What is the best way to plant corn (1.5 acres)

[TN Song Dog]

Probably a no till drill, to keep it from washing.

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[Hunter 257W]

The easiest, cheapest way is to disc it up and broadcast the corn then run the disc over it again to cover the seed. That's how I do mine. Put the fertilize out before you start so you are cutting it into the soil as you disc it up initially.

If the ground is steep enough to wash, TNSongDog has a point about the No-Till planter because it will push the seed into th ground without breaking it up and leave it too hard to erode easily. I've never owned or even use a planter myself. You do have to have a tractor to pull one.

 

[Bone Collector]

I'm interested in this as well. I don't own any equipment and will not anytime soon. i have a power line that runs through my land. I like to mow about a 1/2 acre and can in one area. In fact I can mow an acre and a half. Issue is I have a self propelled lawnmower, so I only do a half. I know I can pay someone to bush hog, but how does one go about finding someone that will bush hog, till and plant?

I know there are folks that do it. I think the answer to that question will help docpoco out too, as he may need to take the same route.

 

[nwsg76]

Small plots like this have limitations. Its cost over $400 to have a really good producing plot of corn....including seed, like, fertilizer, chemicals, etc.
Then will have COONS eat all of it way before deer season.
if that is your objective....then proceed.
But you could get more benefits on having a field of weeds.

 

[Grnwing]

A good corn plot is ultimately going to depend on the quality of the ears it is able to produce. Proper soil pH and fertilizing is required to get good ear production.

If you don't have the equipment , I would suggest finding someone with the right equipment to do plot prep and the planting.

If you still want to plant it yourself, I would get a soil test and lime appropriately. Hit the plot with roundup. Then prepare the seed bed for planting. Depending on what equipment you access will probably dictate how you will plant. If you can disk or till and get a lot of the grass worked into the ground the better. Once the seed bed is ready you can either broadcast your seed or put in a little more work to row plant. I prefer row planting over broadcasting any day. If you dont have access to a tractor and small 1-2 row planter, you can build a drag out of landscaping timber/4x4 that you space the width or your rows and make your furrows. I have done this on smaller corn plots and it works pretty good. The looser the soil the better quality furrow you will have. Once the furrows are in place, you can pick up a single row walk behind planter for 100 bucks and plant your corn seed down in the furrows. After, you have planted your corn seeds you can drag a 4x4 over the furrows to bury the seed. After the seed is buried, I would side dress(single row planter has a side dress feature) your rows with the appropriate fertilizer(see soil test). Assuming you get a roundup ready variety, you will come back maybe a week or two after germination and treat your corn plot to kill any weeds from competing. Ideally you would have another application of fertilizer. Now that you have done all that work, hope for good rains.

It can be very labor intensive to get a good yield without the right equipment.

 

[poorhunter]

It's not easy or cheap, but CAN be rewarding. Follow advice above as far as planting and fertilizing, for the coons a couple strands of electric fence starting about 4" above the ground will keep them out. Use a solar charger off the grid. This will cost money and a lot of work, but if you want a good stand of corn that's what it'll take. :livid:

 

[CBU93]

Small plots like this have limitations. Its cost over $400 to have a really good producing plot of corn....including seed, like, fertilizer, chemicals, etc.
Then will have COONS eat all of it way before deer season.
if that is your objective....then proceed.
But you could get more benefits on having a field of weeds.

My experience is in line with this advice. I won't plant corn as a food plot again. Not worth the expense in $$ or time IMO.

 

[DaveB]

Yep, plant it yourself.
Follow suggestions for soil ph, fertilizer, soil prep.

Since this is a hillside, how do you plan to water the crop? Rain will work, yes, but in the event of a 3 week drought you will need a plan to provide water or risk the crop.

May want to read up on which corn to grow, spacing, etc. then mark out your land so the rows run at right angles to the slope.

Best of luck

 

[diamond hunter]

Ive planted corn 2 years in a row and I feel it is a great draw to deer overall,withthat said its expensive and time consuming,I use a drill and tractor but you can till and broadcast just as well,use a lot of fertilizer if u plan on messing with it.

 

[TNTreeman]

You would have to plant it late and pray for rain or it won't be around during deer season. EVERYTHING loves corn. I would suggest planting more than an acre or it'll be gone quickly also. No till drills are the best but I've had luck spraying round up, discing, broadcasting, spraying again once the corn is up. Eagle beans in the spring with a good oat over seeding in the fall might be a better option for a small area like your describing imo.

 

[GaryLBumpus]

Anything that you plant, any sweat from your brow. Will just be enjoyed by do-nothing neighbors on adjoining property boundaries that will set up and cut off deer on their land that are traveling to and from your plot. The toils of your hard work will be consumed by johnny come lately locusts and grasshoppers of the hunting community.

If you build it, they will come.

 

[TX300mag]

Anything that you plant, any sweat from your brow. Will just be enjoyed by do-nothing neighbors on adjoining property boundaries that will set up and cut off deer on their land that are traveling to and from your plot. The toils of your hard work will be consumed by johnny come lately locusts and grasshoppers of the hunting community.

If you build it, they will come.

Ha ha, build it docpoco! I guess I'm that locust and grasshopper he speaks of.

Corn is a HEAVY feeder, but with this being fertile, new ground you won't have to dump a ton of fertilizer into for a while.

In all reality, I think coons will eat most of it before the deer. But I could be wrong.


