# Was whole corn as an organic a mistake?



## Thick n Dense (May 7, 2019)

So went to feed store to pick up alfalfa and corn. Being in the city theres an upcharge for various products. The guy said cracked corn is 4 dollars more than whole. This baffeld me because I thought cracked corn was basically all the rejects that cant be used as whole.

So I opted to use whole corn to save 8$! and applied this afternoon ...

Will the corn take forever to break down because its not cracked? 
Or am I going to be mowing a lot of corn plants? Lol


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

It will sprout. Cracked is better. Tractor supply sells it.


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## seiyafan (Apr 3, 2019)

I think someone before did the same and ended up with a field full of corn.


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

If I did that I'd have a yard full of happy squirrels. maybe some gophers too.


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## Thick n Dense (May 7, 2019)

So I just wanted to post an update.

Its been about 2 weeks since I spread the corn and I have hundreds of corn plants sprouting in my yard..

I did some more research and corn roots will literally grow as far as possible until reaching the water table. That being said, they still get affected by compacted clay.

I also didnt really do anything except spread corn and mow and this was enough to germinate. No detaching/aeration, rolling. A couple rain falls provided moisture...

My plan is to wait until they are 6-8" in height before mowing which will probably kill the plant and If I'm lucky the roots will have grown 6-8" (in theory),

Also, they're pretty tolerant of colder weather... i think i read that it requires freezing temps for a kill temps below 40 for damage. Makes it more viable for a winter "cover crop" or just a way to introduce OM directly into soil.

Ill post some pictures later and the results of the root development but overall for 20$'s I'm quite pleased with the potential benefit.

Also, if i do this again, i could probably PGR to dealy time needed before mowing allowing the roots to get a bit deeper....


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## Jconnelly6b (Mar 4, 2018)

Thick n Dense said:


> So I just wanted to post an update.
> 
> Its been about 2 weeks since I spread the corn and I have hundreds of corn plants sprouting in my yard..
> 
> ...


So this was a deliberate play to have the roots drive into the clay and then decompose as organic matter? Nice move.

Need pictures!


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## Thick n Dense (May 7, 2019)

Not actually deliberate.

I used whole corn as an organic fert then quickly figured out it would sprout.

Pics are coming... wife gave me a while to see how far the roots go. 
They were about an inch after 2 weeks(not sure when germination actually occurred, this is 2 weeks from seeding)

6-8" might be a stretch, considering I'm giving up manly freedoms for the wife to allow me to grow a corn field in the backyard. :thumbup:


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## Thick n Dense (May 7, 2019)

Heres a current status of the corn... this particular one looks to be in the top 75% in size.
Roots are at 2" (broke off when I pulled out)
Tip of stalk at 9ish"
I threw down the day I started this post so not quite 3 weeks yet.

Im wondering I can mow at 4.25 without killing it... anyone know? 
Ideally I will keep them alive until spring, winter will do the trick if theyre still alive.


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## Babaganoosh (Apr 21, 2019)

I know it kinda sucks but its also pretty funny. Now you can have a corn maze for Halloween and charge people.


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## Alias-Doe (Aug 9, 2019)

This is like falling on your face at the mall then pulling off a dance move on your way up . Lol . Do a soil test when all this is over .


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

Alias-Doe said:


> This is like falling on your face at the mall then pulling off a dance move on your way up . Lol . Do a soil test when all this is over .


 :lol: There seems to be some truth in that.
I'm reminded of the number of times a powerful scientific theory or an invention was 'discovered' by way of accident.

Imagine a future that offers core aeration, liquid aeration, and corn aeration.


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## Guest (Sep 23, 2019)

lawn pic before a mow???


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## Thick n Dense (May 7, 2019)

social port said:


> Alias-Doe said:
> 
> 
> > This is like falling on your face at the mall then pulling off a dance move on your way up . Lol . Do a soil test when all this is over .
> ...


Thats sweet, Corn Aeration !

I took some pics but on different device so Ill work on that eventually.

As an update, i mowed at whatever C is on the time master. I think its 3.25" and the corn survived.


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## Thick n Dense (May 7, 2019)

Some additional thoughts.

