New Food Plot

Dad and I are starting a new plot this year that for the last 5 years, has been pheasant pens. So the area is highly fertilized if you will. We plan to put corn in this year as we have heard beans won’t do well in this rich soil.

Anyone know if the info we are being told is accurate? I know the “horse” weeds grow like mad in these pens so we will have to use quite a bit of round up to prevent the annuals.

Kooty, Are these pens pretty much grass free? Grass can and will use up allot of your nitrogen I think corn is a great choice for this plot. I would just be careful not to till to deep and bury the nitrogen to deep. Contrary to popular belief corn still needs allot of P an K. I use 9-23-30 as starter fertilizer. then add the nitrogen later. My elevator looks at my soil sample and tells me what I need to apply I don’t always listen

These pens get overgrown every year with a weed we call “horse weed”. It’s a very heavy stalk, big leaves like a sunflower almost. This stuff grows 10-11 feet tall and chokes out any chance of undergrowth, along with the pheasants.

We are sure we will need quite a bit of round up to kill the annuals/horse weed.

I suppose kill it off a few time prior to planting…. Using RR corn or beans, once you spray once (or twice if needed) while the food plot is growing, your plot should eventually, for the most part, outcompete whatever other weed seed happens to germinate. Or at least whatever else might grow at that point wouldn’t affect production much….

I think I know the weed you are talking about Kooty, we get them here on the farm in S. MN on the old cattle feed lot. Super tall, big broad leaves, when they die they look like tall cane poles? If so, they are quite persistent if you dont get on them right away. If it were me planting, I would work the soil, clear old vegetation clumps if need be, plant and then spray to kill any small emerging weeds that didnt get worked up with the soil. I know it sounds silly to spray what looks to be mostly black dirt, but it has worked great for me on new plots. Then once the corn is like 10″ tall go spray again. Planting early in the season instead of waiting should help you get the corn an even start with the weed growth, then the round up will suppress the weeds. I would also suggest, as Bob did, to still add some fertilizer. Probably wont need as much due to natural fert you have, but adding some will help. Just what id do any ways.

Thanks guys. The info here is always top notch!!!

Corn will work much better than beans!! The high amounts of N may be a little tough on the plants as they are young, but if you can hit a couple of timely rains so that the plants don’t get to “hot” of a dose for an extended period, you will have some very happy corn plants