I'm considering planting year round in an effort to get better antlers (to the extent genetics allows it).
The land has some open areas (3 - 5 acres) in a few spots.
I would appreciate any advise anyone has.

were thinking about doing the same. that's all I got.

Iffen you guys have a tractor with disc,give either brown top millet or milo a try. For either of these it would be best to have a bush hog attachment also. It will take about all summer for it to grow but when the big,long seed pods come the deer and turkey absolutely love it. It draws doves like crazy also. The deer will be drawn to it even before the seed pods form.
Bush hog it at the first of Oct.,wait a couple weeks,then disc and plant for the fall/winter. A bonus will be that it will try to come back up sometime after Christmas. It will not hurt your fall crop . . . just give the deer more choice.
It does not take any special fert. Just make sure you lime about June. I have done this three times on both my plots and it worked out good.
My conclusions were,with a summer plot,you will definately get the deer coming,and keep more deer around thru the fall months. Don't forget your salt,mineral,and sulpher,licks also. Keep an eye on the Tractor Supply flyers. I get them mid summer for $5.00 for a 50lb block.
Good huntin'. --- SAWMAN

I used to get magazines in the mail advertising seeds for food plots that not only attract deer but are specifically designed to build antler groth , you can find them sites on the computer, good luck !!

There are some catalogs with good info in them. Just make sure you understand in what part of the country the stuff will grow in. A lot of the catalog stuff is designed for the midwest. Down here with the sandy soil and added acid from the pines,everything is different.
If you plant under the old growth pines,you gotta lime the crap out of the soil just to bring it back to "normal". My plots are in the open but were under pines 8 years ago. Reccomended lime . . . 1 ton per acre. --- SAWMAN

I appreciate the advice.

Curious, why wait to lime in June?

You really can' lime too early. There are mixed feelings as to how long it will take to take full effect. Also depends on the lime you use. Pellet and powder are the two basic types.
I simply said June because that is when it is available at the CO-OP in Walnut Hill and usually the cheapest. You can lime right after deer season if you can find it either by bag or bulk. --- SAWMAN

You should really get soil samples done and tell them what you want to plant. They will recommend everything you need to sweeten your soil. In regards to lime, the way I understand it, if you plant a crop that prefers PH neutral soil, and yours is acidic, then you are wasting time with just fertilizer (no lime) because you will still end up with a failed crop. Lime will also keep the weeds down that like acidic ground. Lime by the ton is crazy cheap. You just have to pay for the truck to come out to your property and spread. Saves a lot of back ache loading a hopper with 50 pound bags at a time. If you are one man operation like me, it's the way to go.

This is a really good PDF file to get started with: http://www.outdooralabama.com/sites/default/files/DeerFoodPlots.pdf

I think liming at the same time as dropping seed and fertilizer for winter plots like most leases do, is just a waste of money. Does not fit the definition of management.

Just Dave said:

This is a really good PDF file to get started with: http://www.outdooralabama.com/sites/default/files/DeerFoodPlots.pdf

Click to expand...

It is good - still reading it, but so far, it has lots of information. Thanks.

There's plenty of different greens you can plant for antler growth, like the New Zealand stuff (when it grows, looks like over-sized tobacco leaves), but haven't used any in a real long time (lost our lease). I'd suggest to grow "early-yield" high protein stuff that your food plot can handle now. Get some deer feed supplements (pellets, for antler growth), mixed with soybeans and corn in your feeders now. Mineral blocks are very good to have as well. From my camera observations over 3 years, seems the deer utilize the mineral blocks during late spring thru summer, hardly ever during late fall and winter?
I read somewhere that deer store the nutrients needed for antler growth and begin utilizing these nutrients soon after dropping their sheds. So the sooner you get these nutrients in them, the better chance for better racks. And Supplements is the fastest way and should be your 1st priority now, while you're still preparing food plots and planting. There are so many makers of antler-growth supplements to choose from, some are better than others, so do your research on them. I stand by that New Zealand stuff, not sure of the exact name as it's been a long while, but like I said, it resembled large tobacco leaves and was very expensive back then. Very palatable, sweet aroma and the deer chowed on it like it was candy. Had very noticeable antler growth using it, we had two 60 acre fields of it.
g/l

If memory serves me correctly, the maker was Biologic. But isn't the same stuff I see nowadays in the stores.