Corn is a N hog, where in fall blitz season but something to consider

The thought of aerating then spreading corn is getting me excited. Still effective without it but by falling in the holes, the roots are setup to go that much deeper.

I need to know to kill corn by mowing, will a scalp do it? Repeated low mows? Does anyone know? Im flirting with the idea of a second application in spring but need to ensure that I can kill it through mowing (maybe tenacity)

Albeit a weed, dandelions would be great for aeration type purposes, not quite the same as in adding OM but will shoot a tap root down 4-5" while being easily killed

The season I do my reno, Im going to go crazy and see a whole bunch of crazy stuff to add OM break up the soil lol


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## GrassFarmer (Sep 21, 2017)

Corn does not use that much nitrogen until getting close to making an ear of corn. Tenacity will not kill it callisto is same thing labeled for corn, also it probably wouldn't be killed by roundup unless you got non gmo corn.


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## Thick n Dense (May 7, 2019)

Some more ramblings....

I found some links stating that 24D and dicamba damage corn... i would assume tricroployr does as well.... 
i think that between injuring it and frequent low mowings theres no way it can survive.

And if does it will be this little stem that shoots roots into the ground without any top growth... which is cool with me.

That being said, I'm going to follow up with a 2nd application come spring but do a little work to incorporate seed to soil contact for better germination and seed depth... i probably will end up just aerating mechainically... (i know bad in spring but I dont care). This will be in the back yard that has been struggling anyway.

Another random note is that I sprayed a few sections with T nex to see the affect it will have, another good data point to have.


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## Babaganoosh (Apr 21, 2019)

If you aerate you can spray tenacity at the 4 Oz rate and water it in for a nice 30 day pre emergent effect.


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## Thick n Dense (May 7, 2019)

Update corns still going after 2 mows. The first cutting off about 6" of vegetation.

Seemed to have slowed down slightly due to cooler temps or the mowings but still moving faster than the grass. I guess this is to be expected.

Excited to see where the roots are by the end of the season. :thumbup:

I guess Ill just have to try again in spring and see what happens and ill resort to a reno if I have to lol...

I wonder if the cheap corn from the feed store is gmo? :shock:


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## teke (Aug 19, 2019)

That is funny. Right now the corn's growing point is below the soil so no matter how many times you mow it, it won't die. The growing point should emerge at about V5 or when the fifth true leaf shows. Even then you will need to have the growing point reach the point of your mower blade before it will die. Corn's growth depends on growing degree days so the growth will continually slow down as it gets colder. If memory serves I believe you need at least 50 degree days for corn to grow.

I doubt if 2-4D will have much of an impact on the plant. If the corn gets a little taller it may whirl and that only would impact yield, not killing the plant. A freeze will kill the plant. Anticipate that you will still have some that probably didn't germinate this fall that you will probably emerge next spring.


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## Thick n Dense (May 7, 2019)

teke said:


> That is funny. Right now the corn's growing point is below the soil so no matter how many times you mow it, it won't die. The growing point should emerge at about V5 or when the fifth true leaf shows. Even then you will need to have the growing point reach the point of your mower blade before it will die. Corn's growth depends on growing degree days so the growth will continually slow down as it gets colder. If memory serves I believe you need at least 50 degree days for corn to grow.
> 
> I doubt if 2-4D will have much of an impact on the plant. If the corn gets a little taller it may whirl and that only would impact yield, not killing the plant. A freeze will kill the plant. Anticipate that you will still have some that probably didn't germinate this fall that you will probably emerge next spring.


Yea well the 24D was to "injure" in conjunction with continual low mows not just alone...

Didn't think about leftover next spring at least there easy to hand pick.

You obviously have some knowledge about growing corn... 
do you think that continual low mowings will prevent the base of the plant from getting hard and woody? (Lets say next spring into summer.)

This is my only concern... i then would need to manually remove.


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## teke (Aug 19, 2019)

yeah you shouldn't have any problems with that


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## Thick n Dense (May 7, 2019)

So at this point corn is diminishing...

Root growth has not improved since the measurements above...

Could be due to my soil but moreso I would attribute it to the mowings it took. Kind of the plant height = root depth theory.


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