WAYYYYY OT: Corn

For those of you that dont know, I have 4 pet sheep and raise chickens, and the plan WAS to grow the corn they eat in the winter as well as some sweet corn for some $$, well, this year it was a compleate disaster, but that can be attributed to lack of planning on my part. I planted about 2-3 acers of sweet corn. There were equiptment problems so I couldnt cultivate it, and it was 95 out so there goes the hoeing idea... I lost it to the weeds just as the beetles came flying in to finish it off, not to mention the worst drought in 20 years. Its now all dead, sickly, bug infested and diesesed. I mowed it today with a bushhog at high RPMs at low speed, that ended its (and my) misery :-(

Now its round 2. All equiptment is ready to rock, spare parts are in, plow is fixed, cultivator experience is gained, and the tiller is delivered. I have sectioned out an acre or so for my garden and sweet corn, but I will look for pesticiedes still, little 20" garden tiller can cultivate it, and its been tilled by my 60" tractor-mounted tiller.

My question here is, Ive heard field corn has better drought-coping-ability (for lack of a better word) and has bigger ears and is less succeptive to insects. Only reason last year I planted sweet corn was because I couldnt find field corn at thet point, it was may and sweet corn was on sale. I only need 30lbs or so, and not many places here will deal in small amounts like that. With sweet corn, there is a list of names, ear sizes, stalk hwights and price/lb and you call that in and they send it out. Does anyone do that with field? Also, do you think that harvestland will drive 20 miles in a sprayer to our yuppie farm??? If not, what would you reccomend? Not looking foward to talking the dad into a sprayer, or measuring chemicles and running the well dry... Any other ideas? Thanks in advance

You will need to get a bag of field corn - 80,000 seeds. That would be 2.5 - 3 acres, depending on your population/ moisture. It does keep if you keep the bag cool & dry for a year or 2, & keep critters away from it. Can plant it the next year, will grow fine.

Hybred corn will get you top yield, of you are trying for that. You can't save seed, it will not grow true the following year.

Open polinated corn is likely cheaper, & you can replant what you grow for the following years. It will not hit the top yields of hybred corn, but you might not be aiming for that. Might be a good choice for you. Like sweet corn, some of these do _not_ like some sprays very well, be careful with open pollinated or sweet corn & sprays.

Weed control - the coops will go for a 10 acre field around here, but I don't know if they will deal with one acre. That's a tough one.

Typically you put 10-20 gallons of water per acre when spraying chemicals, so a little garden sprayer would work for you, 25 gal or so run from the battery.

Or, you need to manage weeds without spray. Work the ground, let the weeds sprout, then harrow it to kill that first flush. Plant. As the corn is cracking the ground to sprout, harrow it again - this kills the weed seedlings, but does little damage to the deeper seeded corn.

Cultivate every 7 days, if you see the weeds, you waited too long - gotta keep ahead of the weeds. It's hard to get after it like that, a person wants to get lazy. Stir up those weeds when they are thinking of coming out of the ground, and you can keep ahead of them.

That's how the different ways work around here - in a condensed version. :)

--->Paul

You don't need to use chemicals to grow field corn. Put a set of cultivators on a tractor and hit the weeds as they come up.

My neighbor grows 2-3 acres and uses nothing more than an old 2-row planter, an ragged set of cultivators, and an ancient 1-row picker. And his yield is still enough to make the whole effort worthwhile...