Feed Corn

[Land_Owner]

Never planted corn before but am thinking it would be well to do that this year.  What's the "gestation" period?  I am discing now.  (Some on line research is also necessary).

[chefjeff]

I have some late corn that is about three inches high now,It will make corn . It is getting pretty late in the season though. We used to say you needed to get it in the ground by july 4th, but if the weather is favorable,you can go later. This is in central NC. I guess you have seen the high prices this year. Soybeans will also make beans if planted early july here.Luckily, I work at a corn processing facility.

[Bugflipper]

Most corn is 115 days + or - 5 days. I just plant the cheap 50# sack of feed corn, not seed corn and get very good results.

[Empty Quiver]

Corn is usually rated in growing degree days. It can be quite a spread. Think about the difference between Grand Forks, ND and Biloxi, Mississippi. Corn is not day length dependant though and will mature based on those degree days not the amount of sunlight encountered like soybeans.


In the north spring frost and early fall frosts are the determining factor on the corn planted. Mid corn belt and I would assume southern corn belt the determioning factor is the high heat and dry period that occurs about the time corn is pollinating. The goal is to get the corn pollinated in early to mid July for good ear fill. Suprisingly enough the hybrids planted are similar in maturity numbers though middle areas mature sooner due the greater heat encountered.


If you are talking Fl. I would say heat and bugs are the limiting factor for you. I'll bet rain could well play into the problem too.

[Land_Owner]

The goal is to get the corn pollinated in early to mid July for good ear fill.

If that is the case, then I am sunk as it is mid-July and I am not even planted.  Mid-July would mean mature plants by then?  Or do they flower as immature plants?  There is plenty of sunlight here in FL and few, if any, frost days.  We're getting our fair share of afternoon rainfall right now and it is almost too wet to plow.  Beans and peas will be eaten to the dirt line before they achieve 6-inches in height here.  Brassicas, beats, and others are difficult to germinate in the well drained sand and most need a good frost or two to get the sugar rising in them, which just doesn't happen here.  Maybe I will plant corn anyway for its screening capability.  The deer would feel secure in its thick foliage and from a tree stand they can be observed.

[Bugflipper]

It depends on what usda zone you live in for what date corn should be at a certain stage. Up North they say knee high by 4th of July. I live in zone 7 and have sweet corn ready to harvest by the 4th. Cowpeas, soybeans and vetch have a good tolerance to being dry. Your states extension service usually has some good info. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw262
http://mgonline.com/articles/zonemap.aspx
From there you can search for food plot planting dates according to your zone. BTW collards are pretty mild without hard frosts to get the sugars up. I just ate a raw one the other day, been around 100 degrees for a month now. Just tasted like cabbage, not bitter.

[Empty Quiver]

I'm not from the deep south, so take my advice for what it costs you. If water isn't an issue then the heat would be the limiting factor and water does mitigate some of the heat issues. The growing degree day thing will be able to closely predict pollination, a good seed salesman will know this number. figure about 50 days I suppose. Then the rest of the time is kernal fill and drydown again roughly fifty days. Doesn't sound like you are harvesting so somewhere around 70 days you will have largly mature ears but maybe doughy inside the kernal.


We get sweet corn up here from Fl. for Memorial Day weekend. It has probably been in the ground 2-2.5 months at that point. The days are cooler so that is what I'm baseing my predictions on. The point being day length has little bearing on corn growing, temperature, fertility,and water have more effect by far.