All of the above are good suggestions. I don’t bother to plant spring/summer plots as the deer have plenty of native browse to keep them full.
The past few years I have focused on establishing clover food plots consisting of medium red clover and ladino and other white clovers. I mow them twice a year and overseed in the fall and again in later winter feb/march, similar to a cool season lawn. Seems to be the most bang for the buck, and at this latitude with mild winters, the clover provides 12 month forage. I do not till the soil, just broadcast seed and spray clethodim to manage fescue/orchard/crabgrass. I also don’t worry about broadleaf weeds in the clover because they will either kill at first frost, or they are things deer like like ragweed etc.
