I can’t say my deer are real picky. They eat what I plant.
100% true statement for my place. So it is not the deer that drive what I plant - with a couple exceptions - it is what works for me and my conditions that I plant.
The exceptions - I dont plant things like sunflowers or beans that the deer eat to the dirt within a week of the plant emerging from the ground.
No corn or milo - I have hogs.
Nothing like brassicas or radishes that have to be planted around Sept 1 to have time to grow before cold weather - it is still 105 degrees here and probably no rain for a month
Winter rye - works great but gets tall too quick and the gobblers wont get in the food plots in the spring. Also, doves dont seem to be attracted to rye grain in summer like they are to wheat grain.
Chicory is well used - but it makes herbicide management of clover problematic.
Oats are ok - but tend to yellow up pretty quick in my wet soil.
Perrenial clovers good - durana was my favorite - but 105 degree temps and no rain usually means clover is gone by sept - and likely not to come back. So I now just plant standard ladino every year - whether the plot needs a clover boost or not. Almost half the price of durana and most other perennial clovers.
I used bagged field run wheat. I plant two tons. If I planted two acres, it wouldnt matter to me the cost of seed.
your deer will probably eat anything you plant - maybe not right away - but sooner or later. My deer would not eat beans, peas, or sunflowers the first couple of years. Now they eat them as soon as they pop out of the ground.
I could go on - but the point is - YOUR conditions - from your deer density to army worms - will direct you towards what works best for you. Advice from others is great - but dont hold it against them if it doesnt work for you. I have been planting food plots for 45 years - 33 yrs of that as part of my profession. I am still learning.
