6 Best Deer Attractants For Food Plots That Last All Season

You’ve spent hours scouting, clearing a hidden clearing, and dreaming of a lush green food plot that pulls deer in like a magnet. But as the season wears on, the plot you planted in August is either grazed to the dirt or ignored completely by late November. The key to holding deer on your property isn’t just planting food, it’s planting the right food that provides nutrition from early archery season through the bitter cold of late winter.

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What Defines an All-Season Deer Food Plot?

An all-season food plot is a strategic planting designed to provide attractive, high-quality forage throughout the entire hunting calendar. It’s not about a single "magic bean" that deer crave year-round. Instead, it’s about creating a food source that evolves with the deer’s nutritional needs.

Early in the season, deer seek out tender, high-protein greens like clover and soybeans to recover from the rut and pack on weight. As temperatures plummet and winter approaches, their dietary needs shift dramatically. They begin craving high-carbohydrate, high-energy foods like turnips, radishes, and grains to build fat reserves and survive the cold. A true all-season plot anticipates this shift, offering a buffet that remains palatable and beneficial from September through February.

This can be achieved in two primary ways: establishing a hardy perennial like clover that provides a consistent base, or planting a diverse annual blend with multiple plant species that mature at different times. The first offers longevity and a soil-building foundation, while the second provides a dynamic, season-long smorgasbord. The best strategy often involves using both in different locations on your property to create a complete feeding program.

Whitetail Institute Imperial Clover for Perennial Plots

When you need a reliable, long-lasting foundation for your food plot program, Imperial Whitetail Clover is a benchmark product. This isn’t your average pasture clover. It’s a blend of perennial clovers specifically selected for their high protein content, disease resistance, and attractiveness to whitetails.

Think of this as a long-term investment in your property’s habitat. With proper soil preparation and maintenance, a plot of Imperial Clover can last three to five years, or even longer. It provides a critical source of protein during the spring and summer for antler growth and fawn rearing, and it remains a huge draw in the early fall before the first hard frosts hit. This makes it an ideal staging area plot for early season hunts.

The tradeoff for this longevity is the upfront work. Imperial Clover demands a neutral soil pH (6.5 to 7.0 is ideal) and requires mowing two or three times a year to control weeds and stimulate tender new growth. It’s not a "plant it and forget it" solution, but its multi-year performance offers incredible value for the land manager committed to herd health.

Antler King Trophy Clover for High-Protein Forage

For those looking to maximize protein and palatability in a perennial plot, Antler King’s Trophy Clover Mix is a top-tier contender. It combines four different varieties of clover with a touch of chicory, creating a blend that is both highly nutritious and exceptionally drought-tolerant. The different clover varieties are chosen for staggered maturity, ensuring there is always something tender and appealing to deer.

The inclusion of chicory is a key differentiator. Chicory’s deep taproot helps it thrive during dry spells when clovers might struggle, and it’s also rich in minerals. This blend is engineered to be a deer magnet from the first green-up in spring all the way through the fall hunting season, providing the high-protein forage essential for body and antler development.

Like other premium perennials, Trophy Clover performs best with attention to detail. A soil test is non-negotiable to ensure you get the pH and fertility right before planting. While the initial cost and effort are significant, the result is a hardy, high-tonnage plot that can feed your deer herd for years with only annual maintenance, making it a cornerstone of any serious habitat management plan.

Biologic Maximum for Late-Season Brassica Attraction

As the season shifts and the first hard frosts blanket the landscape, the game changes entirely. This is where a brassica blend like Biologic Maximum shines. This annual mix of turnips, rape, and other brassicas is the ultimate late-season attractant, designed to become sweeter and more desirable after cold weather arrives.

The science is simple but effective. Frost triggers a chemical reaction in the plants, converting complex starches into simple sugars. For deer seeking a high-energy food source to survive the winter, these sugary bulbs and leaves are irresistible. A plot of Maximum that was lightly browsed in October can become the hottest food source in the county by December.

