My Deer Garden

Planting Forage Oats for deer

Avena sativa

Cool season

Deer hit this hard. That is the point.

Seeding rate
80 to 100 lb
per acre, broadcast
Minimum plot
0.5 acre
smaller gets browsed out
Plant
Late summer for fall grazing

Rates are broadcast figures. Drilling runs roughly a third lower. These are starting points from extension guidance and have not yet been re-checked against a second source per record, so treat them as indicative and soil test before you buy seed.

Type
Food plot forage
Hardiness
Zones 5–9
Light
Full sun
Height
24–48 in
Maintenance
Low
Family
Poaceae

About Forage Oats

Sweeter and considerably more palatable than rye, which is the reason to plant it and also the reason it disappears.

Deer prefer oats to any other cereal, so on a small plot under real pressure the crop can be grazed flat before it ever gets ahead. Half an acre is the practical floor and an acre is better.

The other constraint is cold. Oats winterkill at around 20F, so anywhere north of roughly zone 6 they are a fall crop that dies in December rather than a winter food source. Planted in the north on their own they leave a bare plot in January, which is exactly when it matters most. Mixing oats with rye covers that: the oats carry the early draw and the rye is still standing after the oats are gone.

Broadcast at 80 to 100 lb per acre.

Protecting Forage Oats

Deer will destroy this without protection, so the question is which kind you are willing to pay for.

  1. 1How tall a deer fence needs to beEight feet, and six is the most common expensive mistake in deer fencing.
  2. 2What a deer fence costsMaterial ratios are stable even when prices are not, and installation reliably doubles the figure.
  3. 3Repellent that actually worksThe egg-based recipe that reproduces the active ingredient in the commercial sprays that win university trials.
  4. 4Check it is actually deerDeer tear and leave a ragged stub. A clean 45-degree cut is rabbits, and slug holes get blamed on deer constantly.

Soil and care

Soil pH
6 to 7
Drainage
Well drained
Water
Moderate
Growth rate
Fast
Maintenance
Low

Where Forage Oats grows

Hardy across 50 states on zone range alone. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering. Select any state, including one it will not grow in, for what is resistant there.

Alabama — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Alaska — hardy here. Zones 1 to 8.Arizona — hardy here. Zones 5 to 10.Arkansas — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.California — hardy here. Zones 7 to 10.Colorado — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Connecticut — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Delaware — hardy here. Zones 7 to 7.District of Columbia — hardy here. Zones 7 to 8.Florida — hardy here. Zones 8 to 11.Georgia — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Hawaii — hardy here. Zones 9 to 12.Idaho — hardy here. Zones 3 to 7.Illinois — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Indiana — hardy here. Zones 5 to 6.Iowa — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Kansas — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Kentucky — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.Louisiana — hardy here. Zones 8 to 10.Maine — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Maryland — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Massachusetts — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Michigan — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Minnesota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Mississippi — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Missouri — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Montana — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Nebraska — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Nevada — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.New Hampshire — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.New Jersey — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.New Mexico — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.New York — hardy here. Zones 4 to 7.North Carolina — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.North Dakota — not hardy here. Zones 3 to 4.Ohio — hardy here. Zones 5 to 6.Oklahoma — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Oregon — hardy here. Zones 6 to 9.Pennsylvania — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Rhode Island — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.South Carolina — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.South Dakota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Tennessee — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Texas — hardy here. Zones 6 to 9.Utah — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.Vermont — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Virginia — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Washington — hardy here. Zones 5 to 8.West Virginia — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Wisconsin — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Wyoming — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.
Hardy on zone rangeNot hardy — still linked
Choose a state from the listeasier on a phone

Common questions about Forage Oats

What is the seeding rate for Forage Oats?
Broadcast 80 to 100 lb per acre. Drilled rates run roughly a third lower. Soil test before buying seed, because pH matters more to the outcome than the rate does.
When should I plant Forage Oats?
Late summer for fall grazing. It is a cool-season crop, so the window is set by your average first frost rather than by the month.
How big does a Forage Oats plot need to be?
About 0.5 acres as a realistic floor. Below that, deer graze the crop faster than it establishes and you get bare ground instead of forage. Local deer density moves this number more than anything else.
Do deer actually eat Forage Oats?
Frequently Severely Damaged on the four-step damage scale, which measures how heavily deer feed on a plant. On an ornamental that is a warning. On a food plot crop it is the specification.
What hardiness zones does Forage Oats grow in?
Forage Oats is hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
How big does Forage Oats get?
Mature height is roughly 24–48 in. Growth rate is fast.

Browse from here

Every list Forage Oats belongs to.

Deer favorites·Full sun plants·Food plot crops

Hardy in these zones

Zone 5·Zone 6·Zone 7·Zone 8·Zone 9

Damage ratings follow the four-step field scale published by Rutgers University. Growing data is compiled from state extension sources and still being verified record by record. Last reviewed .