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[ttf909]

I plant corn using old seed which costs less.soil test and use a ground driven fertilizer buggy .then till , broadcast, drag . deer love it

 

[Omega]

I worked for JD for a year, used to cleanup all the old corn and soybean seeds from trade-ins. I would just broadcast it and rake it in, but it never reached more than a couple three feet before getting eaten up. The turkey would dig up my soybean, scratching up the seed as if they knew where each one was.

 

[Roost 1]

Small plots like this have limitations. Its cost over $400 to have a really good producing plot of corn....including seed, like, fertilizer, chemicals, etc.
Then will have COONS eat all of it way before deer season.
if that is your objective....then proceed.
But you could get more benefits on having a field of weeds.

My experience is in line with this advice. I won't plant corn as a food plot again. Not worth the expense in $$ or time IMO.

This is the absolute truth... I've tried 3-4 times and it's ALWAYS been a waste of time.
Clover is the absolute best thing I've ever done for me and my deer....

 

[MickThompson]

Why corn? What are you trying to achieve?


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[Deer Assassin]

clover

 

[TheLBLman]

In all reality, I think coons will eat most of it before the deer. But I could be wrong.

x 2

Personally, the only way I consider corn as a primary plot plant is
when the plot is a minimum of 3 acres, preferably with no woods or big trees near the edges.
Coons need some big trees nearby to provide escape from coyotes and bobcats.

If you have a 3-acre sized plot area,
consider just planting the middle 2 acres
so you can leave a wide margin around it, which you should keep as mowed or bare ground ongoing.
This will give you some protection from the coons.

That said, I wouldn't consider any less than 2 acres of corn in any one spot,
and usually believe other items/mixes end up being a better value overall.

As someone else said, you often end up being better off with just a field of weeds,
which is very cheap, not much time or labor involved. Just mow the area a couple times a year,
add lime & 0-20-20 if you want ---- native "weeds" are the year-round staple of most deer's diets.

 

[TheLBLman]

One more thing, very important to be aware,
but most hunters are not, and few marketers of anything to do with deer feeding will ever tell you:

Well-fed deer are more nocturnal.

Particularly in times of good acorn crops,
you will often see food plots mainly used during nighttime,
rarely used during daytime, at least by older age class deer.

I've seen this year after year at many locations,
where the hunters would have had better hunting had they just had weed fields instead of cultivated crops.
Knee to waste-high weed fields provide protective cover that deer often feel ok to feed in at all times of day.
Neither a cut corn field nor a lush clover plot does this.

One reason cut corn fields are often productive hunting areas has to do more with the surrounding habitat (or should say lack thereof) than the corn. If there is little for a deer to eat surrounding a corn field, hungry deer are absolutely more daytime active. Well-fed deer are more nocturnal.

 

[TX300mag]

Great perspective as always, TheLBLman. A lot to think about.

Docpoco, I've planted and grown plenty of corn-but not on an incline. If you decide to do it when I'm around my workforce and I are at your disposal. Said workforce can put a hurting on coons, too-although I'm afraid they'll get smart to trapping methods after a while and continue to pour out of the creek bottom.




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[ADR]

I agree with others, that small of a plot will likely get destroyed and have minimal yield. For that kind of expense, you could plant glyphosate resistant alfalfa. I've got several acres in the ground now. Will report results later.

 

[muddyboots]

I've made what you are trying to do work great. Yes it's expensive but well worth it. I plant mine the weekend behind July 4th. Y sneverbody says that is too late but that lets it mature later. I have a no til planter. It need to be planted with some kind of planter. Way better results. Pay a farmer to do it if you don't have the equipment. Fertilize it a lot and wait. Let us know how it works out.

 

[X-Tennessean]

I have never planted it myself but did pay the farmer/landowner market value of what the field produced one year to leave an offset (I call it a bottleneck) which ended up being close to a 1.5 acres.

Cost me $250 and I never killed a deer out of it.....did they benefit from it? I am sure but I bet I never seen deer in it during shooting hours more than twice, it was full of deer otherwise!
Would always see/run them out going in or would stay late and see/hear them coming into it at dark or after.
I should have hunted in the woods and tried to catch them heading toward it but it was surrounded by timber on 3 sides and never found a prominent trail to set up on.....they were everywhere! lol

 

[WilcoKen]

What LBL is saying makes a lot of sense. I've had a 2 acre corn plot (picture) for 6 years. Used to have good daylight feeding but have had less and less deer activity I could see starting the last 2 years. That's also when I started cleaning the edges. I never ran cameras until this year and all pictures of deer in corn have been at night. When this field was just scrub I would see way more deer. Corn and wheat is pretty to look at but I'm going to let it grow up in weeds next year I think.


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[diamond hunter]

Malo,my question to you is do you shoot deer in the field and why do u cut the edges?

 

[Jmed]

the most successful corn I have planted in plots was done with a 3 row planter. Maybe you could find one to rent from a local co op. It spaced the corn perfectly and I ended up with an awesome planting

 

[user 14220]

Learned a lot reading this thread. A local planted about 20 acres in corn in 2 different plots last year really close to our property. The corn has not been harvested. We went from seeing deer every day in the morning to basically nothing for a month. The deer were always on the cameras at night but never during daylight. I am now convinced the deer went nocturnal because they were very well fed. I know the does we killed were packed with fat.

 

[WilcoKen]

Malo,my question to you is do you shoot deer in the field and why do u cut the edges?

Yes I shoot deer in the field if the opportunity presents itself. I cleaned the edges in hopes of attracting doves. That was a success. Plenty of doves but I'd rather get deer back in there like it was before.


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