Because it’s an annual, you’ll be planting it every year, and it requires good sunlight and nitrogen-rich soil to reach its full potential. It’s a strategic tool, not a standalone solution for the entire season. Use it for those secluded kill plots you plan to hunt in the late season, when deer are yarded up and focused on survival.

Frigid Forage Big-N-Beasty for Cold Weather Plots

For hunters in the northern U.S. and Canada, "late season" means snow, ice, and brutal temperatures. Frigid Forage’s Big-N-Beasty is engineered specifically for these harsh conditions. This annual brassica blend is formulated for extreme cold tolerance and maximum late-season energy, making it a lifeline for deer in the toughest environments.

The mix typically includes several varieties of turnips and rape, along with tillage radishes. The radishes not only provide forage but also have a massive taproot that helps break up compacted soil, improving soil health for future plantings. Deer will paw through deep snow to get to the sugary turnip bulbs and radish taproots, making this an unparalleled attractant when all other natural forage is buried or depleted.

This is the definition of a destination food source for the late season. It’s a high-effort, high-reward annual planting. The payoff is creating a plot that can hold deer on your property during the most critical survival period, providing hunting opportunities right up to the final bell.

Evolved Harvest Throw & Gro for No-Till Simplicity

What if you don’t have a tractor, an ATV, or even easy access to your plot location? Evolved Harvest Throw & Gro is the answer for the hunter who needs simplicity and effectiveness without heavy equipment. This blend is designed for minimal-till or no-till applications, making it perfect for remote clearings, logging roads, or small "kill plots" tucked deep in the woods.

The secret is a combination of hardy seed varieties—often including forage rye, clover, and brassicas—and a special seed coating. This coating helps the seed retain moisture and establish good contact with the soil. The process is straightforward: clear the ground of leaves and debris, broadcast the seed just before a rain, and let nature take its course.

Let’s be honest about the tradeoff. You will sacrifice the tonnage and lushness of a conventionally prepared plot for the sake of convenience. However, for creating a small, attractive food source in a hard-to-reach spot, its value is immense. It’s an outstanding option for beginners or anyone looking to add a quick hunting plot with minimal fuss.

Real World Deadly Dozen for All-Season Variety

If you could only plant one annual blend for season-long attraction, Real World’s Deadly Dozen would be a serious contender. This complex mix contains twelve different plant species chosen to offer deer a preferred food source from the first day of archery season to the last day of muzzleloader. It is the ultimate "all-in-one" solution in a single bag.

The blend is a masterclass in diversification. It includes winter peas and oats for immediate, early-season attraction. It has soybeans for protein. It features multiple brassicas, including turnips and radishes, that become highly attractive after the first frost. This variety ensures that as deer change their preferences throughout the fall, your plot always has something on the menu.

Planting a diverse blend like this is also a smart risk-management strategy. If one plant species struggles due to specific weather conditions, others in the mix will likely thrive. It requires annual planting, but the reward is a plot that draws and holds deer consistently across the entire hunting season, making it an ideal choice for your primary hunting location.

Maintaining Your Plot for Maximum Tonnage

Planting the seed is just the beginning. The difference between a mediocre food plot and a truly productive one lies in the maintenance. The single most important step, before you even open a bag of seed, is to conduct a soil test. Sending a sample to a local lab is inexpensive and tells you exactly what lime and fertilizer your plot needs to thrive.

For perennial plots like clover, ongoing maintenance is key. Mowing 2-3 times during the summer is crucial. This prevents weeds from going to seed and, more importantly, it encourages the clover to produce the tender, high-protein new growth that deer prefer. Ignoring a clover plot often results in it being choked out by grasses and weeds within a year or two.

Ultimately, maintaining your plot protects your investment and maximizes its output. Proper fertilization feeds the plants, weed control reduces competition, and mowing keeps perennials in their most attractive state. This consistent effort ensures your deer herd gets the maximum nutritional benefit, which translates directly to better herd health and more consistent hunting opportunities.

Choosing the right seed is a critical step, but don’t get paralyzed by the options. The best food plot is the one you actually plant and maintain, tailored to your specific soil, climate, and goals. Get your hands dirty, learn from each season, and enjoy the process of improving the habitat you hunt.