Rob in VT

What would be a good crop to rotate in the year following a corn planting? Is there anything that replenished the nutrients that corn pulls from the soil?

Thanks . . . Rob

Wingbone

Soybeans, clover or alfalpha would be good choices. They all are legumes and will help replenish the nitrogen in the soil.

farm hunter

Good advice from Wingbone -

I go CORN, CORN, and maybeCORN again.

Then SOYBEANS, SOYBEANS

Then CLOVER for 3-5 years

The Soybeans help to break down the residual con stalks in the soil - and the Roundup over the Beans helps reduce the Weed Seed Reserve (especially grasses) - for when we plant clover again.

Thats my perfect rotation. Sometimes we mix in a Rye, Brassica or Winter Wheat planting - We'll do a often do aFALL planting and and overseed with the nextPROPOSED clover planting. Sometimes we need toOverseed or frost seed again with clover.

FH

WhitetailObsession

Corn would be a great crop if you were gonna plant alflafa the year after. You could then have alfalfa for 5-10 years before planting corn again. I would suggest mowing the alfalfa though because deer love eating the new growth. Winter wheat also helps release nitrogen in the soil, but you plant htis in the fall and deer do not eat it.

Rob in VT

Thanks for the advise!

On a slightly different note, has anyone tried sugarbeets? Are they difficult to grow and what type of soil do they prefer?

Thanks again . . . Rob

farm hunter

Beets are not difficult to grow. They like extra nitrogen - and goodly amounts of water to produce a "beet".

No I've never planted them.

I've heard mixed reveiws on beets for deer. Seems they will browse the young greens, but not the older leaves. I've heard they will root the beets themselves - because they are sweet in the fall. But........ If deer are are digging up roots instead of browsing thick green forage - I'd assume the deer were over-populated or the surrounding forage was thin at best.

Just an opinion - I do not have 1st hand knowledge.

FH

tycteach

This just goes to show you that it's very different from region to region. I live in S.W. Oklahoma and there are thousands upon thousands of acres of winter wheat planted here and the deer LOVE it. If they don't eat it there, I'm guessing there is something else growing at that time of the year that they must like more. Also, I don't know about releasing nitrogen but winter wheat here has to have nitrogen here to grow (that's what may have been meant). It's not uncommon here for farmers to put 100# of nitrogen down per acre to help their winter wheat grow and produce good forage and seed. I farm just over 100 acres of wheat and believe me the deer love it and the nitrogen in the soil gets used up by it and has to be replentished.

Large Lad

Rob,
What is going to happen to the corn and stubble this year? Harvested mechanically, eaten off the stalk by deer, or turned under. If the corn remains in the field and is turned under, then you have not removed much N,P, or K. You could plant wheat then turn it under again in the spring as a green manure crop. Most commonly, soybean is rotated with corn. If this is a food plot, then disc, disc, and disc some more to break the stalks up and turn them under so they will start the decomposition process this fall when you are ready. Bushogging or flail mowers can help this process. You can follow corn with corn, it justtakes more N and watch your grass control. Good luck.