Broadcast Corn, No Discing?

[neonomad]

Sorry if this has been discussed, welcome anybody to point me to an existing thread. Has anyone had reasonable success broadcasting corn without also discing and covering the seed? I got good germination rolling grains down over buckwheat last year, and I’m wondering if there’s any possibility of accomplishing the same with corn? I’ve only grown corn three times and it was always discing the seed in and then spraying it once or twice through the growing season. Does corn that germinates on the soils surface just topple over? Maybe it’s a pipe dream but throw and roll / mow corn with companion plants to reduce weeds, no herbicide, sure would be a cool food plot, if it’s possible…

 

[4wanderingeyes]

Disclaimer, I have farmed for many years, and never tried throw and mow with corn, but in my opinion, it may grow, but it will have so many things against it, I don’t think you will get much to grow. First, anything laying on top the soil would be a food for deer, crows, mice, and almost anything in between. Second, it would need good moisture to root, and if it did root, chances are not enough would get deep enough to allow it to grow to a mature plant, and if it did, and you had a dry spell, I don’t think the roots would be deep enough to keep the plant with moisture. And as you said, it may topple over with the slightest wind once it put on any hieght. I think if I were to purchase seed, I would try to get it planted at least 1” deep, just to hide the seed from critters. But ideally 1.5-2” deep.

I know spilled cord will grow, but I think the percentage of seed that grow, is just a small fraction of seed that was spilled.

 

[Nightvision]

There are a couple of great videos on YouTube on just that. Well worth the watch and not too long.

 

[jsasker007]

I was thinking of broadcasting some corn this year but would disk afterwards to cover it. Corn would give any vining plants something to climb instead of growing horizontally due to lack of support. Using corn will depend on the price and I kinda doubt it will be very affordable for my food plots.

 

[neonomad]

There are a couple of great videos on YouTube on just that. Well worth the watch and not too long.

I’ve see one by Wisconsin Whitetail but they never circled back around to say how the corn did. I see a lot broadcasted into prepped soil but have never found someone rolling plants down over broadcasted corn where they share what the stand looks like late summer. I’m pretty tempted to try it, combined with companion crops. Worst case scenario it wastes a little money and can always switch to winter greens in early August if the corns a flop

 

[bigboreblr]

Corn needs a long time to grow. Planting it after a buckwheat crop, your probably 2+ months too late to grow.

My brother-in-law no-tills soybeans into harvest corn crops. If you've ever seen commercial farming after a harvest, there's plenty of seed laying on the ground. You'd be luck to see 3 corn stalks an acre.

IF You're doing no-till no-drill corn. I'd double roll it in. I'd also experiment with boradcast rates. I'd also nuke the field dead with a healthy dose of roundup. Guessing here, maybe mix with some vetch, cowpeas, and or medium red clover. Millet cold be a good companion crop too.

 

[neonomad]

Corn needs a long time to grow. Planting it after a buckwheat crop, your probably 2+ months too late to grow.

My brother-in-law no-tills soybeans into harvest corn crops. If you've ever seen commercial farming after a harvest, there's plenty of seed laying on the ground. You'd be luck to see 3 corn stalks an acre.

IF You're doing no-till no-drill corn. I'd double roll it in. I'd also experiment with boradcast rates. I'd also nuke the field dead with a healthy dose of roundup. Guessing here, maybe mix with some vetch, cowpeas, and or medium red clover. Millet cold be a good companion crop too.

To clarify, this would be the fall’s rye / wheat / annual clovers getting rolled down, would skip the buckwheat step.

I’m trying to do minimal to zero herbicide… so the idea would be rely on the mulch and the companion crops to deal with the weeds. That’s the goal (in spite of admittedly being surrounded by fields getting drenched in Liberty every year).

And that corn would have had to make it through the winter and then germinate right? I’m not saying this is a great idea… just trying to get a sense of how impossible, so thanks for the input!

One thing to add, the grains that take off after winter do a great job at suppressing the weeds… but once those get rolled down yes I have no idea what the battle is like without the use of either a buckwheat smother crop, or chemicals.

 

[Mortenson]

Sounds like a failing proposition to me. I think they need the roots.

 

[Skeeter]

I've had corn in a mix that I've broadcast, sprayed and rolled. Overall the mix did well but the corn underperformed. Poor establishment and did not put on much for ears. I have never had good results just broadcasting and rolling. I was fortunate enough the get ahold of a JD 290 planter last year. Planted with it without tilling. Worked great for my purposes in my light soil. 4wheeler pulls it just fine. Excellent germination and growth in the area that I terminated prior to planting. Good germination but poor growth where I mowed instead of spraying. Some of the poor growth was definitely due to competition and some was likely lack of nutrients.

