Planting Forage Oats for deer
Avena sativa
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 autumn 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.
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 an autumn 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.
Soil and care
- Soil pH
- 6 to 7
- Drainage
- Well drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Maintenance
- Low
Similar to Forage Oats
Other food plot forages with the same deer rating.
- Cereal RyeSecale cerealeZones 3–9Frequently damaged
- Crimson CloverTrifolium incarnatumZones 5–9Frequently damaged
- Forage ChicoryCichorium intybusZones 3–9Frequently damaged
- Forage RadishRaphanus sativusZones 3–9Frequently damaged
- Forage SoybeansGlycine maxZones 5–10Frequently damaged
- Iron Clay CowpeasVigna unguiculataZones 6–11Frequently damaged
Protecting Forage Oats
Deer will destroy this without protection, so the question is which kind you are willing to pay for.
- How tall a deer fence needs to beEight feet, and six is the most common expensive mistake in deer fencing.
- What a deer fence costsMaterial ratios are stable even when prices are not, and installation reliably doubles the figure.
- Repellent that actually worksThe egg-based recipe that reproduces the active ingredient in the commercial sprays that win university trials.
- Check 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.
Where Forage Oats grows
Hardy across most of these 50 states on zone range alone. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering.
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- New York
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts
- Virginia
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Wisconsin
- Ohio
- Indiana
- Illinois
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Georgia
- Texas
- Colorado
- California
- Oregon
- Washington
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Maine
- Rhode Island
- Delaware
- West Virginia
- Kentucky
- South Carolina
- Florida
- Alabama
- Mississippi
- Louisiana
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- Iowa
- South Dakota
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Idaho
- Utah
- Nevada
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- Alaska
- District of Columbia
- Hawaii
Browse from here
Every list Forage Oats belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
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 autumn 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 Rutgers scale, which measures how heavily deer damage 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.