How far to plant corn?

Corn was originally planted 40 or 42 inches apart, so the horses would fit down the row when cultivating. Since the '40's rows have constantly been narrowed, slightly improving yield. Common row spacings are 38, 30 (most), 22 (matches beet equipment for those that plant sugar beets) and 20 (newest equipment, adds a bushel or so to yields over the 30" rows).

So, if you were asking about top yields, I'd suggest narrower.... Since you just want a deer plot, buy the cheapest planter/ cultivator in good shape, and don't worry about row spacing, anything between 20 & 40 inches will be fine. If you ever plan to harvest the corn (most years you could still combine/pick it in spring if the deer left some) then I would strongly suggest co-ordinating your row spacing with whatever you will be using to harvest. One row pickers might fit through 24" corn, while most 2-row pickers are 38-40".

Are you going to be replanting corn over & over in this field? If yes, insect pressures will get bad, and you'll need to add quite a bit of fertilizer. Will you rotate, maybe 1/2 corn, 1/2 oats & clover, alternate from one year to the next? Works well, no insecticides needed, helps control weeds better, and far less fert needed - but any leftover ear corn plowed down in spring will be quite a weedy mess in next year's crop, and this volinteer corn does not produce much of an ear, no feed value....

--->Paul

--->Paul

Anyway , I plant my corn with a one row Powell/Cole 12MX planter . What I do is plant the first row , then to space the next row , run the front wheel just to the edge of the previous row . This will give you perfect spacing for cultivating .

The problem that I had this year is that the crows dug up most of my corn and we have had too much rain to be able to replant corn . I think I am going to try some beans as soon as the ground dries enough to plant .

By the way , I have planted corn for deer for the last 3-4 years . I have never seen the deer in the corn ( they feed mostly at night in my fields anyway ) but have managed to catch them on their way out of the field in the mornings .

Some of the guys at work recomend clover , beans , peas , oats , and milo . They tell me that they see deer all times of day in their fields .

Good luck and let us know what works for your deer !

Ford Man

\
ord Man Like you i was planting corn by hand with

You need to plow this winter . Right after the first freeze is a good time . This will let the turned soil go through as many freeze/thaw cycles as possible ( helps break up the clods ) .

Disk and drag not long before you plant . A lot of the guys say a cultipacker does the best job smoothing after disking but I have never used one .

Definately beg , borrow , or steal ( just kidding ) a planter if you don't have one ! We planted by hand one year and it was quite a job .

By the way , there was a series of posts a week or so ago about the best feed crop to plant for deer and turkey . Might want to check the archives .

I hope my plots work , we have almost eaten all of the deer meat from last season !

Good Luck ,
Ford Man