# How much square footage for corn patch?



## AmberLBowers

I got my pound of Truckers Favorite corn seed from Shumways yesterday. How many square feet do I need to till up for a pound of seed? This is the first year I have grown corn so I'm kinda clueless. Thanks!


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## Bearfootfarm

A quarter pound of seed will usually plant about a 100 ft row with plants about 1 ft apart

There should be about 30-40 inches between rows, so roughly 1000 sq ft

http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/fb/sweetco2/sweetco2.htm


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## pointer_hunter

Is the row spacing just for ease of harvesting? I would think that if they can be spaced 1ft apart in a row, the rows could be closer together if you were low on available space. Or will that just create a giant root ball under the surface and choke everything out?


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## GardenNut

My seed catalogue says 11-1/2 pounds per acre.


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## Paquebot

pointer_hunter said:


> Is the row spacing just for ease of harvesting? I would think that if they can be spaced 1ft apart in a row, the rows could be closer together if you were low on available space. Or will that just create a giant root ball under the surface and choke everything out?


Corn has been grown for a long, long time and the space required by each plant has been fairly well defined over centuries of study. Corn can be planted 2" apart if one wishes but would only result in 8" plants. Closest I've done is 10" spacing and 2' rows but that was Golden Bantam which only gets 4' tall.

Martin


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## laughaha

I think spacing depends on how good your soil is. I think square foot gardening suggests planting one every square foot so a 4' x 4' block would have 16 corn plants in it. I've seen pics where it looked like everything grew and produced well. I've never planted corn that close though- My row's are plantings 1' apart but then I leave 2-2 1/2 feet between the rows to give the roots somewhere to go. I also mulch with hay to keep down weeds, moisture up, and to help anchor the corn.


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## Paquebot

3' would be ideal since a typical corn plant will send out roots 18" in all directions. When grown close in rows, they have no choice but to send most of the feeder roots into the space between rows. There is some overlapping but no extreme competition as would be with closer spacing. 

Martin


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## laughaha

ok, I'm confused. Is that 3' between plants or 3' between rows? I don't think any of the farms do 3' between plants......


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## Paquebot

3' between rows, 10" to 12" between plants in row. Alternate method would be 3 kernels per hill with 3' between hills.

Martin


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## laughaha

Gotcha, thanks


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## Bearfootfarm

> Is the row spacing just for ease of harvesting?


It also helps if you need to cultivate weeds between rows.

Most people around here have their planters set on 30" spacing, and all their other equipment fits that spacing also


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## uncle Will in In.

The reason corn can't be to crowded is the lack of sunlight on each plant. When corn is overly crowded there will be many barren stalks. Corn requires rich soil to do well. Also plenty of moisture. 11.5 pounds per acre sounds like a reasonable plant thickness. One pound would require about one tenth of an acre. That would be in the neighborhood of 4000 square feet. If you put the rows around 30 inches apart, and space the grains 8 or more inches in the row you should raise enough sweet corn for a family of 12 or 13. LOL


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## AmberLBowers

Awesome! We are a family of six, but also want to supplement our chicken feed and maybe grind some of our own cornmeal.


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## geo in mi

Best estimate of OP field corn is 2500 seeds/lb..... Using Johnny's Feet of Row per Acre chart, a planting of 6 inches apart, then thinned to 1 foot would make 1250 feet of row needed to plant. Thus:

Row Feet per Acre
at 30" centers 17424 divided into 1250 = .072 acre times 43560 = 3136 sq ft
at 32" centers 16335 divided into 1250 = .076 acre times 43560 = 3311 sq ft
at 36" centers 14520 divided into 1250 = .086 acre times 43560 = 3746 sq ft

This would make a rough plot about twenty five feet by one hundred fifty feet to allow sides and turnarounds......

You can adjust your sq ft needs by varying the planting distances you wish to estimate. 

geo


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