What to plant in august for deer food plots

Last updated 2026-07-26

when should you plant food plots for deer

The honest answer is that it depends on your frost date and what you're planting, not the calendar page. Most fall annuals (brassicas, oats, winter peas, clover) go in 60 to 90 days before your area's average first hard frost, so you're timing planting backward from that date rather than forward from August 1st. For the northern tier (parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, northern New York), first frost often lands in mid to late September, which pushes brassica and cereal grain planting into late July through mid-August. For the mid-South and transition zone (Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, southern Missouri), first frost is usually mid to late October, so late August into September works fine. Deep South food plotters (Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, the Gulf Coast) often wait until late September or even October for brassicas, since summer heat can cook young seedlings and frost doesn't show up until November or later in some spots. Spring plantings (clover, chicory, alfalfa) are a separate calendar entirely, typically going in April through May depending on zone. August is specifically about fall plot prep. It's the single most important planting window of the year for most hunters, because it sets up the plots deer will actually be eating during archery and gun season.

what to plant in august for deer food plots

Turnips/radish (brassica)	Early to mid-August (north), late Aug-Sept (south)	60-90 days to bulb, sweetens after frost	All zones, timing shifts by frost date
Oats	Mid-late August	5-10 days germination, grazeable in 3-4 weeks	All zones, especially good as a nurse crop
Winter wheat/rye	Late August-September	Similar to oats, more cold-hardy	Northern and transition zones
Clover (overseed or new)	Early August (risky) or wait for spring	Slow establishment, better in spring	Better as a spring planting overall	If you're not sure which combination fits your ground, a food plot whitetail mix that blends brassicas with a cereal grain nurse crop is a solid, low-risk starting point for most August plantings.

The short list: brassicas (turnips, radishes, rape, kale), cereal grains (oats, winter wheat, winter rye), and clover, either as a fresh planting or an overseed into an existing perennial stand. These three categories cover almost every August planting scenario a hunter faces. Brassicas are the headline crop for August because they need a long growing season to bulb up before deer start eating them heavily, usually after the first hard frost converts starches to sugars and makes the plant taste sweeter. Oats germinate fast (5 to 10 days in warm soil) and green up quickly, making them a good choice if you're planting later in August or want early season attraction. Clover can be planted in August as a dormant-ish seeding in cooler zones, but it's riskier than a spring planting because young clover seedlings don't love competing with weeds in late summer heat. A lot of experienced plotters treat August clover as a backup plan, not the first choice. Here's a rough breakdown by planting window: | Crop | Typical August window | Days to maturity/attraction | Best zone fit |

when to plant turnips for deer

Plant turnips 60 to 90 days before your first expected hard frost, which lands most turnip planting squarely in late July through August for the majority of the whitetail range. Turnips need that long runway to grow a bulb worth eating, and the leafy top growth alone won't hold deer through late season the way a mature bulb will. Soil temperature matters more than the calendar date. Turnip seed germinates best when soil temps are in the 60s to low 80s Fahrenheit, and seed should go no deeper than a quarter to half inch since it's tiny. A lot of plots fail not because the timing was wrong but because the seed got buried too deep or broadcast onto ground with no seed-to-soil contact. One real limitation nobody likes to admit: turnips can flop in years with a warm, late fall. If frost doesn't show up until mid-November, deer may not touch the bulbs hard until well into your season is already over. Pairing turnips with oats or wheat as a nurse crop hedges that bet, since the grain gives you attraction earlier in the fall regardless of frost timing.

when to plant oats for deer

Oats go in the ground anywhere from mid-August through September depending on zone, and they're one of the more forgiving crops for August planting because they germinate fast and tolerate a range of soil conditions. In the North, aim for mid-August so oats have time to establish before growth slows in the cold. In the transition zone and South, late August into September works, and some southern plotters push oats into October. Oats won't survive a hard winter the way winter wheat or rye will, so in the coldest zones they function as a fall annual that deer hit hard in October and November before dying back. If you want grain tonnage into late winter, winter wheat or cereal rye holds up better to repeated hard freezes, according to University of Tennessee Extension guidance on wildlife food plots. A lot of plot mixes use oats as a nurse crop for brassicas or clover, since the oats come up fast, suppress some weed competition, and give deer something green to eat while the slower brassica bulbs are still developing underground.

do deer eat sorghum

Yes, deer eat grain sorghum, but it's more commonly planted as a summer annual for cover and as a supplemental grain source than as a primary August fall-plot crop. Sorghum is typically planted in late spring to early summer (May through June in most zones) since it needs warm soil and a longer growing season, which puts it outside the August planting window this article is centered on. Where sorghum earns its keep is as standing grain into fall and winter, similar to how corn is used. It's genuinely useful in areas where corn struggles with drought since sorghum handles dry conditions better. If you already have a sorghum plot from a summer planting, August is more about managing that existing stand (mowing strips, checking for pest pressure) than establishing new sorghum. For a true August planting, brassicas and cereal grains are a better fit for the calendar.

