I'd like to plant a field of flour corn

FarmBoyBill , Now I've got to take a test. Ok, here goes. The seed I was interested in most was Georgia Blue. Mandan Bride would be a good choice, I'm not sure about Bloody Butcher. I've got a 52 Ford 8n with a single bottom plow, a Farmall H, a 2 x 14" plow, a planter, some misc. machinery including mounted (Ford) and pull behind disc. I plan to shuck the corn standing. I farm by organic principles and have plenty of sheep manure if I find that I need it. I'd prefer op to hybrid but I'm not fanatic about it. I have no idea about seed spacing and depth. I'd like to save seed and have done well with small amounts in the past. I'll have to cobble up a crib but I'm not worried. I could probably have a dozen cribs for taking them down.

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Oak Harbor, Ohio

http://thelaubachermarriagechronicle.blogspot.com/

U dont say that you have a cultivator, or harrow. Or wagon, or picker, The Ford isnt worth a dang, but the H will do you fine, but youll need a harrow or roatery hoe to do the first cultivation. Youll need to find a cultivator for the H cause the Ford sets too low to be used for cultivation. The H sets a foot higher at least. That means you can likely get 2 more cultivations with the H than you can with the Ford. You dont state how many acres you intend to plant. Up to 5, I guess you could pick by hand IF you had a team and wagon. Doing it in piles with a tractor and wagon will take forever. Above that, you will need a picker and wagon.

see your seed corn dealer,
http://www.pioneer.com/CMRoot/Pionee...n_brochure.pdf

I know of a few people who planted sweet and pop corn for grinding to flour (garden sized plots,),

I do have a rotary hoe but I don't like the way it works. I'll have to come up with some kind of cultivator. I figure the small field is about 2.5 acres. I've still got the good husking peg. I can do that easy. Thanks again.

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Oak Harbor, Ohio

http://thelaubachermarriagechronicle.blogspot.com/

There is such a thing as flour corn. Hopi Blue is one such variety, Painted Mountain is another, and you can buy Painted Mountain in larger quantities as well.

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Yup, 2 1/2 acres is nothing. Ive done it a few times. Do you have the right plates for that type of corn. Im guessing smalls, or popcorn plates. Do you have cow s?

I just got the planter a short time ago and haven't played with it yet. I'm trying to refit the plow right now. No steers at the moment but I'm thinking of getting another couple of Jerseys. The last ones tasted great.

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Oak Harbor, Ohio

http://thelaubachermarriagechronicle.blogspot.com/

I got great advice from Rambler and Dalek a year ago. Youll need to rig schovels on your planter so that you can lay down your fertilizer 4 inches deep, and 4in away from the seed row. Ive got 2 cultivator shanks with schovels I am going to mount on the inside of my frame at a point that will be 4in away from the seed row. My problem is, when raised, as my planter is a 20s/30s pull type, it barely raises itself out of the ground, and so those schovels will likely still be in the dirt when turning around. COURSE, your going to need a fertilizer attachment FOR your planter. I found mine at a sale. For years I had been laying my fert in the row, and on top the row as that is where the hoses dropped out of the fertilizer boxes. Yes, In my day, and for forever back, Planter cans were known as planter boxes, as they were wood square boxes before and LONG before they were round cans. Here is more of their wise wisdom
Corn uses 40/50lbs P & K an acre plus 150 N for 150bu corn. per acre.

If your lands like mine, and not made in Iowa, you might need as much as 300lbs of N

1 ton Fert for 2 acres

All weeds and grass must be gone by the time corn is 4 to 6in high. Good luck.

1 bag seed corn will plant 2 1/2 acres.

Spray Glysophate when corn is around 4 to 6in high, and again when knee high. 1qt per acre

Dont cultivate until a week after last spray ammonium Nitrate,

Someone said they use 19-19-19+300lbs urea per acre

You can plow your ground and disc it. Then u can spread or broadcast your P & K, and then disc in again.

Liquid Fertilizers dont need extra water. Put on at 5 to 30gal per acre.

U Need 15/20gal water per acre when applying RR weed killer, and likely the same amount with any weed killer.

These are common bulk fertilizers
Urea 42-0-0 . 42% bulk wgt is N
DAP 18-46-0 18%N 46% Phospate
Triple Super Phospate 0-46-0 46% Phospate
Potash 0-0-60 60% K potassium

There you have what I have on planting corn, If I got it right from those who posted about it a year ago.

