Advantages of Fall Planting

By Jon Cooner, Institute Product Consultant

Is late summer or early fall the wrong time to start thinking about planting food plots? Is it too late? The answer is an emphatic, “No!” In fact, planting in the fall has some advantages over planting in the spring that you might not have considered.

For example, fall plantings yield succulent new growth that is highly attractive to deer right when the hunter needs it the most – during hunting season. Also, planting in the fall allows Whitetail Institute perennial forages to reach maturity and maximum protein content right when your deer need it most – during the 200 days of spring and summer when bucks are building the collagen matrix of their velvet antlers (which consists of up to 80 percent protein) and when does are in the later stages of pregnancy and providing milk for newborn fawns.

To maximize growth of a perennial forage planted in the fall and its protein content the following spring, be sure to choose a forage blend adapted for fall planting, such as Imperial Whitetail Clover, Chicory Plus, Alfa-Rack Plus or Extreme. Hard frost can “brown” some species, especially most alfalfas, and that often happens just before or during hunting season. The X-9 Technology grazing alfalfas in Alfa-Rack Plus, however, outperform standard alfalfas by a wide margin when used in food plots. One reason these alfalfa varieties are superior is their cold-tolerant characteristics. The Whitetail Institute even offers regional blends of its perennial forages to make them perform best in different areas of North America.

Also, be sure that the forage blend you choose is designed for your soil and environmental conditions. Imperial Whitetail Clover and Chicory Plus, for example, are designed for a heavy bottomland type soil with good moisture-holding properties and a soil pH of 6.5 or higher. Alfa-Rack Plus is designed for good, well-drained soils with a pH of 6.5 or higher. Extreme will tolerate a broad range of soil types and soil pH as low as 5.4, much lower than Imperial Whitetail Clover or Alfa-Rack Plus will normally withstand.

Rainfall is another factor that should influence what forage blend you choose for fall planting. Imperial Whitetail Clover, Chicory Plus and Alfa-Rack Plus require at least 30 inches of rainfall annually. Extreme will tolerate much less – as little as 15 inches per year. Many areas of the country experience comparatively low rainfall during the early fall, and you should not plant if your conditions are very dry. However, the Whitetail Institute even coats its seeds with the finest coatings available to protect the seeds as much as possible from false germination – germinating when insufficient moisture is present in the ground to sustain the seedlings.

Once you have chosen the appropriate Whitetail Institute forage blend, you should closely follow the Whitetail Institute’s published guidelines when preparing your seedbed and planting if you want to maximize your fall planting results. Two crucial steps in this process are removing existing vegetation and adjusting soil pH.  

The two most common methods for removing existing vegetation from new plot sites are repetitive disking, and applying comprehensive glyphosphate herbicides such as RoundUp. Most new plots can also have literally millions of dormant weed and grass seeds in the ground, and it is quite common for these quiet invaders to show up shortly after fallow ground is tilled, bringing them to the surface where they receive adequate light, moisture and air to germinate. The fall planter can have an advantage over the spring planter in such cases. In the fall, these dormant seeds may not germinate right away when brought to the surface; or if they do germinate, they may not grow much until they go completely dormant again later in the fall. That can give the newly planted perennials a better chance to get a jump on native grass and weeds. In the following spring, however, be sure to monitor the plot closely after spring green-up to get a quick jump on controlling any grasses and weeds that may re-appear.

Most food plot managers will also find a recommendation in their soil-test results that lime be incorporated into the soil to raise soil pH from the common acidic state to a neutral pH. The more thoroughly lime is mixed into the soil, the faster it will work. In the Midwest and North, ground may be too frozen in winter to allow thorough incorporation of lime – a concern not present the rest of the year.

Planting in the fall also gives plants additional time for their root systems to mature before they have to go through the heat of summer. Whitetail Institute forages were designed and bred to be extremely drought-tolerant. For instance the new X-9 Technology grazing alfalfas in Imperial Alfa-Rack Plus and the evergreen herbaceous forb that is the main perennial in Extreme may develop root systems as deep as one to two feet. As is the case with any plant, though, they must grow from a seedling and develop their root systems before they are at their most drought-tolerant state, and planting in the fall gives those plants a little extra time to get their root systems ready for summer’s dryer weather. 

Whitetail Institute perennials are not the only Whitetail Institute blends that are appropriate for fall planting. Imperial No-Plow annual also shines when planted in the fall. The result will be a highly attractive and nutritious food plot that will last well until the following spring or early summer. Also, Secret Spot is specifically formulated for planting in the fall and will produce well into the following spring. Winter-Greens is designed specifically to be planted in the late summer or early fall and will provide you and your deer with an outstanding late season food plot.

Of course, my purpose is not to say that one should only plant in the fall; Imperial Whitetail Clover, Chicory Plus, Alfa-Rack Plus, Extreme and No-Plow are suitable for planting in either the spring or the fall in most areas of the country.  If you do miss your spring planting dates, though, just remember that fall planting can be a great option.