do deer eat clover, and do deer like clover

Yes, whitetails eat clover readily, and it's one of the most consistently preferred forages across the growing season, more than a fall thing. Clover (both white varieties like ladino and red clover) is high in protein, often tested in the 25 to 30 percent crude protein range during active growth, which makes it valuable during spring green-up and antler growth as well as late summer. Do deer like clover more than other options? In extension guidance and general forage preference observations, clover consistently ranks as a top-tier choice alongside soybeans and alfalfa for palatability and use, though preference does shift seasonally and regionally based on what else is available. Clover's real advantage is that it's a perennial, so a well-established stand keeps producing forage for 3 to 5 years with proper maintenance (mowing, liming, and occasional overseeding), unlike annual plots you replant every year. The catch for August specifically: new clover seedings in mid to late summer face weed competition and heat stress that spring plantings don't. If you already have clover, August is a good time to mow it short and maybe frost-seed or overseed thin spots, rather than starting a brand new stand from bare ground.

what is a food plot

A food plot is a planted area, usually somewhere between a quarter acre and several acres, established specifically to grow forage that attracts and holds deer or other wildlife, and to supplement the natural browse available on a property. Food plots are planted with annuals (brassicas, cereal grains, soybeans) or perennials (clover, alfalfa, chicory) depending on the season and goal. State wildlife agencies generally treat food plots as a habitat management tool distinct from baiting, since the forage is standing and growing rather than piled feed, though the legal distinction varies by state and some states regulate supplemental feeding near hunting areas or restrict certain practices during specific seasons. Check your state wildlife agency's regulations before assuming a plot is automatically legal to hunt over, since baiting and supplemental feeding rules differ widely state to state. Food plots serve a few real purposes beyond just "deer food": they concentrate deer activity in predictable locations for hunting, they improve overall herd nutrition when done at scale, and they can extend forage availability into late season when natural browse is scarce. A single small plot won't transform deer body condition on a property. That takes acreage, consistency, and usually multiple plot types working together across the season, which is part of why a full-property deer food plots plan tends to outperform one random plot planted on a whim.

what are deer's favorite foods

Deer preference shifts by season, region, and what's locally available, but extension research and browse studies consistently point to a shortlist: acorns (especially white oak family acorns, which are lower in tannins and more palatable than red oak acorns), soybeans, clover, and agricultural crops like corn and alfalfa. In fall specifically, hard mast (acorns) is often the single most preferred food source when it's available, because the fat and carbohydrate content helps deer build fat reserves for winter. Among planted food plot crops, soybeans and clover routinely test as top-preference forages in university trials, with brassicas and cereal grains close behind, especially after a frost sweetens brassica bulbs. Corn is high-value as a late-season energy source but isn't a top preference crop until other options are gone; deer often hit soybeans and acorns first. The honest caveat here: "favorite food" studies are usually preference trials in a specific region with specific available forage, and results shift based on what's competing for the deer's attention. A deer in an agricultural landscape surrounded by soybean fields behaves differently than a deer in heavy timber with acorns as the dominant fall food. Don't assume a study from one region maps perfectly onto your property.

do deer like honey

There's no real evidence deer seek out honey as a food source, and it's not part of any standard extension or wildlife agency food plot or attractant guidance. Deer are herbivores with a diet built around browse, forbs, mast, and agricultural crops; wild bee hives aren't a documented food source for whitetails in any wildlife biology literature. What likely creates the honey question is confusion with commercial deer attractant products, some of which use sweet, sticky bases (molasses, sugar beet extracts, or syrups) marketed under names that reference sweetness. Those products are designed as scent and taste lures, not nutritional food sources, and their use is regulated in some states under baiting rules. Check your state wildlife agency's baiting regulations before using any liquid or granular attractant, since Pennsylvania and several other states specifically restrict scent and taste lures under their baiting definitions. If you're trying to pull deer to a spot, a planted brassica or clover plot does more for actual nutrition and season-long attraction than any bottled attractant will.

how do soil tests factor into an august planting

A soil test taken in July or early August, ahead of planting, tells you your current pH and nutrient levels (phosphorus, potassium, and often micronutrients) so you can apply lime and fertilizer at rates that actually match your ground, instead of guessing off a bag label. University of Missouri Extension recommends soil testing every 2 to 3 years for established plots and definitely before breaking new ground. Lime is the big one people skip. Brassicas and clover both want soil pH in the 6.0 to 7.0 range for decent nutrient uptake, and if your test comes back at 5.2, no amount of fertilizer fixes that fast; lime takes months to fully react with the soil, which is why fall soil sampling for a following spring planting (or spring sampling for fall) matters more than most people think. Your soil test lab's specific lime and fertilizer recommendation is the real authority here, since it's calibrated to your actual soil chemistry, not a generic average. If you've got a fresh soil test back and you're staring at a bag of urea trying to figure out rates, a deer food plot seed selection matched to your pH and drainage will save you money over buying seed first and hoping the ground cooperates. This is also where a service like the $99 Custom Food Plot Plan earns its keep: you plug in your soil test numbers and zone, and it hands back a straightforward planting plan instead of you cross-referencing five different extension PDFs at 9pm in August.