 

[Tree Spud]

To clarify, this would be the fall’s rye / wheat / annual clovers getting rolled down, would skip the buckwheat step.

I’m trying to do minimal to zero herbicide… so the idea would be rely on the mulch and the companion crops to deal with the weeds. That’s the goal (in spite of admittedly being surrounded by fields getting drenched in Liberty every year).

And that corn would have had to make it through the winter and then germinate right? I’m not saying this is a great idea… just trying to get a sense of how impossible, so thanks for the input!

One thing to add, the grains that take off after winter do a great job at suppressing the weeds… but once those get rolled down yes I have no idea what the battle is like without the use of either a buckwheat smother crop, or chemicals.

And why would you think that corn will survive until spring? Deer would be enjoying it all winter long.

 

[Tree Spud]

Sounds like a failing proposition to me. I think they need the roots.

^^^ yep! Isn't that why planting depth for corn is 1.5-2" to give the nodal roots the depth to access water & nutrients?

 

[j-bird]

All I will say is that it can be difficult to get good results with corn...even if you do everything like the farmers do. Trying to adapt it like you are....I suspect the end result will be less than what you are looking for. If you need something for the vining plants to grow on....use sun flowers, or sorghum. Corn, in my opinion, is the most expensive, time consuming and costly food plot you can put out for wildlife. You can do everything right and mother nature can still screw you over. Too little or too much rain, critters eating it every chance they get, weeds, a wind or hail storm.....are all risks and that is after you have sunk $275-$300 an acre into it (that figure is roughly what we spend on commercial farming practices to plant corn)

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

It is all going to depend on RAIN and thatch cover. We have a fair amount of corn that is still standing in road ditches today that washed out of the field due to poor farming practices in the area. It held up just fine to wind and snow. I think it would work just fine when the stars align about once every 10 years. I have been working on perfecting broadcast beans the past few years and have abandoned ship because of dependence on environmental conditions. I will get back to trying it but want to work on eliminating a few problem weeds first.

 

[bigboreblr]

Not corn overwintering. In NY, corn is harvested late sometimes, October into november sometimes even december. When they harvest, they spill corn here n there.

Out of all the corn that is left in the fields, next to none makes it to germination and successful growth the next year. This is a variety of rotational farmers. Some spray alot, some spray little to none. But, most all don't do any tilling, finish harrowing, some dont even mow the stalks. Just Run a drill into the soil for beans. NExt to no corn in that field the next year. And litterally thousand of corn seeds are in that field at the end of the season.

Think it was 2019, they spilled a pile that looked like 2 or 3 bags of corn right infront of one of my stands. Must of been full and hit a bump, or spilled some during a running transfer.

 

[Diesel5610]

I have had some decent to very good corn plots with broadcasting and discing. I think you would be wasting your time if you don't get corn seed buried at least a little.

 

[neonomad]

And why would you think that corn will survive until spring? Deer would be enjoying it all winter long.

This was in reference to low germination of harvested corn seed drops from the prior fall… I was saying I don’t know how much volunteer you expect from that when falling down into bare exposed soil all winter.

 

[neonomad]

It is all going to depend on RAIN and thatch cover. We have a fair amount of corn that is still standing in road ditches today that washed out of the field due to poor farming practices in the area. It held up just fine to wind and snow. I think it would work just fine when the stars align about once every 10 years. I have been working on perfecting broadcast beans the past few years and have abandoned ship because of dependence on environmental conditions. I will get back to trying it but want to work on eliminating a few problem weeds first.

Just when everybody has talked some good sense into me, there’s a post like this that makes me tempted to try. Might just have to admit to myself that at a minimum Im going to have to disc… maybe I’ll try the thatch broadcast method in a small strip if I do corn this year.

 

[Bill]

It would only work if you were rotating from corn to beans and didn’t want any corn in it. Then a few would certainly sprout.

 

[FarmerDan]

If you can, and I don't mean tonight, grab a couple kernels of corn. Then use your fingernail and peel off the outer coating. If the kernel is too hard, wet it for a day. The seed coat should come right off. Then, what you have in your hand is the making of a baby corn plant complete with enough food to get a healthy start. It's coat is so thin though it can easily freeze to death or die of dehydration. It needs to be in soil of the right temperature with the right moisture at the right time. Its a fussy baby. But outside the soil or resting on the surface all it has is a thin blanket for protection. It's a fish out of water. On the other hand, a clover seed has a heavy coat - almost a double brick wall - and an entire inside room where it can wait-out the worst.

 

[Nightvision]

There are a couple of great videos on YouTube on just that. Well worth the watch and not too long.

I should have read better. I read it as discing. Good luck with no discing.