planting corn 101

[Freds]

I thought I would revive this post to mention some things that one of my customers told me today. Her and her husband's family grow corn commercially nearby.

Besides saying how much work it is (hmmm, maybe if you're a professional farmer) she said that they spray for bugs every week up until one week before harvest. I don't recall anyone mentioning very much about spraying insecticide in any of the recent posts on planting gardens and was wondering if this is just a "given".

She also said that it needed cultivated all the time to keep the weeds down. They run cultivators through their corn patches, but I don't think I can do this with my present equipment. Not unless my rows were 73" apart anyway... /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
I reread where someone runs a hand tiller between the rows for this, but I just bought a 60" tiller for the back of my tractor, I was hoping not to purchase anymore stuff for a while. Are there any options to this besides though hand operated, little, spikey garden tillers you see in the commercials one in a while?

I was thinking my patch, including possibly other garden stuff, would be about 50' x 100' or so. Is this a bad size? You know, too big without the right equipment?

Another person I was speaking with a week ago told me that you plant 2-3 seeds/hole and then cull the extras so you have a plant in every hole. I'll be doing it by hand (that I know of, there's an auction coming up the end of the month) and wondered if this is how those corn row planters do it? This part does sound like a lot of work, even for a hobby garden. Does anyone here plant corn this way?

Thanks

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( plant 2-3 seeds/hole )</font>

Freds, when I was a kid in Oklahoma, I was told you plant 5:

One for the worm
One for the crow
One to rot, and
Two to grow.
/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Seriously though, I usually planted most seed in my garden a bit thick. It's lots easier to cull some than to fill in bare spots.

 

[Freds]

/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif I'll chant that as I'm planting, Bird. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Laminarman]

I have similar questions. I will be planting at least an acre, and am waiting for a single row planter to arrive. What about fertilizing? Do some guys spread fertilizer when they plant, and is it liquid?

 

[Freds]

Lam, does your planter dispense more than one seed per hole? I've seen them in pics, but have no idea to the mechanics. I have a hard time thinking that a commercial grower would walk the rows and cull the extra plants. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Did you have any info on weeding and if so, how did you intend to do it?

The one person I talked with said to till and spread fertilizer. I don't remember the name right now, but it is specifically for corn. Let it sit a couple weeks then plant. It's a solid.
People generally plant here areound Memorial Day due to the ground temps, so I have a ways to go.

Some corn is planted already. They have it covered.
I wish I had a better idea how this is done, I live across from grape vineyards. They use skinny tractors to work between the rows while they are growning, but corn rows are planted closer and I'm wondering how much can really be done with my tractor after planting is done.

/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[billbill1]

I use a garden seeder that I bought from TSC (if I remember correctly) It has changable plates that plants many different seeds. It spaces the seeds at the correct space, drops them, and covers the seed with dirt afterward. One that I have has a bin for fertilizer while planting but I haven't tried that feature. I use mine with great success every year, the last I knew they were around $80 but it is well worth it. I plant radishes, corn, beans, lettuce, beets, turnips, and swiss chard with mine, no bending over (although that probably wouldn't hurt me any) just walk a straight line and it does the rest.

 

[HRS]

Freds
I've been gardening for about six years now so this is a little of what I've learned.

Insecticide: Since it is in my garden, I stay away from the use of any chemical I can. The worms will get into the silk of some of your corn if you don't spray for them but only in the very tip. Simply break the tip off when you clean it. Much of your corn will be "bug free" even if you don't spray for them. Now I do have to admit that the blight has me using a spray to stop it. It seems to get on my pear trees and tomatoes during the rainy season of spring and early summer. I use a product by Ortho. Once it dries up, even that problem corrects itself.

Cultivator: With a garden 50' x 100' I would seriously consider a walk behind tiller. My garden is nearly as big, 50' x 70', and I wouldn't do without my tiller. I plant my rows 3 to 4 feet apart and run the tiller down the centers as the weeds grow. It doesn't take long at all. The only time in which I have wished that I had a tractor mounted tiller is on the initial cut after the long winter, but it sounds like you have that part covered. Once the ground is softened, a tiller can very quickly weed even a large garden. As far as the type tiller I use, It is called a Maxim. It has been around for years and has very heavy cutting blades. However, it is not
"self propelled" but it didn't take me long to learn how to use it. One that "walks" itself would be an absolute charm to have.

Planting: Use weeper hoses. I started using them four years ago and love them. Once you have given your garden a good soaking with them, the row stays moist for days even in drought conditions. Stretch the hose out along your row, and rake soil over it. If you keep them covered while in the garden, they will last for many seasons. As far as placing seed, try this. Take a broom handle and drag out a 3/4 inch trench along side of the weeper hose. Walk along and liberally sprinkle your corn seed, bean seed, etc in the trench. Drop the seed close, it doesn't take many seed to plant a garden the size you are talking about. Cover them with a rake. Once they come up, pull the ones you don't won't. True, a farmer planting with a corn planter will not do it this way. I also plant around 2 acres of corn with a tractor mounted planter. Here I select the "plate" that disperses the seeds as I want. Since I'm dealing with acreage here, I'm not so concerned about the few that don't germinate as I am in my garden. I put a little more effort into my garden each year and am well rewarded for it.

Seed: Make sure your seed packs are stamped with this year's date. If so, you will not have any problem with germination. Stay away from those that aren't dated. I have wasted weeks waiting on bad seeds to germinate before.

Weeding: I've learned that this chore usually ends once the plants get a little over a foot high. They eat up most of the sun trying to reach the weed seed directly beneath them and your tiller will take care of the centers.

fertilizer: I only use 10-10-10 and pelitized lime. I'll apply three times. Once at planting and then about a month apart after that. It works. I've grown some beautiful plants. I don't like dure nitrogen do to the fact that it so easily burns.

I hope this helps.

By the way, the garden is planted. I just finished it today. Let's see, in my 50 x 70 foot garden I have 35 tomato plants, squash, okra, bell peppers, egg plants, corn, pole beans, cucumber, and water melon. That's it... I think? /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Depending on your setup you can spread dry or liquid fertilizer. I have dry boxes on my planter but a lot of guys run liquid and add tanks to their tractor so they don't have to reload as often. If your planter is not set up for fertilizer then you can spread some dry fertilizer before you plant via a 3pt spreader or if you are doing enough a large bulk spreader. This picture is of a liquid setup

 

[Robert_in_NY]

This is the same planter but with a dry setup.

 

[Freds]

Thanks, lots of stuff I can use.
Looks like I don't have weeding covered, but if I plant my rows 4 feet apart like you said, I may be able to get my lawn tractor between the rows with some type of weeder or cultivator. I think I will also use this for spreading the fertilizer so there will be less compaction.

I'm not too far from a creek, maybe I can incorporate those weeper hoses and some kind of pump and use the creek water for watering, otherwise it's a little out of a spigot's reach.

I'm not big on insecticides, but I'm not big on corn that something else has been snacking on either /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif I'm going to play this one by ear /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif