[johnhunter]

I've never planted corn as a food plot, and am considering it. But I've got one open item to address, namely, what to do with the remaining stalks, husks, cobs, and debris the following season.

I've read that it's preferred to disc, disc, and disc the stuff into the soil. However, I'd like to preserve the useful discing life of my quad for more interesting tasks, like planting beans.

Having developed some confidence in my field-burning skills on a couple of sites last year, I was wondering if anyone had ever tried burning a dried-out, spent corn plot. Seems to me that it would work. And, the pyromaniac in me thinks that it would be a lot more fun than spending a day discing the clay loam plot where the corn would be located.

???

 

[Swamp Ghost]

I was wondering if anyone had ever tried burning a dried-out, spent corn plot. Seems to me that it would work. And, the pyromaniac in me thinks that it would be a lot more fun than spending a day discing the clay loam plot where the corn would be located.

Tried it and it doesn't work.

The pyromaniac in me thought the same thing. LOL!

I've created a monster! LMAO!

FL, looks like you'll have to break down and buy a 40 HP 4x4 tractor and put a rotovator behind it.

You can have a 3 acre field ready to plant in about 3 hours.

 

[Luv2hunteup]

Try brush hogging the standing corn.

 

[johnhunter]

Great one, Swamp Ghost! LOL 10X!

Fat chance of me selling the wife on my need for the tractor. She hasn't yet quite digested the additional hunting land I closed on last week!

Alright, guys, who knows of an elevator within 100 miles of Novi where I can get me some napalm?

 

[Tim Baker]

FL, the farm I hunt on they mow/brush hog the stalks in the spring down to about 3 inches. They practice no-till on the farm as well. Some of the fields they don't rotate the crops so they plant the new rows of corn in the middle of the previous years rows.

Tim

 

[Bob S]

Originally posted by farmlegend
Having developed some confidence in my field-burning skills on a couple of sites last year,

Hey Swamp Ghost, is this what is called selective memory?

 

[bishs]

I will have three acres of corn stalks to deal with. A rototiller would be the way to go, but I don't have one. I have a good brush hog. I will try it then disc. Has anyone ever brush hogged corn stalks? I had a fellow warn me that, he tried it and the stalks wrapped up around the blade, and he had a mess. What do you think??

 

[slowpoke]

I brush hog my corn stalks then disk and it works for me. Never had any trouble with corn stalks jamming up the brush hog.

 

[mike hartges]

I've brush hogged my cornstalks for about 5 years now. I never had a problem with them wrapping around the blades. Last year, I brush hogged and then plowed before I disced. There was no time savings but I got a better seedbed than discing alone would have given me. My disc isn't real big(6ft wide) so I have to make several passes to chop up the brush hogged stalks. Some of the cornstalks remain on the surface after discing so I like to plow first so the stalks get mixed in with the dirt. I like Swamp Ghost's idea of the rotovator, but I've got so many rocks in the fields and I already own a disc so this is my method of dealing with last year's corn stalks. I'll be cutting my stalks this weekend so I can spread lime on my fields.

 

[Swamp Ghost]

Originally posted by Bob S
Hey Swamp Ghost, is this what is called selective memory?

LMFAO!

Bob,

Let's just say FL's come a long way.

 

[bishs]

Well, thats good to hear. I am going to brush hog first.

I am a little leary of plowing. I have a two bottom plow, and I think its not adjusted right. "Or I don't know what I am doing!" It takes me a while, to get it to work right. Setting the depth ect. It may not be right for my Ford Tractor. The plow kept hooking up on the draw bar when I set it at the wrong depth. Once I had it right, it worked good. It seems to ride to close to the draw bar.

 

[Ed Spin]

Farm Legend:

Yes, corn stubble should be worked in for best results but there are alternatives as suggested by no-tilling and planting between the old rows. This works quite well. You say you don't have a no-till corn planter. OK, plant your first crop of corn as I have suggested in previous posts by broadcasting corn and fertilizer into a tilled field. Till again four inchs deep, cultipack and spray with round up four weeks later, assuming you planted RR corn.

The following year in mid May take a tillage pass or two and then broadcast your fertilizer and RR soys. Till again, then cultipack. Four weeks later spray with Round up.

A single pass by your neigbor farmer with his heavy duty disk in the corn stubble as a start will do. The rest is a piece of cake using your first class equipment FL.


FL, most farmers rotate corn with soys. Following soys with corn makes it a breeze. The soys leave around 25 lbs of nitrogen in the soil for your corn to use and the soy stubble is easy to till. When planting corn into this soy stubble, do not till first but broadcast the corn and fertilizer on the existing old soy field and two passes with a light duty disk should do. Cultipack and you are done.

When planting the soys make sure you inocculate them. Many farmers use fertilizer sparingly when planting soys. planting in the corn stubble should require 25 lbs of nitrogen (50 lbs of urea 46-0-0 per acre) for decomposition of the stubble and little else if you have been keeping up the nutrient levels in the past. This dosen't work with corn, it needs good fertilizer management, just like your wife FL!

Keep the fun in hunting!

 

[bishs]

If you are planting corn or soys for deer, there is no rush. Let the farmers get their crops in, then ask them to disc across your stubble.

Last year I planted my corn the first week of June. It worked great. A Month later, I decided to plant a few strips of corn for cover. I planted the strips on July 1. I didn't expect ears, but they grew them. The corn was not as ripe as the other corn. But the deer and pheasants ar eating it.

 

[johnhunter]

Great posts, guys. Thank you.

And Bob, consider yourself dis-invited to this year's Farmlegend Pyrotechnic Inferno, Part II.

 

[Swamp Ghost]

And Bob, consider yourself dis-invited to this year's Farmlegend Pyrotechnic Inferno, Part II.

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Bob S]

LOL, I`ll just have to find something else to do that weekend.