Can you plant food plots in september? yes, in most zones

Last updated 2026-07-26

can you plant food plots in september

Yes, September is the busiest and most productive planting month for fall food plots in the vast majority of the whitetail's range. It's the month when soil temperatures finally drop out of the danger zone for cool-season annuals, day length starts shortening enough to trigger good tillering in grains, and there's still enough growing season left before frost to get real tonnage out of brassicas and cereal grains. That said, "September" covers a lot of ground climate-wise. Early September in Michigan or Minnesota is a different planting window than early September in Alabama or Georgia. The USDA's Plant Hardiness Zone Map is the standard reference for figuring out which bucket you're in, and most food plot seed tags reference planting windows by zone or by first-frost date rather than a calendar month for that reason. As a rule of thumb: if you're in zones 3-5 (the Upper Midwest, New England, the northern Plains), you want brassicas and cereal grains in the ground by the first two weeks of September at the latest. In zones 6-7 (mid-South, transition zone, mid-Atlantic), you've got until late September or even early October for most cool-season plots. In zone 8 and south, September is often still 85-95 degree weather, and a lot of growers wait until late September through October for germination to take without cooking the seedlings. The short version: don't treat September as one uniform planting month. Treat it as the window that closes at different speeds depending on where your dirt sits.

when to plant food plots for deer

The honest answer is that it depends on what you're planting and where you're planting it, but for fall/winter plots the general target is 60-90 days before your area's average first hard frost. Land-grant extension programs consistently frame planting dates around frost dates and soil temperature rather than a fixed calendar day, because a warm September in Iowa and a warm September in Kentucky are not the same growing conditions ^[1]. For perennial clover and alfalfa plots, spring planting (April-May in the North, March-April in the South) is often preferred because it gives the stand a full season to establish a root system before winter. But late summer/early fall planting works too, especially in the transition zone and southern states where summer heat can otherwise kill new clover seedlings. For annual fall plots (brassicas, cereal grains, annual clovers), late summer into fall is the correct window almost everywhere. Extension guidance for the Southeast recommends brassicas like turnips and rape be planted in late summer to early fall, roughly late August through mid-September in much of that region, to allow enough growing season for bulb and leaf development before a killing frost ^[2]. If you're planning multiple plot types across a property, a written planting calendar keyed to your specific zip code and frost date saves a lot of guesswork. That's the exact gap a food plot whitetail plan is built to fill, matching species to your actual frost window instead of a generic "plant in fall" label.

when to plant turnips for deer

Plant turnips 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 long runway because the plant has to grow leaves first, then divert energy into bulb production, and a hard freeze coming too early cuts that process short. In the Upper Midwest and Northeast (zones 3-5), that means turnips should go in the ground by mid-August to very early September at the latest. Wait past that and you'll get leafy growth but small or nonexistent bulbs, which matters if you're counting on the bulbs for late-season energy once the tops get browsed down or buried in snow. In the mid-South and transition zone (zones 6-7), early-to-mid September planting still works because first frost often doesn't arrive until late October or November. A note on soil temperature: turnip and brassica seed germinates best when soil temps are in the 50s to low 70s Fahrenheit. Iowa State University Extension guidance on brassica production notes germination gets poor and uneven in soil above roughly 85 degrees, which is exactly why late-summer planting in hot Southern states is a gamble unless you're irrigating or waiting for a cooling trend ^[3]. If your ground is still baking in early September, waiting two or three weeks for a cool front usually beats planting into hot, dry dirt on schedule.

when to plant oats for deer

Oats and other cereal grains (wheat, rye, triticale) go in the ground anywhere from late August through October depending on zone, and they're more forgiving of a wider planting window than brassicas because they germinate fast and tolerate cooler soil. In northern zones, aim for late August to mid-September so plants get enough growth before a hard freeze slows them down. Oats specifically are less cold-hardy than winter wheat or cereal rye. A hard freeze in the mid-20s or lower can kill oats outright, while winter rye will often green back up in spring. If you're in a zone with an early, hard winter, cereal rye is the safer bet for late-season and spring green-up; oats are better where you want fast fall attraction and don't need it to survive a brutal winter. In the transition zone and mid-South, September through early October works well. Soil is still warm enough for quick germination, and cooler nights start showing up to slow weed competition. Cereal grains are also one of the best "insurance" plantings if you're worried about a brassica planting window closing on you. Oats and winter wheat germinate in as little as 5-7 days under good moisture and soil temperature, versus brassicas that can take longer to show visible growth. If you're deciding late in the game what to put down, a grain-heavy blend is the lower-risk choice.