Firstly, I am Native and from my experience with corn, you want flour corn, and I mean good flour corn, get ahold of a good seed bank and get an older variety of corn. I used to have a red flour corn, which I got many years ago from a friend. It produced a flour so fine, you didnt have to do much grinding. You could pop it in your fingers and get this white flour akin to confectionary sugar it was so fine... Just the hull was hard... I wish I had more land I would still grow it...

My people alone used to grow 28 different varieties of corn, when we want corn flour we grow a white corn which has been grown for well over 600 years just for that purpose. You want sweet corn, we have a black sweet corn which is way better than that store bought crap, but it only stays sweet for a few days. You want popcorn we have that also, you want blue corn or red corn, you can parch some, some are good for corn mush.

We had corn for different jobs. People dont realize, when we make cornbread we dont just use any corn, because not every corn holds together. Also when you grind it, that dont work either, we pound the corn because when you pound it into a powder, its tiny and flat, flat things stick better than round balls, when your trying to make our style of cornbread which is like a dumpling, no not the cake... lol

My recommendation is this, buy as many of those packets, and grow as much as you can. Try a few out and if you like it, use the rest for seed and in about 2 years you will have a huge crop, and buy more seed the following year.

Storing dried corn, is easy just dont grind it, oh and if you grow it for flour, if you harvest in Sept or Oct, you wont be able to make flour till about maybe Jan or Feb, it wont be to dry.

We braid all our corn traditionally, and the one that we cant braid we put in buckets. If anyone wonders why we made birch bark baskets. Well I had these little bugs infest my corn one year in my house. It bored holes in all my corn, the ones I store in birch baskets, never even got touched. I have corn in my garage in huge birch baskets with lids, I have had mice chew through everything, and never once touch my corn. Its like old school tin cans lol..

You wont be disapointed with heirloom corn, also if you grow alot, share it on seed savers listing and sell some for seeds. There are over 400+ varieties of corn that used to be grown in New England and the north east if not more. I'm sure we have lost many.... Try some... Also place called Native Seed Search I think has some dif corns available..

Enjoy....

Oh and you want fertalizer for your corn, grow beans and squash in the same field. Plant it with a tractor the corn, and then plant beans up each and every stalk or through out the field, and squash. Your cornfield will out produce just about any other field of corn by itself and you will have lots of beans and squash.

Harvesting corn, do it by hand, get friends to help its fun good exercise, and if me and 5 people can harvest 7 acres in one afternoon, I'm sure you can get alot of peeps to help...

Just a note

man 28 varieties! i wish i could just gorw 6 what method did they use to seperate varieties?


Welcome to HT.com Aseries

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We ordered Wapsi Valley seed corn from Fedco's grower's supply. We're using it for both animal feed, corn meal, flour, etc.

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I grow Leaming corn. It's one of the oldest OP varieties and according to some old literature I read was at one time the most widely planted variety in the corn belt. I've planted Reids yellow dent and for this area I think Leaming is better. I think it stands better.

I grew Bloody Butcher in Ohio, in my tiny square foot, in town garden. I could only fit 9 plants in. But with a little manure from my 4 chickens , those plants got taller than me,I am 5ft. 3in and i had trouble reaching the tops.

The cobs are long and big, so I got about 2# of corn from those 9 plants.

I don't have a grain mill, but I ground it in my blender. I had to sift it, but it made me change my world view about fresh cornmeal. Just heavenly, I''m sure you could make flour with better equipment.

It did really well in Ohio. I recommend it highly!!! It made nice polenta, corn meal mush, and amazing cornbread. It was also very pretty.

Yes I agree Bloody Butcher is excellent corn. It has a real sweet smell for a field corn and makes some of the best corn bread. It grows real well here. I would like to plant it agian some time.

BB is HIGH dollar seed. My dad said they grew it in NE Kans.

High dollar seed? What do mean by that? I don't remember it costing any more than any other OP seed. OP seed isn't expensive at all if you buy a bit and then save your own seed you have all the seed you can use and never have to buy it again.

Bryan lives and farms down the street & around the corner from me. He grows all his own product. A great guy - wealth of information, too. I think you can contact him on his site to ask questions.

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omg, we're "neighbors"!
We live north of the Concho highway, about 25 miles out of Snowflake!
I'm gonna have to call Brian to see if I can come visit and "pick his brain", lol....

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