I have a small corner of a corn field that did not get planted and the corner runs up against the woods where I have a stand. I want to plant the corner in some sort of plot, but I am not sure of what to plant. The area is no larger than a tenth of an acre and has to be planted next weekend before the corn grows to tall to get a tractor into the corner. My only thought was to possibly plant some forage beans in this area but another farmer has a bean field planted right next to the corn field so it would almost be pointless to plant beans. I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on what to plant. The area is in Southern Indiana. My stand sits no further than 20 yards from this corner. Thanks for any suggestions.
A. Is it your land? You said the field is planted and the corner runs up against the woods where you have a stand which makes me ask the question, is it your land that you are wanting to plant? B. No point at all in planting anything less than a half acre of beans. The browse will be too heavy and a stand of beans smaller than a half acre will never withstand the kind of pressure that those beans would likely see. So I wouldn't even consider beans. C. A no-till option would be your best bet at this point in the year although I question why really even waste the money. But plenty of no-till clover, chicory and brassicas options. Evolved Harvest makes a Throw and Grow plot that is low maintenance. Again, not sure that I would even waste the money planting the corner or edge of a field. A lot of those fields edges see limited amounts of sunlight and establishing newly introduced seed is difficult. Just my two cents.
What was on it last year? Why i ask is people overlook potential chemical applied on the previous crop, especially if it wasn't just roundup but lumax or atrazine. If the area is only 1/10 an acre, i'd stay away from the soybeans in that small of area and plant either of these options... Plot Restore- a berseem clover and forage radish mix. It grows fast, is cheap and will only cost you $15 to do a 1/2 acre and so you'd have enough seed to interseed in some of the corn nearest your stand if you have the ability to do that. Do that after corn is rounduped if that is the only herbicide applied. Rape- rape grows fast and about anywhere. If you only have 1/10 of an acre you only need a pound of rape seed. If no one local sells you that little, many places sell 5 lb bags and you should spend $7 or $8 bucks. Kale- nothing grows more tonnage per acre in the brassica family, has a better nutrient profile nor stays green later. Buy 1 lb of kale and spend $5 or so. Shhhh it's the secret to a big name companies brassica blend.....
Nothing stays greener later than kale. Down to 10 degrees. Nothing gives me more units of the major minerals, protein, and digestible energy per acre than kale. If one wants to grow big deer, you need a dense sward that is packed with nutrition. It's the secret to a couple companies brassica programs. I plant nutrition....