do deer eat sorghum

Yes, deer will eat sorghum, particularly the grain heads once they mature, but it's not typically planted as a primary attractant plot on its own. Grain sorghum (milo) is more commonly used as a summer forage or as a component in wildlife food plot blends aimed at multiple species, including deer, turkey, and dove. Whitetail research and extension guidance generally rank sorghum below clover, soybeans, corn, and brassicas in terms of preference and nutritional value for deer specifically. Sorghum's crude protein content generally runs lower than a well-managed clover or soybean plot, which is a big part of why it plays a supporting role rather than a headline one in most food plot plans. Where sorghum earns its keep is as a standing grain source late into fall and winter, since the seed heads persist on the stalk and provide a carbohydrate source when other plots have been grazed down. Some hunters plant it in strips mixed with sunflowers or other tall cover for screening and bedding cover as much as for the forage itself. If your goal is maximum deer attraction and nutrition, sorghum is a supporting player, not a headline plot.

do deer eat clover and do deer like clover

Yes, deer eat clover heavily, and it's one of the most consistently preferred food plot forages across nearly every study and extension publication on whitetail food plots. Clover is a perennial legume, meaning a well-maintained stand can produce forage for 3-5 years or more from one planting, which makes it one of the better cost-per-year options despite a higher upfront cost per acre. Clover's appeal comes down to protein and digestibility. Good clover forage commonly runs 20-25% crude protein, which lines up with or exceeds the nutritional needs research has identified for antler growth and lactation in deer. Extension programs have long recommended clover as a foundation species for spring and summer nutrition plots specifically because deer use it heavily through green-up and into summer stress periods. White clover (Ladino types) and red clover are the two most common choices. White clover tends to be shorter, spreads by stolons, and handles closer, more frequent grazing pressure better, which matters on smaller plots getting hit hard. Red clover grows taller, is more drought tolerant in some soils, and often out-produces white clover in total forage in a single cutting, but it doesn't persist quite as long under heavy continuous grazing. For a plot that pulls double duty across spring, summer, and into fall, clover is very hard to beat, and it's a staple recommendation across most deer food plot seed blends for exactly that reason.

what is a food plot

A food plot is a planted area on hunting or wildlife management land, typically anywhere from a quarter acre to several acres, established specifically to provide supplemental forage for deer and other wildlife. It's different from a farm field in that the goal isn't maximum commodity yield, it's nutrition, attraction, and sometimes cover, timed to match deer needs and hunting season. Food plots generally fall into two broad categories: perennial plots (clover, alfalfa, chicory) that persist for multiple years and are usually planted in spring, and annual plots (brassicas, cereal grains, annual clovers, soybeans) that are planted fresh each year and often timed for fall hunting season. State wildlife agencies frequently publish their own food plot guidance because plot species, size, and placement interact with local deer density, browse pressure, and sometimes with baiting and supplemental feeding regulations. It matters to check your specific state agency's rules before planting, since some states classify large-scale or heavily concentrated plots differently than natural forage plantings, and baiting/feeding law varies significantly state to state ^[4]. A basic distinction worth remembering: a food plot is a planted, standing crop that deer feed on as they would any other forage; a bait pile is loose feed, usually grain or minerals, placed to concentrate deer in one spot. Most states treat these very differently under law, so don't assume food plot rules and baiting rules are the same thing.

what are deer's favorite foods

Deer preference shifts by season, but across most whitetail research, the consistent favorites are acorns (especially white oak group), soybeans, clover, and other legumes, followed by brassicas and cereal grains in fall and winter. Native browse, agricultural crops, and mast availability all shift what a given deer herd prefers in a given month. Acorns are often the single most preferred natural food when they're dropping, and white oak acorns in particular are lower in tannins and more palatable than red oak group acorns, which is well documented in forestry and wildlife extension literature. This is one reason food plots near oak stands sometimes see less pressure in a heavy mast year: deer are choosing acorns over planted forage when both are available. Among planted crops, soybeans (both forage and grain type) rank at or near the top for whitetail preference in most regional studies, largely due to high protein content during the growing season and high fat/carbohydrate value once pods dry down in fall. Clover follows closely, especially through spring and summer. In fall, standing corn, soybeans, brassicas, and cereal grains all draw heavy use, with actual preference varying by what else is available on the landscape. The bigger point extension research keeps making: preference isn't fixed. A crop deer hammer in one field can go untouched nearby if there's a better option, so "favorite food" is really "best available food relative to everything else on the property at that moment."

