food plot species want a pH between 6.0 and 7.0, and your soil test lab will calculate the exact lime rate needed to get your specific field there. Apply lime months ahead of planting if possible, since it reacts slowly.

Is a food plot considered baiting under state law?

Generally no, since food plots are grown in place rather than distributed as bait, but rules vary by state and some states regulate feeding and mineral use differently, especially where CWD is a concern. Always check your state wildlife agency's current regulations before planting near a stand or adding supplements.

Sources

1. USDA NRCS, Plant Fact Sheet guidance on cool-season forage establishment: Fall annual forage plantings are generally timed 60-90 days before first killing frost for proper establishment
2. University of Tennessee Extension, Establishing Wildlife Food Plots: Spring plot species like clover need soil temperatures in the mid-50s F and workable soil before planting
3. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Frost/Freeze Dates: Average first frost dates vary by latitude across the whitetail range, ranging roughly mid-September in the far north to early December in the Deep South
4. Kansas State University Extension, Grain Sorghum Production Handbook: Grain sorghum typically reaches maturity 90-120 days after planting depending on hybrid
5. Auburn University Extension, Deer Food Habits and Management: Deer diet composition shifts seasonally between soft mast, legumes, hard mast, and woody browse
6. University of Missouri Extension, Soil Testing for Food Plots: Lime applications can take months to fully react in soil, so testing should happen well ahead of planting
7. Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Baiting and Feeding Regulations: Some states including Michigan have tightened baiting and feeding rules due to chronic wasting disease concerns