I hunt about 30 mins North West of Columbia Mss and we have good results with Rye, Rye Grass, & Winter Wheat mixture. Clovers don't seem to grow very well in that area and if they do, they come up late in the season. I have also thrown in a handfull of winter peas a few times and the deer there clipped them to the ground as fast as they came up. We normally plant the big plots on the first weekend of Oct. Have tried to plant in the middle of Sept so that we could have some grass for the opening of bow season, but we always had to re-plant the plots after not getting enough rain and the high temps in Sept. So now we only plant our bow hunting spots in mid Sept and hope for the best. Good luck

Forgot to add that the peak of the rut is the week between Christmas and New Years. Pre-Rut activity starts 2 - 3 weeks before Christmas depending on weather temps.

Thanks for the info Kajun Dude... I was thinking of a mixture of mostly wheat and oats with a little peas, and rye mixed in... I also heard that crimson clover comes up pretty good in that area.
Anyone else have any opinions?

I pretty much concur with Kajun_Dude. The only thing I would add maybe is that I hunt in Jefferson county and I have not had any trouble when I plant mid-Sept.

When planting in sept if you can, wait until just before you get a good rain. But I have had seed sit for over a week and it still came up... just not until we got a rain.

If you are going to plant during a dry period in Sept with no rain in sight the only think I would maybe do different is to use more or exclusively rye grass and be sure to try to cover it. I don't bother covering if it is about to rain. (dragging a post or fencing material)

well actually i have a lease in kokomo and i plant middle of september and havent had any problems with food plots yet. I do wheat, rye and clover and they all grow well. hopefully things work out for you. i have noticed our rut doesnt kick off until 1st or 2nd week in january. thats when we have more bucks roaming and chasing.

I hunt in middle alabama and we plant our plots the first week of october. Sometimes earlier if rain is in the forecast. we plant mainly rye, oats, and wheat. You can plant peas but they eat them as soon as they sprout up. clover doesn,t do well in our sandy soil. Turnips do well if planted early, the deer do not eat them until late in the season when they have gone through a couple freezes which makes them sweet. If you plant early you can plant soybeans but you have to plant a lot, the deer love soybean sprouts but the freeze will kill them.

Thank you guys for the info! I also read a while back where someone came up with a strain of alfalfa that would grow well in the southern states. Does anyone have any info on this, or know where I may be able to find some? Thanks again!

Ragan and Massey (RAM) has a good mix called Mississippi Blend I've used with good success several times. I prefer Buckbusters Fall Mix but it and anything else with rape or turnips don't do well if its dry much following planting. The rape comes up very quick but also dies very quick if not sustained with good rain. I plant mid Sept and it usually works out well but last year the rape died out and the other seeds in the Fall Mix came up and did fine. RAM Miss Blend has no rape and endures the dry much better. They change the ingredients slightly each year depending on cost/availability but its pretty much the same each year. Its made in Pontchatoula I think and distributed around several places. You can google it and call them to find out where is closest to you.

Wheat is easy to grow, deer love it, and it is good for them. If u want an early bow spot, plant it early, if it dies from drought just replant it, its cheap. If u only rifle hunt plant it in mid oct., they like it best when its about 3 weeks old. If u want a perrenial plot, just overseed ur wheat with whitetail clover or alphalfa. Deer love wheat seed better than corn and will come to the fresh dirt and eat the wheat also, so its an immediate attractant as well as lasts all winter and gives them more seed in early summer.