Maximizing Warm-Season Nutrition with a Custom Broadleaf Blend for Deer

As spring rolls around in Northwest Alabama, I’m putting in a new, experimental annual planting—our custom warm-season broadleaf blend. Designed specifically for nutrition, browse tolerance, and herbicide compatibility, this blend addresses the late growing season nutritional stress period, especially when paired alongside perennial clover. In this post, I’ll break down each species in the mix, explain how it supports your deer herd, and walk through the herbicide strategies that make it manageable without a tractor sprayer full of different chemicals.

Why I’m Trying This Blend in 2025

This is my first year planting this exact broadleaf blend, and I’m excited to see how it performs. In the past, I’ve used more diverse warm-season mixes that included things like sorghum and other grasses. While those blends had their place, the inability to selectively control grass weeds without damaging the plot was a real issue. I found myself spending more time managing weeds or dealing with plots that got overrun by crabgrass and foxtail.

This year, I built this mix intentionally to exclude sorghum and millet so I can use Clethodim to manage weeds cleanly—same as I do with my perennial clover. Simplicity, efficiency, and deer nutrition all in one package.

The Blend: Built for Nutrition and Durability

Our mix includes:

• Soybeans

• Cowpeas

• Sunn Hemp

• Sunflower

• American Jointvetch

• Buckwheat

Let’s break it down component by component:

1. Soybeans

Nutrition: High in protein (25-30%) and extremely attractive to deer once they find them.
Role: A staple in any warm-season food plot.
Pros: Excellent nutrition; preferred browse.
Cons: Vulnerable to overbrowsing if not planted in sufficient acreage or without a high-biomass companion like cowpeas or sunn hemp.

2. Cowpeas

Nutrition: 20-25% protein and highly digestible.
Role: Companion legume that tolerates browse and grows fast.
Pros: More browse-tolerant than soybeans, especially when planted thick.
Cons: Can still get hammered early in small plots, but recovers better than soybeans.

3. Sunn Hemp

Nutrition: 25-30% protein; also fixes nitrogen, benefiting the whole blend.
Role: Structure plant and nitrogen fixer.
Pros: Grows fast and tall, helps protect more vulnerable species early in the season.
Cons: Becomes woody by mid-summer.

4. Sunflower

Nutrition: Desirable by deer in early growth stages, seeds loved by birds.
Role: Add structural diversity and draw pollinators.
Pros: Adds structure and serves the needs of both deer and turkeys.
Cons: Can be heavily browsed when young and doesn't regenerate after clipping.

5. American Jointvetch

Nutrition: 20-25% protein and highly palatable throughout summer.
Role: Native legume that thrives in wet soils and is browse tolerant.
Pros: Continues producing forage into fall.
Cons: Establishment can be slow; benefits from less competition early on.

6. Buckwheat

Nutrition: Lower in protein, but highly digestible and attractive.
Role: Quick cover and weed suppressor, even in lower pH soils.
Pros: Extremely fast germination, draws in early browsing, and provides soil cover.
Cons: Lower production per acre than the above species.

Herbicide Strategy: Clethodim for Grass Control

One of the biggest challenges with warm-season blends is weed control, especially in newer plots. This blend was specifically selected for its broadleaf-only composition, allowing for the use of Clethodim—a grass-selective herbicide that targets unwanted grasses like crabgrass, johnsongrass, and foxtail without harming any of the components in this mix or your perennial clover.

Recommended Rate and Timing:

• 10 to 16 ounces per acre of Clethodim

• Mix with 1 quart per acre crop oil concentrate (COC) for maximum effectiveness

• Apply 3-4 weeks after germination when grass weeds are 4–8 inches tall

• Repeat as needed.

By using the same herbicide across both your perennial clover plots and your warm-season broadleaf mix, you simplify your chemical program and reduce the chance of off-target injury.

What About Small Plots? Clover Might Be Better

In small plots , the broadleaf mix can struggle if deer density is high. Heavy early browse pressure on soybeans, cowpeas, and sunflowers can outpace their ability to recover. In these situations, a well-managed perennial clover plot is often a better choice. Clover maintains more consistent ground cover, tolerates browsing, and provides forage deep into spring and even summer with proper management.

That’s why I like to run both side-by-side:

• Clover in the small kill plots

• Broadleaf annuals in the larger destination fields

Both benefit from Clethodim applications and both provide wildlife consistent nutrition.

Bonus Benefit: Turkeys Love It Too

While this blend is designed with deer nutrition in mind, it also pays off for turkeys, especially later in the summer and into early fall.

The sunflowers in the mix not only add structural diversity—they also set seed by mid-to-late summer, offering a high-energy food source for turkeys. You’ll often see turkeys pecking seed heads right off the stalk or scratching underneath for dropped seeds.

But sunflowers aren’t the only turkey draw. Buckwheat also produces small seeds that turkeys readily consume. As the buckwheat matures and dries down, it drops seed that turkeys will pick clean if given the chance. Combined, these species create an extended feeding window that can support hens and growing poults deep into the warm season.

On top of that, the broadleaf structure of the mix creates ideal bugging habitat. Actively growing plants like buckwheat, jointvetch, and sunn hemp attract a wide variety of insects, which helps meet the critical protein needs of poults during their early growth stages.

So even though this blend was built for whitetail nutrition and browse tolerance, it offers a solid two-for-one benefit.

Final Thoughts

It’s important to remember: food plots are not habitat management. They’re a tool—a supplemental source of nutrition and attraction—but they don’t replace the need for good native habitat. If your property lacks cover or quality native browse, no food plot blend—no matter how well designed—can make up for that.

This custom broadleaf mix is all about nutritional supplementation, browse tolerance, and ease of maintenance. When paired with clover, you create a powerful one-two punch of cool and warm-season forage, all while simplifying your herbicide approach and reducing time spent on weed control.

I’ll be monitoring and adjusting as this first season plays out. If it works like I think it will, this could become a staple in our annual planting rotation.

If you're looking to improve herd health, provide stress-period nutrition, and build resilience into your food plot program, give this blend a try. Just remember—plot size, deer density, and weed pressure all factor into success. Tailor your plan to your property, and you’ll be amazed at what this combination can do.