am trying to raise a little corn on 1/2 acre plot...dont know squat about corn its on my property putting it next to my pond for watering in case we have another brutal summer, when do i plant am in NorthEast Tex how far apart on rows, how deep to seed, ect any input will be appreciated...must succeed because wife has requested the corn stalks for her haunted house biz but I get to keep the corn for deer if i succeed. Have all food plot implements needed and 30 hp 4wd New Holland and am discing under today to take advantage of moisture and colder wx prior to planting thanks again for info

corn is a heavy feeder that requires a lot of nitrogen. Plant it at 1.5-2" deep. What type of planter are you using? For a 1/2 plot one of these will work.

http://www.earthway.com/product/garden-products/

I use one to plant sweet corn. They work great and are nearly foolproof.

Do not know much about corn, but the little I do know is most is planted on 24"-36" rows. Need to plant after last frost if you can. Deer, hogs and coons are going to give that small of a plot a tough time of survival if you can not fence it off to allow it to get to maturity. In soybeans I have planted that were round-up ready I had some corn get in the fields by birds carrying it in. When I took the fences down to let the deer in the first plant they went to was the corn and stripped the stalks to nothing over-night. Just some food for thought. I would buy the stalks from a farmer that is planting corn close to you if I could.

You need to get farm grade ammonia and soak the soil first. About 1/4" max depth on the seeds and 18" to 24" between rows. Get it in early here in Texas.

If you are in NE Texas don't plant it until after march 1st. My farmers around Waco start planting February 14th at the earliest. 30" rows are the most common in texas for corn. If you are not a full time farmer, don't worry about putting out ammonia. Go to your local garden supply and get field corn seed. Plant it 9" apart on 30" rows as close to a 1.5" deep as possible. On a half acre plot, get a mixture of fertilizer they recommend, probably will be nitrogen, phosphate and potash. If they have round up ready corn it can save you a lot of time weeding in the garden.

Thanks fellas for the advice will research it a bit more and if i do plant will follow advice given, wife may have to find her a corn farmer for those stalks and then I can plant a spring food plot of my choice

As stxranchman said, you will really need to fence the 1/2 acre. Especially on a plot that small, the deer and hogs (if you have them) can wipe out the corn in just a day or two. Good luck!

Have you really had luck with a 1/4" planting depth?

This.. you plant it less then an inch, your first rain you can kiss your seed bye bye.


The key to growing corn is water and the right seed, and more water.

I used to Farm Corn and Soy. Nearly all planters plant at 30 inch rows. Some new ones comming out do the 15. You can probaly find a little 4 row planter with 30 inch rows. If you are not going to put down anhydrus ammonia then stick with 30 inch rows. Needs to be about 6 to 7 inches between seeds about and inch to inch and a half. Depth depends more on how compacted your soil is. You can also get round up ready corn in which you can spray round up then plant. Then re apply round up later on when the corn is up, expensive though. Once the corn gets up a little it will chock out the weeds.

Then again it is just a feed plot so spray round up. disc it up about 3 to 4 weeks later and then put down some fertilizer with some nitrogen in it bury it in the ground and see what happens.

I grew a couple rows of corn last year in the garden. We just disked in the winter, planted 1st of april. After disking we mounds up the rows by hand, and planted by hand. Stanks grew big and tall, the ears were great. We didnt use any chemicals. Although the corn worms showed up and messed up the first few inches of the ears but just cut that part off. After harvesting the ears of corn, I pulledup the corn stalks and fed them to the cows. They loved it. Good luck on your plot.

Granny always said "Dont plant in Cass County until Good Friday" and "If corn aint knee high by 4th of July, we'll eat beans this winter".

Good luck!

Thanks again for all the good advice will give it a try and see how it goes will post pics if it goes well, wouldnt make a hair on a farmers...well you know but enjoy being on the tractor it is relaxing..neighbor recommended solar electric fence may try that to keep the critters out.

Electric fence will work on hogs and deer. I use a 5 strand fence about 4.5' tall with about 9" spacings. Works extremely well. Would need another strand down around 3-4" off the ground to keep coons out though.

Just a thought...the County ASC Agent can get you soil analized
with a sample and give you exactly what you need for fertilizer.
I realize you are just playing, so heed the advice above...your
crop will be a magnet for Coons, Possums, Deer, Hogs, ect...DD

Yessir but all God's creatures gotta eat...thanks and will follow all of yalls advice and see how it goes good therapy for me for a small investment.

Well did the soil sample while back added 1-1/2 tons of lime, 150 pounds triple 17 fertilizer, disced it all in, let it rain on it several times since Feb and disced it three more times to cut down on vegetation competition. Am planting today more rain on the way mon/tues ground temps here are around 60+ degrees. Thanks again for everyone's advice will see how I do as a "recreational" small time corn farmer. Also put in a small veggie garden yesterday morning to work on. Even put in some pumpkins for my wife the "Halloween" enthusiast...oh btw bought a plastic walk behind seeder at Tractor Supply...didnt work at all, taking it back with reciept for refund am now planting about 1/2 acre by hand, its alright needed the exercise anyhow.

Good luck with your garden!!! Its great therapy to do things the way it was done long ago!!!

Oops. Misread the title. Looks like I need to get some new glasses. Thought you were wanting to go in the raccoon busines. I was planning on giving you a starter set, already broke to eating at a feeder.

I have about a 1/2 acre I plant. I use this seeder by Earthway. It has paid for itself many times over.
Earthway Garden Seeder with 6 Seed Plates

You can plant that plot of yours in about a hour with one of these.

I heard that...Many times,as a matter of fact...'If it ain't knee high by 4th of July, beans or squash or taters,but no corn.

Save yourself some time & headaches & money. Call your county ag agent, that is one good place our tax money is spent. He can answer all your questions regarding your specific area. Might even arrange a free soil sample testing if you are nice to him, maybe buy him a breakfast.

Once again am a boot rookie at farming corn, so one more question...when do I harvest the corn? what do I look for so I dont pick it too early keeping in mind am gonna dry it and use for deer feed. and so far knock on wood, coons and deer have been to busy in my clover patch and corn feeder to care. Thanks for the info yall provided it was spot on and the field looks good.

Watch when the first silks come out on the ear of corn. Sweet corn will be ready in 21 days. Field corn a few days later. Not all will be perfect st that time but some will for table fare anyway. When an ear of corn is mature the shucks are tight to the ear (very little give when griped) and with a little experience you can get the feel for that.

For dry corn like in the feeders leave it on the stalks the whole plant will die and dry, ears will break off easy and sime may be pointed at the ground instead if up like they grew.

Had a large garden with more corn than you planted growing up plus at least 3 acres planted for cow and hog feed when growing up. Best yeat on growing corn yeilded 115 bushels per acre. 4 years the corn was part of the FFA project