I live in Northeastern USA. Ive pulled off a lot of corn field grows. Heres what i can tell you:
1. Dont plant in Sweet Corn.
2. Only plant in late harvest field corn.
3. Choose a fast flowering strain if you are starting from seed. Some Clone strain will flower in time depending how old the mother plant is. Grow out your strains and know when they finish.
4. Field corn is planted in relavence to spring time temperatures. Successful germination of the corn requires a morning soil temp of 55* at a 2" depth for 5 consecutive days. This can range from early Feb. to late April depending on area and soil type.
5. Scout your Field early in the season.
6. Pesticides and herbacides are usually sprayed early on. You want to let the field corn reach a certain height anyways so your plants dont over grow the corn. I usually wait til corn is knee high before entering with plants. Corn in my area is usually "knee high, by the 4th of JULY" I dont plant in the corn until then.
7. What I am doing from Dec. - July is getting my mother plants established and clones rooted and hardened off to go outdoors. Also starting any seed plants and getting them ready to go out.
8. Once you are in the corn, you want to plant directly into the ground.
9. DONT remove any of the farmers corn to replace with your plants. PLANT INBETWEEN THE ROWS. (It wont seem like your plants will get enough sun but they will)
10. Feeding may be necessary throughout the plants vegatation cycle but keep in mind some fields are irrigated and fertilized before corn is planted.
11. Most farmers dry their field corn on the stalk. That means once the corn has finished its cycle it will be left on the stalk until moisture in the kernel reaches 15%-18%. Some farmers take it earlier. I usually plant strains that will be ready to harvest from early Sept.-mid october. I dont risk it usually as the combine has no mercy.
12. NEVER GET CAUGHT IN THE FIELD. This means, dont park by the field while you are planting dropping off flats, plants, water, whatever. Farmers are onto us :D If they see a vehicle parked outside or near the field its dead giveaway, and they will be curious who is in their crop, much like you would be if u seen someone nosing around yours. Always have someone drop you off when you are working in the field. Keep a cell phone with you, so you can let them know when you are finished. Dont let anyone see u going in or out of their field. Always know where you are, and have more than 1 escape route.
Also, Dont bust the farmers corn stalks up coming in or going out. This will not only lesson the farmers harvest, but also leave red flag giveaways from the sky and ground.
13. Dont leave trash or jugs in the field. if u cant carry them with you, make sure they are buried outta sight, and make sure they are removed before the field is harvested.
Im not a field corn expert and im not claiming to be. Just giving you some of my rules i go by to give u heads up. I try to learn more every year about the corn and the farmers I plant amongst. Keep in mind, there are many new corn hybrids being developed to allow for earlier harvest, and other things. Try to educate yourself the best you can. It helps if you know the farmer or know someone who knows the farmer, and u can get inside intel that way; as to harvest dates, spray dates, and other stuff..
Be safe, and I hope this helps you.