what equipment do you actually need for an august planting

At minimum: a way to kill existing vegetation (herbicide and a sprayer, or disking), a way to work the seedbed (disk, tiller, or cultipacker), a spreader for seed and fertilizer, and a way to firm the seed in (cultipacker, drag, or even driving over it with a light vehicle for small brassica seed). None of this needs to be expensive or new; a lot of successful plots get planted with a 25-year-old disk behind a compact tractor or ATV. Seed depth is the detail that sinks more August plots than anything else. Brassica seed is tiny and wants to be barely covered, an eighth to a quarter inch, while cereal grains like oats want closer to half an inch to an inch. Broadcasting brassica seed and then dragging or cultipacking, rather than disking it in deep, is usually the right call. If herbicide burndown is part of your plan (common for August plantings going into a summer weed-choked field), give glyphosate 7 to 10 days to work before you till or drill, so you're not planting into weeds that are still alive and about to out-compete your seedlings.

Frequently asked questions

Do deer eat sorghum?

Yes, deer eat grain sorghum and will browse the leaves and heads, but it's usually planted in late spring to early summer as a warm-season crop, not an August fall planting. It works well as a corn alternative in drought-prone areas since sorghum tolerates dry conditions better than corn.

Do deer eat clover?

Yes, clover is one of the most consistently preferred forages for whitetails across the growing season. It tests high in crude protein, often 25 to 30 percent during active growth, which makes it valuable for spring antler growth, lactation, and general herd nutrition, more than fall hunting season.

When should you plant food plots for deer?

Timing depends on frost date and crop type. Fall annuals like brassicas and cereal grains go in 60 to 90 days before first hard frost, generally late July to August in the North and August into September in the South. Spring perennials like clover typically go in April through May.

Do deer like clover more than other plot crops?

Clover consistently ranks as a top preference alongside soybeans and alfalfa in university forage trials, though preference shifts by season and region. Its real advantage over annuals is that a good stand keeps producing forage for 3 to 5 years with basic maintenance instead of annual replanting.

When should you plant oats for deer?

Plant oats mid-August through September depending on zone; northern hunters should aim for mid-August so oats establish before cold slows growth, while southern hunters can wait into September or October. Oats germinate fast, often 5 to 10 days, but won't survive a hard winter like wheat or rye will.

When to plant food plots for deer in general?

Most fall plots go in during August, timed backward from your area's first hard frost date, roughly 60 to 90 days ahead. Spring plots for perennials like clover and chicory go in April or May. Check your specific state extension office's planting calendar for exact local dates.

When should you plant turnips for deer?

Plant turnips 60 to 90 days before your expected first hard frost, which lands in late July through August for most of the whitetail range. Turnips need that runway to bulb up properly, and deer hit them hardest after a frost sweetens the bulb's starches into sugar.

What is a food plot exactly?

A food plot is a planted area, usually a quarter acre to several acres, established to grow forage that attracts and supplements the diet of deer or other wildlife. Plots use annuals like brassicas and grains or perennials like clover, and they're distinct from baiting under most state wildlife regulations, though rules vary.

What are deer's favorite foods overall?

Acorns, especially from white oak family trees, are often the top fall preference when available, thanks to their fat and carb content. Among planted crops, soybeans and clover routinely test highest in university preference trials, with brassicas and cereal grains close behind, especially after a frost.

Do deer like honey?

There's no evidence deer seek out honey as a food source; they're browse and forb eaters, not foragers of bee hives. The honey question likely comes from confusion with commercial liquid attractants that use sweet syrup bases, which are scent lures, not real nutrition, and are regulated under baiting rules in some states.

Can you plant brassicas and clover together in August?

You can, but it's not ideal. Brassicas want full sun and their own space to bulb, and young clover seedlings often lose out to faster-growing brassica canopy. Most experienced plotters keep clover as a separate spring planting and use August for brassica and cereal grain annuals instead.

Is it too late to plant a food plot in late August?

For most of the transition zone and South, no, late August is often the ideal window. For the far North, late August is cutting it close for brassicas to fully bulb before frost, though fast-germinating oats or winter rye can still work planted into early September.

Sources

1. University of Missouri Extension, Food Plots for Deer and Turkey (G9421): Brassica palatability increases after a frost converts starches to sugars
2. University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, White-tailed Deer Food Habits (Circular 892): White oak acorns are lower in tannins and more palatable to deer than red oak acorns
3. Pennsylvania Game Commission, Baiting Regulations: Use of scent and taste attractants is regulated under state baiting rules in some states
4. University of Missouri Extension, Soil Testing for Lawns, Gardens and Food Plots (G9110): Extension guidance recommends soil testing every 2 to 3 years for established plots
5. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach: Soil test results guide lime and fertilizer application rates before planting food plot crops
6. University of Georgia Extension: Brassicas like turnips should be planted in late summer, typically August, for fall and winter deer forage
7. University of Missouri Extension: Establishing and managing food plots for wildlife including deer