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Corn and soybeans - skipped rowed

I planted my 3 acre plot in RR field corn.

it was disked, section harrowed, fertilized, and section harrowed again.

then I planted with my JD 7100 two row planter - on 38" rows.

after planting the corn, I came back at planted early mature soy beans ($6.50 bag through NWTF) in between the corn rows.

so there will be a row every 19".

I wish the beans were a later variety, but RR Beans for $6.50 are hard to beat.

I also planted the beans with my corn plates as to not flood the rows since they will be only 19" apart.

Keep us up to date with lots of pictures.

I'm just jealous that you got your beans that cheap ! Good luck !

Free beans could be the most expensive beans one plants in a year. I planted some free beans a couple years for a cousin and we ended up with 10% stand, a pile of weeds and the need to replant LATE.

That isn't to say year old beans are bad but i'd never ever plant anything that is over a year old without germing the seed within a month of planting. I posted some pictures on social media this week on some near total failure oats. I don't sell any seed that is year old and myself, i'd never plant any corn or beans that is older than a year old because the chance that the germ count is anywhere near normal is low.

I just hate seeing bare ground or half to poor stands. So tip of the day is always germ seed that is large seeded. Corn, soybeans, oats and other grains. I've got someone near me sitting on a half of a semi load of seed that germed high last fall and is now lower than 10% germ count. Storage location can be a factor and weather can be a factor. Germ counts can change fast.

I just completed a germination test on my year old seed corn and got >90% germination. My year old soybeans did not germinate at all. I was surprised by the beans, not by the corn as I have used seed corn up to 2 years old with no problems. I think storage is the key. I keep it in my basement where it is cool. The beans were stored the same.

nutritionalist X2

Personally, I've never had any problems with year old corn, but will never plant year old seed beans ever again! I get my seed corn for free as it is left over test plot seed & have had great luck on the germination on it.

The beans were a totally different story, though. Very low germ. rate on them, plus it eats up a couple of weeks of growing time to figure that out unless you do a germ. test!

I would suggest not planting alternating corn-bean rows. I think the corn shades the beans too much once it gets taller. You can plant it in strips with several rows corn, then several in beans and get the same results.

As per Pat's concern about driving over your plants, I have double planted beans in between my rows with my six row 30'' planter. I would figure out the coverage on my sprayer & either remove the corresponding planter boxes on those 2 rows or take the seed out of those boxes. It worked really well one year & not so good the next. It helps to be good at math! If you are off 1 row, things don't work so good, plus having a 6 row planter & a 5 row sprayer didn't help matters either! It should be lots easier to do this with a 2 row planter.

as long as you have good weed control you might be surprised what the bean/corn mixture can do for you. Beans are a legume and can help fix nitrogen for your corn. Yes the corn can shade it out some, but it will benefit your corn crop nicely, as im assuming you wont be adding any additional Nitrogen later on. I would encourage you to inoculate any legume you plant with a simple, cheap, inoculate just prior to planting, to help the plant "fix" nitrogen. I was just reading an article about an Ohio farmer who inter seeded soybeans in his corn, he only had to put a total of 80# of nitrogen on and still had a pretty impressive yield. Typically Nitrogen rates (depending on soil and area) can be anywhere from 130# to 200#. Seed corn can be kept for a few years and still have good germination. Soybeans don't keep well, free or cheap beans can hurt. Do a germination test. Take 100 seeds, place on a damp paper towel and place in a warm area, be sure and keep good and damp...not soaked. in a few days count the number that has sprouted, give you a good idea of the germination rate.

This field has pretty Fertile soil, plus for the last three years I have had a truck load of chicken Litter spread on the field, plus I applied fertilizer this year.

Weed control won't be a problem, Everything is Round up Ready.

I am a little concerned about the row spacing and not driving the tractor through the rows.

but I have an 18' boom on my ATV that I will use to spray Roundup.

and to be honest I probably won't even lay by, or fertilize again.

The corn I planted was a new bag of RR corn.

we will see how the Beans do. I will get some pics this weekend.

How about two rows of beans per row of corn to help get sunlight to the beans?

Ollie,

I am a fan of corn over beans in this field. its easy to grow in my field and usually keeps food there from October to late Dec.

I am in MS and we don't really have a late season food draw like to cold months in the Midwest. so I need something that is good for a long period of time.

I also am not a guy who is worried about "whats best for the deer" I just want a good food plot to attract them so I can shoot them!

for summer green forage I usually have the best luck with clay and iron peas.

In my other corn field, after I spray Round up and burn the weeds down I will top seed some clay peas in-between the rows with my ATV to see how that works.

Ok you guys got me thinking.

I have a 2 row planter so if I put a soybean plate in one side and a corn plate in the other. When I’m done planting the 3 acre field I would have 2 rows of corn and then 2 rows of beans. Both roundup ready planted in 28” rows. My other thought is planting 10 or so corn rows around the perimeter of the field then planting beans in the center.

The easiest thing to do would be to plant the west half of the field to beans and the east half of the field to corn. Then I could alternate the corn and beans each year.

Any words of wisdom? I'm leaning toward 2 rows of beans and 2 rows of corn.

Coolcop

I would alternate corn on half & beans on the other half, then rotate each year. You can get some growing issues by growing corn on corn as well as beans on beans. 2 rows of each might not be that big of an issue though.

The corn around the perimeter can help you possibly get into your stands without getting busted as well as potentially help to make the deer feel a little more secure.

Thanks t-roy and Pat.

Based on your responses I did a search and you get a much better yield by rotating the two crops.

I'm definitely going to plant half the field beans and the other half corn. Then I can rotate them every year.

Thanks again.

We planted a few acres like that about 5 years ago but the rows weren't quite that close. Worked great. Tallest field corn I've ever seen 10-12ft with lots of huge ears. Far taller (by 2-3ft) and more ears than the same corn planted alone in a different field. Although the soil varies some and I'm sure had an impact on it, I still think planting together worked great. We sold our row planter because we kept breaking it in the rougher terrain that makes up a good portion of the farm. This year we tried mixed beans and dwarf corn 2:1 just by broadcast just to see how it does. Guess we'll see.

We planted a few acres like that about 5 years ago but the rows weren't quite that close. Worked great. Tallest field corn I've ever seen 10-12ft with lots of huge ears. Far taller (by 2-3ft) and more ears than the same corn planted alone in a different field. Although the soil varies some and I'm sure had an impact on it, I still think planting together worked great. We sold our row planter because we kept breaking it in the rougher terrain that makes up a good portion of the farm. This year we tried mixed beans and dwarf corn 2:1 just by broadcast just to see how it does. Guess we'll see.

This is my south field

Corn was planted with corn plates - beans with bean plates.

Only planted half the field in beans.

2.5 acres planted. Saved one acre for clay and iron peas

North field is 3.5 acres planted soybeans and corn.

Beans and corn both planted with corn plates on my JD 7100 planter.

Planted 11 days ago.

Close up.

Not all my spacing is perfect. But here is a picture up close. About 10-14 days most the weeds should be emerged and I will spray with gly.

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