Question is do I grow it out this year? since the neighbors 40 acre Field will be gmo dent corn. My plan was to skip a year, will be soybeans next year.
I would skip and use that space for something else this year. You could even grow legumes or something else nitrogen fixing.
Yea I was going to rotate potatoes in that space. I’m surrounded by corn so I’m sure it’s eventually going to get mixed in there but that field is very close.
I heard that the germination capacity of corn decreases quickly, this is why I try to grow each family every year. I sow sweet first because it is the one I want most to preserve from non-sweet crossings.
So my suggestion would be : any hope you can talk with the neighbors and manage to sow 10 days before them ?
It’s leased to big time farmers they are going to plant when it’s ready. I’m thinking of growing in a friends yard in the city, smaller plot but at least I would be getting some seed.
I’ve had sweet corn seeds a few years old germinate no problem and grow fine, and some older ones I used as a cover crop that did poorly and looked weak and mutated.
At spring, soil can be ready earlier on small plots, when you don’t have to run a heavy machine in the field.
Depending on what the spring looks like in your area …
Temporal isolation is a good idea. I start my corn indoors, germination happens in about 48 hrs, then transplant 7-10 days after germination. This means my corn plants are set into the garden at least two weeks before any farmers are seeding corn with their big machinery. They must wait until soil is dry enough to support many-ton equipment. The seeds they sow will probably take at least another week to germinate in the cold earth.
Of course, this approach is only practical for smaller plantings. I usually do 150-200 plants. There is also no selection for germination at low soil temperatures, resistance to soil fungi, etc.
Hand pollination is another option.
I did this with the sweet corn started a few weeks early in greenhouse and transplanted out and it was right next to the flour Corn and did not cross. The problem isn’t working the ground but the last frost date is late where I am. I’m usually planting direct sow at the same time as the big fields. I’ve also planted corn later and still seem to tassel out all around the same time like it knows all the others are pollinating and goes into survival mode.
Yea I purposely wanted to direct sow in cool soil.
There is a Cornell University farm not far from me and I believe they hand pollinate all the corn, which is surrounded by other corn fields.
