Turning corn field into grass

Liquid_wrench · Jan 20, 2015

I've got an acre of corn stubble that we want to turn into mowable grass...all I have here is a Brady chopper a bush hog mower and a disc....would chopping up the corn stubble and running a disc be enough?...or should I ask the farmer next door to plow it or chisel plow it first for me? I think it probably needs to be plowed first right? If it was up to me...I would let our farmer....just rent it...but the wife says after the land survey....she just wants to mow it......she's the boss you know.....lol

GeneMO · Jan 20, 2015

Best shot whould have been to disk it in Early September. On an acre you could sow the grass seed with one of the old timey hand crank seeders. Then harrow or lightly disk.

So now that you will be doing a spring seeding, basically the same thing. Try to get it in as early as possible, once the ground thaws and is workable.

Disking a couple of times will level and chop up the stalks. Then walk on the seed, then set the disk straight and shallow, and lightly disk the seed in to just barely cover it..
Spring rains will take care of working in what doesn't get covered. Dont worry is you still see seed uncovered. Getting it too deep is worse than shallow.

You may not get as good a crop doing it in the spring, cause the seed wont be as established when hot weather comes. May have to over seed it in spots come next fall.

Might want to check with whoever had the corn in. Was there any herbicide applied to the corn that could still be present as carryover and kill the grass seedlings? Is the PH and fertility up to snuff ?

Good luck, Gene

David G · Jan 20, 2015

A cultipacker after seeding would smooth it out.

screwloose · Jan 20, 2015

I cleared about an acre of multiflora rose and such with a skid steer. By the time i got it cleared it had some loose dirt almost everywhere, not deep loose dirt just on the surface. I spread the pasture mix with a walk behing lime spreader (only thing i had), then i toothed it lightly with the skid steer. I made hay off of that little field for six years .
i would seed your field then run a disk over it lightly/shallow and watch the grass grow. (And weeds lol)

screwloose · Jan 20, 2015

I meant to say disk before you seed and of course after also

BobinSD · Jan 20, 2015

[i:654c4848f0]...she just wants to mow it...[/i:654c4848f0]

Does [i:654c4848f0] she [/i:654c4848f0] want to mow it, or does she want [i:654c4848f0] you [/i:654c4848f0] to mow it?

Mine wanted to mow (as in "lawn" quality, keep it less than shin-high) about 10 acres when we first moved. Letting her try to mow it once cut way back on that.

fixerupper · Jan 20, 2015

(quoted from post at 09:09:48 01/20/15) I've got an acre of corn stubble that we want to turn into mowable grass...all I have here is a Brady chopper a bush hog mower and a disc....would chopping up the corn stubble and running a disc be enough?...or should I ask the farmer next door to plow it or chisel plow it first for me? I think it probably needs to be plowed first right? If it was up to me...I would let our farmer....just rent it...but the wife says after the land survey....she just wants to mow it......she's the boss you know.....lol

Your ultimate goal is to have a perfectly smooth lawn. A chisel plow will leave it rough till the end of time because the grooves or furrows where the chisel plow shanks went will settle for the next couple of years even though it will look and feel smooth the first year. Can you burn off the stalks? Maybe chop the stalks, rake up into a windrow and bale? Throwing seed out there in the cornstalks will get you a green lawn but you won't like it when you mow. You want as smooth of a seedbed as you can get so you will have a smooth ride when you mow and the only way you will achieve that is to start with bare ground. That stalk material will hinder your ability to get a perfectly smooth seedbed. Decomposing stalk material will leave voids and roughness. A bare seedbed warms up quicker and the grass seed will germinate sooner, hopefully faster than the weeds. You only have one chance to do it right so take a little more time and effort to do it right.

JMOR · Jan 20, 2015

(quoted from post at 14:47:58 01/20/15)

(quoted from post at 09:09:48 01/20/15) I've got an acre of corn stubble that we want to turn into mowable grass...all I have here is a Brady chopper a bush hog mower and a disc....would chopping up the corn stubble and running a disc be enough?...or should I ask the farmer next door to plow it or chisel plow it first for me? I think it probably needs to be plowed first right? If it was up to me...I would let our farmer....just rent it...but the wife says after the land survey....she just wants to mow it......she's the boss you know.....lol

Click to expand...

