Seeding over corn for weed control

[Orerockon]

Hello all, I have done a little digging and found some information but it's not exactly what I was looking for. What I would like to do is get something st

arted along with or after I plant sweet corn to control weeds. I have tried some ideas that don't quite give the results I'm looking for, so I'm looking for suggestions from other folks who have done similar. It's not technically companion planting because I don't need anything that is usually suggested and I have 100 feet of three rows (1 foot spacing in the rows and 2 feet between them), and planting something like cucumbers or pole beans would cost 100x what I pay for a couple ounces of seeds. The one thing I can find is to plant something like clover or annual ryegrass between the rows. So I'm wondering is if overseeding after the corn has got going (not just planting a row in between), or even at the same time I plant the corn, would get me decent weed control. And I wonder if planting a nitrogen fixer such as clover would give the corn all the fertilizer they need. The root of the problem is that the neighbors on either side of me have what amounts to 50% weeds in their hay (our development was once a hay field) that they rarely mow, and everything I plant gets carpet bombed with weed seeds once they start to mature

 

[Meadowlark]

.... So I'm wondering is if overseeding after the corn has got going (not just planting a row in between), or even at the same time I plant the corn, would get me decent weed control. And I wonder if planting a nitrogen fixer such as clover would give the corn all the fertilizer they need. The root of the problem is that the neighbors on either side of me have what amounts to 50% weeds in their hay (our development was once a hay field) that they rarely mow, and everything I plant gets carpet bombed with weed seeds once they start to mature

It is doubtful that overseeding with a legume by itself AFTER corn planting would provide sufficient Nitrogen. Now, if you had covered cropped that area in a legume and turned it under prior to planting your corn, it might have been enough. ( It also would have substantially reduced your weed problem).

Corn is a very heavy feeder, especially on Nitrogen and the more N2 you can add naturally the better. Also, you will see far less weed seeds year after year if you cover crop it BEFORE panting the corn. The cover crop will reduce those maturing seeds that reach your garden remarkably.

Here is an example....this is an alfalfa cover crop on my to be planted corn rows that stayed in place from last summer to this spring before I planted my corn. The corn growing there now has very minimal weeds, virtually none with hay fields all around the garden. The key is regular application of this technique and never leaving your intended garden space bare or open to wind born seeds. This works for me.

Here is the same area planted in three staged crops of corn presently..

 

[Orerockon]

Thanks so much for that! I've seen suggestions to plant annual ryegrass too. Do you think a pound of seeds would be enough? I have around 600 sq. ft. to work with.

 

[Meadowlark]

Probably not enough. You want a thick stand for a cover crop. I usually use something like 1 pound of seed per 100 sq. ft for annual rye grass cover plus mix in a quality legume seed like a clover of your choice.

 

[Orerockon]

So if I plant in the fall and till it up in the spring will that work? Or do you just plant the corn into it? We don't get much frost here, all the perennial herbs that aren't supposed to survive through the winter do anyway, so it won't likely die back. With our lousy weather this year it's not even dry enough to till yet so I won't likely be picking corn until the end of September.

 

[Meadowlark]

Yes, you could plant the cover crop in late summer/early fall including legumes and till it under in spring when you prepare your seed bed. You might consider shredding the cover crop first in spring which will make it easier to be assimilated into the soil. Remember to rotate and not plant your corn in the same place each year.

 

[skinyea]

fyi i listen to meadowlark on corn and all of a sudden i get full ears. but it does
take 1 year of cover crops and legumes