I had some bags of seed that the woodchuck got into and tore the bags apart and all the seed was on the ground. now all the corn and soybean seed is mixed together. does anybody have any ideas on how to get them separated. theres a slight size difference. round up ready seed isn't cheap especially corn so I don't want to just throw them away. thanks
Don't separate...the woodchuck did you a favor...I have been doing this for a few years and have had really good luck. Mixing Corn and Soybeans in Food Plots | Quality Deer Management Association
You can probably make a wooden frame and staple 1/4" or 1/2" hardware cloth on the bottom of it and then sieve the grain through it. The corn seed is probably large and flat enough to not pass through it. A seed cleaning service can clean it if there's enough to worry about.
If they are for a food plot just plant them together. The beans will climb the corn and the corn will like the nitrogen from the beans. If not CoveyMaster has a great idea. If the hardware cloth is to big and both go through it you can use multiple pieces and align then so the holes are big enough to allow only one or the other to pass through. Then shift the seed through it like a sein.
Just read this article the other day myself. It actually highlights that there may be some benefits, however, planting together will greatly reduce the production of both the beans and corn (compared to when planted as 2 separate plots)
I have a number of clients that mix the corn with the soybeans. But if you don't want a mixed plot, you can ask your local feed mill or animal nutrition consultant to borrow their penn state particle separator. I use the shaker box to analyse particle length of tmr's but ive lent mine out to someone with a situation like what you have.....
You have options. I'm going to try to mix a little of the 2 together this year to see what luck I have. In the bigger plots I'm going to keep them separated though.
Without knowing the OP's application or objective, this information seems relevant. I would agree that if you are planting a micro plot where yield is critical, then i would avoid commingling the seed. However, since I have went to the corn/bean mix, i am getting more daylight movement on my property in an area where the deer had previously skirted my field on the neighbors side of the fence. The added privacy screening of the corn is worth the hit in yield to me.
They're going to be fighting each other for nutrients, sunlight and water. I wouldn't personally do it because your beans are going to get very "stringy" and will not produce much for pods. The beans will get about 2-3 feet tall and have about 6 nodes. I've got a research study where we plant volunteer soybeans a week or two before any corn goes in the ground. Once they are at about V2 stage, I plant corn over the top. I can't seem to find any pictures but the study is going on it's third year this year and I don't see the results to change any. This is a nematode/aphid study but the results will be the same as far as the planting goes.
I didn't comment on planting them as a mix because that's not what the OP asked about. A few years ago there was a local here that had a failed crop of corn early on, it got flooded out. He went in and planted beans through the corn and sprayed the corn. He got a really poor kill on the corn and it ended up going through the full season mixed like that. The corn was thin, I'm guessing a population of like 14,000plants per acre or basically half a rate here. Both produced very well, unfortunately he had trouble marketing the beans when he cut them, lol. I still do some in segregated strips, they compliment each other pretty well. Planted together can do fine depending on the population of the corn, otherwise Greatwhite is exactly right but then again for a summer plot the beans are just as good for forage.
Yeah I guess I just read comments and commented on that same route. To the original question, I've hand picked more seeds that I care to admit in the last couple years for trials. Wear a pair of gloves if the seed is treated, grab a 12 pack and spend a couple hours separating the seed. It goes a lot faster than you would think.