Your ultimate goal is to have a perfectly smooth lawn. A chisel plow will leave it rough till the end of time because the grooves or furrows where the chisel plow shanks went will settle for the next couple of years even though it will look and feel smooth the first year. Can you burn off the stalks? Maybe chop the stalks, rake up into a windrow and bale? Throwing seed out there in the cornstalks will get you a green lawn but you won't like it when you mow. You want as smooth of a seedbed as you can get so you will have a smooth ride when you mow and the only way you will achieve that is to start with bare ground. That stalk material will hinder your ability to get a perfectly smooth seedbed. Decomposing stalk material will leave voids and roughness. A bare seedbed warms up quicker and the grass seed will germinate sooner, hopefully faster than the weeds. You only have one chance to do it right so take a little more time and effort to do it right.

men on that chance! BTDT!........both ways, right & wrong.

ss55 · Jan 20, 2015

Check what herbicides where last applied to the patch. Herbicide carry over could hurt a new lawn or garden, BTDT.

As smooth a seedbed as possible makes mowing a lawn more comfortable. Lawn roots are shallow, so they do not require a deep seedbed. Corn stalk fodder could be slow to break down, it lasts for a number of years in hay fields. I'd try to bury, remove or chop up as much of it as possible.

It might be easier to farm the patch another year to get a better seedbed. Soybeans would leave a smoother surface, less trash and more nitrogen in the soil. Another possibility is to plant oats or another small grain as a cover crop, but substitute lawn grasses for hay.

RN · Jan 20, 2015

Stout fence all around the field, then turn out 4 young weaned pigs and let them weed/feed and plow it up for you. After piggies done and made into grill feature pieces, disc about 3 times- lengthways, sideways, then diagonal to level the field. scatter/plant grass seed and maybe some white dutch clover seed, straight disc if possible or light spike drag to cover seed. If wife gets tired of mowing and fence is still up, water tank as used for piggies, same small shelter as used for pigs can be home to a Shetland ewe and her lambs-lawnmower that doesn't need gas, provides another couple meals later. Teasing Alert!Or brushhog and disc stubble, then have someone moldboard plow it under, disc again and seed. RN

gene bender · Jan 20, 2015

You will need to moldboard plow it then after it cures for a couple of weeks yoou can work it down for grass seed mite want a cover for the grass. Better check on the treatment the ground has had recently byt plowing is still the best.

gene bender · Jan 20, 2015

How can you have a lawn with cornstalks on top thats why it needs to be plowed.

showcrop · Jan 20, 2015

chopping the stalks first will certainly help with the smoothing, but you will then need to work it in with the disc. After discing it will probably be too fluffy to hold moisture so you should culti-pack it. Around here everybody drags a pole or something similar behind the disc on the last pass to help smooth it before seeding down. be sure to get your soil tested well in advance.

fixerupper · Jan 20, 2015

Plowing does bury the trash and leave a nice seed bed after its worked down. Plowed ground will be settling unevenly for a long time and the lawn will be rough. I made that mistake when I turned a cattle lot into a lawn. I plowed the cattle yard to try to blend all the different soil types and fertility levels you typically find in an old cattle yard. I disked and field cultivated and harrowed and packed. The soil worked up beautiful and I had a perfect smooth seedbed. Next year I couldn't hardly ride the mower. I've been rolling it over and again and it's getting better but now it's hard as a rock.

David G · Jan 20, 2015

corn stalks will get chewed up by mower and rot, no need to plow.

rhtx55 · Jan 20, 2015

Use the chopper as soon as possible to chop up the cornstalks, the drier the better. This will help a lot when plowing it under later. I would let the chopped stalks sit a month or so before plowing under, deep enough to cover the stalks.
Come spring disk with as much angle as possible to level the plowed ground, wait until after a few rains, and re-disk using a drag to level it even further, this should give you a nice bed, When the soil warms to around 60-65 degrees seed using a drill lengthwise, cross wise, & diagonal, or cast as mentioned above. Spring rains ( hopefully) will keep it moist enough to germinate, that will be the big hurdle, keeping it moist until the seed germinates & begins to grow. Drill or cast Rye or Fescue whichever does best in your soil & climate.

730 virgil · Jan 20, 2015

rent to neighbor mowing that grass will get old fast
or put in hay ground that way your wife will get it mowed and you put cash in your pocket when neighbor pays rent for hay ground just don't tell wife about rent money

Turning corn field into grass

Liquid_wrench

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GeneMO

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David G

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screwloose

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screwloose

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BobinSD

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fixerupper

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JMOR

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ss55

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RN

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gene bender

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gene bender

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showcrop

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fixerupper

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David G

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rhtx55

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730 virgil

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