Food Plot Calculator

Wildlife food plots

Turkey Food Plots: What to Plant

Green forage + insects for poults, plus seed and grain into fall and winter.

Wild turkeys use a food plot differently than deer. In spring and summer they want tender green forage — clover is the classic turkey planting — and, just as importantly, the insects that clover and legumes attract, which are critical protein for growing poults. Into fall and winter they shift to seeds and grain.

The signature turkey crop is chufa, a sedge that produces underground tubers turkeys scratch up through cold months. Pair a perennial clover (for greens and bugs) with chufa or a small grain and you cover turkeys nearly year-round.

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Plan your plot

Turkey food plot calculator

Pick one of the best turkey crops and enter your plot size for the exact seed, bags, and lime you need.

Seed needed · Chufa

35lbs

35 lbs/acre · broadcast · 1 acre

Buy about 7 × 5 lb bags (35 lbs total)

Lime estimate

Enter your soil pH to estimate lime. No test yet? A ~$15 soil test is the best first step before you lime or fertilize.

Seeding rate
30–40 lbs/ac
Plant depth
2.5"
Planting window
May–mid Jun
Ideal pH
6
Deer preference
Low
Type
annual (tubers can overwinter and re-sprout)

Where to buy Chufa seed — affiliate link, no extra cost to you.

SourcedRates cross-checked against the National Deer Association, UT & NC State Extension, and the MSU Deer Lab.Reviewed May 2026Methodology

Best plantings

Best crops for turkey plots

Tips for turkey plots

  • Keep a perennial clover strip for spring greens and insect production.
  • Add chufa or a small grain for fall and winter scratching.
  • Turkeys like edges and some open ground to move and dust.

Where to buy turkey plot seed

Chufa, Ladino White Clover, Red Clover, Chicory, Egyptian Wheat are all solid picks — compare bag sizes and prices online, then size your plot with the calculator below.

Some links are Amazon affiliate links — a purchase may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

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More crops

Planting something not listed here? The full food plot calculator covers every crop, and the crop directory has a page for each.

Other species