do deer like honey

There's no meaningful research or wildlife agency guidance suggesting honey is a relevant deer food or attractant, and it's not part of any recognized food plot or supplemental feeding strategy. Deer are herbivores built around browsing plant material, not sugar syrup, and honey doesn't show up in any state wildlife agency or university extension deer nutrition publication as a forage or bait consideration. If you've seen this question floating around hunting forums, it's likely conflated with honeysuckle, which deer absolutely do browse, or with commercial mineral/attractant products that use molasses or sugar-based additives to increase palatability of a mineral lick. Molasses-based mineral products are common and deer will use them, but that's a different thing than honey itself. Worth noting also: many states restrict or regulate baiting and supplemental feeding, including sugar-based or scent attractants, separately from food plot planting. If you're considering any kind of attractant beyond a planted plot, check your state wildlife agency's current baiting regulations first, since rules vary widely and change periodically ^[4].

what's the difference between planting in september vs. earlier or later

Brassicas/turnips	Late July - early Sept	Mid Aug - mid Sept	Sept - early Oct
Cereal grains (oats, wheat, rye)	Late Aug - mid Sept	Sept - early Oct	Late Sept - Nov
Perennial clover	April-May (spring preferred)	March-April or Aug-Sept	Sept - Nov
Annual clover (crimson, arrowleaf)	Late Aug - Sept	Sept - Oct	Oct - Nov	These ranges are general guidance pulled from extension planting date recommendations, not a substitute for checking your local frost date and current soil temperature before you plant [1] [2].

Planting a fall plot in September, versus jumping the gun in July/August or waiting until October, comes down to soil temperature, moisture reliability, and how much growing season is left before frost. Too early (July-early August in most zones): soil is often too hot and dry for good brassica and clover germination, and any early growth risks getting hammered by deer before it has a chance to establish, especially on smaller plots. Iowa State Extension guidance on brassica planting notes germination suffers in soil temps consistently above the mid-80s ^[3], which is common through midsummer across most of the country. September (the sweet spot for most zones 5-7): soil has cooled into a workable range, there's usually more reliable rainfall than deep summer, and there's still 60-90 days before frost for brassicas and cereal grains to establish real tonnage. Too late (November or later in northern zones): germination slows dramatically or stops as soil temps drop below the mid-40s, and a fall-planted annual that doesn't get established before hard frost often just fails outright. In southern zones, October and even November planting can still work fine since frost arrives later. Here's a rough planting window comparison by zone for common fall food plot species: | Species | Zones 3-5 (Northern) | Zones 6-7 (Transition) | Zone 8+ (Southern) |

how do soil tests factor into a september planting decision

A current soil test still matters in September exactly as much as it does in spring, because pH and nutrient levels determine whether that planting window actually pays off. Planting brassicas or clover into soil with a pH of 5.2 wastes seed money regardless of how perfect the calendar timing is. Most land-grant extension soil testing labs recommend a target pH of 6.0-6.5 for common food plot species like clover and brassicas, with lime applications sometimes taking months to fully adjust pH depending on soil type and lime quality ^[5]. That's the practical catch with September planting: if you haven't tested since spring, and pH or phosphorus/potassium levels are off, applying lime in September may not correct things fast enough to help this year's crop, though it sets up next year's planting. Your soil test lab's specific lime and fertilizer recommendations are the actual authority here, not a general blog post average. Every state's extension soil lab calibrates recommendations to regional soil chemistry, and recommendations can differ meaningfully between, say, a sandy Southeastern coastal plain soil and a clay-heavy Midwestern till soil. If you're working off an old test or no test at all, pulling a fresh sample before you commit seed and fertilizer budget to a September plot is worth the two-week turnaround most labs need. This is also where a lot of hunters get overwhelmed trying to match species, zone, soil results, and equipment on hand into one plan. A $99 Custom Food Plot Plan takes your soil test numbers and zone and builds a general planting plan around them, though your soil lab's specific lime and fertilizer recommendations remain the final word on your dirt.

what equipment do you actually need for a september planting push

For most September fall plots, the minimum workable setup is a way to kill existing vegetation, a way to work or scratch the seedbed, a way to broadcast or drill seed, and a way to pack it in. You don't need a full no-till drill to succeed, but you do need good seed-to-soil contact, which is where a lot of DIY plots fail. A basic small-plot setup: an ATV or UTV, a tow-behind disc or cultipacker, a broadcast spreader (even a handheld one works on plots under an acre), and glyphosate or another appropriate herbicide for burning down existing growth two to three weeks ahead of planting. For brassicas and clover, seed needs to sit at or very near the surface (1/4 inch or less), so a cultipacker pass after broadcasting matters more than deep tillage. For cereal grains like oats or wheat, seed depth of roughly 1-1.5 inches works better, which favors a drill or at least a disc pass followed by cultipacking over straight broadcasting. If you're planting in September specifically, timing equipment access matters too. Rental equipment and even local farm co-op availability can get tight in early fall when row-crop farmers are also running equipment for their own harvest and cover crop planting. Lining up gear two to three weeks ahead of your target planting window avoids scrambling when the soil and forecast finally line up.

Frequently asked questions

Can you still plant food plots in late September if you're behind schedule?

In zones 6 and south, yes, late September is often still within the normal window for brassicas, cereal grains, and annual clovers. In zones 3-5, late September is pushing it for brassicas specifically, but cereal grains like winter wheat or rye can still work since they tolerate cooler soil and germinate quickly.

Do deer eat sorghum in food plots?

Yes, deer eat sorghum grain, especially once heads mature in fall. It's usually a supporting species in wildlife blends rather than a primary plot on its own, since clover, soybeans, and brassicas generally outrank it in deer preference and nutritional research.

Do deer like clover more than other food plot species?

Clover consistently ranks among the top preferred forages in whitetail research, largely due to high crude protein (often 20-25%) and long growing-season availability. It's especially valuable in spring and summer, though deer also use it into fall where stands persist.

When should you plant turnips for deer specifically?

Plant turnips 80-90 days before your area's first hard frost, roughly late July to early September in northern zones and into mid-September in the transition zone. Waiting too long cuts short the bulb-formation period and leaves you with leafy tops but small or no bulbs.

When is the best time to plant oats for a fall deer plot?

Late August through mid-September works best in northern zones; September through early October works in the transition zone and mid-South. Oats germinate fast but are less cold-hardy than winter wheat or cereal rye, so they're better for fast fall attraction than for surviving a brutal winter.

What exactly is a food plot, and how is it different from a regular field?

A food plot is a planted area, often a quarter acre to several acres, established specifically to provide supplemental deer forage rather than a harvestable commodity crop. It's typically timed and species-matched to deer nutritional needs and hunting season rather than maximum yield.

What are deer's favorite foods overall?

Acorns, especially white oak group, are often the top preferred natural food when available. Among planted crops, soybeans and clover consistently rank highest in preference and protein content, with brassicas and cereal grains drawing heavy use in fall and winter.

Do deer like honey as a food source or attractant?

No, there's no research or agency guidance supporting honey as a deer food or attractant. It's likely confused with honeysuckle, which deer do browse, or with molasses-based mineral products that are a different thing entirely.

Is September too hot to plant food plots in southern states?

Often, yes. Zone 8 and further south frequently sees soil temps still in the 85-95 degree range through September, which extension research links to poor brassica germination. Many Southern growers wait until late September or October for a cooling trend before planting cool-season plots.

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

Yes, ideally a current one. pH and nutrient levels determine whether your planting actually produces forage, regardless of timing. Most extension labs target pH 6.0-6.5 for clover and brassicas, and lime applied in September may not fully adjust pH before this year's crop, though it helps next year.

What's the single most reliable food plot species to plant in September if you're not sure what else to pick?

A cereal grain blend (oats, winter wheat, or cereal rye) is the lowest-risk choice for a September planting because it germinates fast, tolerates a wider range of soil temperatures, and is more forgiving of a late or imperfect planting window than brassicas or clover.

Can you plant clover in September instead of spring?

Yes, September planting works for clover, especially in the transition zone and South, though spring planting (April-May in the North) is often preferred because it gives the stand a full season to establish roots before winter stress hits.

Sources

1. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Cover Crop Termination Guidelines and planting date guidance (Agronomy Technical Note No. 34): Fall planting dates for cover and forage crops are generally set relative to first frost date rather than a fixed calendar month
2. University of Georgia Extension, Circular 1131, Food Plots for Wildlife: Brassicas like turnips and rape are recommended for planting in late summer to early fall in the Southeast
3. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Brassica production guidance: Brassica seed germination suffers in soil temperatures consistently above the mid-80s Fahrenheit
4. Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Conservation Order 2.11, Baiting and Feeding of Deer and Elk: Baiting and supplemental feeding regulations for deer vary by state and are separate from food plot planting rules
5. University of Missouri Extension, Soil Testing for Lime and Fertilizer, Publication G9111: Recommended target soil pH range of roughly 6.0-6.5 for common food plot species like clover and brassicas