JD 2 row Planter Value

In my current plan.  2 out of 3 years will only be 1.3 acres (cabin plot) and various little areas such as I'm hoping to plan a little sweet corn and also possibly plant a couple of rows for a entry/exit for shield for blinds and my stands.   

1 out of 3 years will be 5.5 acres of corn.  That would be the max.   I see a couple of hours maybe a half of day to plant.  Not too bad I don't think.   And its only every three years.  Also as I said before my tractor probably could not pull a 4 row.  Its bigger and harder to get in and out of the woods down the trails and takes up more room in the shed. 

I tend to get a great stand of corn as long as mother nature cooperates and the other critters leave the freshly sprouted seed alone!   Coons, turkey and other critters love to pluck the sprouted seed from the rows....really pisses me off!   Then you get the weather....too wet in the spring, too dry in the summer, some sort of weed issue (why I use RR seed).....or cheaped out on fertilizer....lots of potential issues with corn.    Corn has to be the biggest bitch of a crop for deer you can mess with....it's expensive, has high fertilizer needs, can be very temperamental to grow and everything in the woods wants to eat it!

The main draw back I have with my old planter is that the planting units do not pivot independently of each other so it requires really level ground for planting.   The newer of the older planters tend to pivot independently and that helps....a lot.

As for a plugged plate or empty rows.....yep....sure have.   We seem to learn the best when we fuck up vs listening and learning for others mistakes...not sure why...just do.   This is how I learned how to test my seed/plate combination at home vs just expecting it to work out in the plot.    If your doing it for the first time I would run a fair amount of seed during your test at home to ensure you don't have issues.   I have run nearly 1/2 a bag before just to build my confidence that it would work well.   I also still watch the seed drop into the furrow before it's covered when I am planting and my planter makes a clicking noise when it's running properly.....silence is BAD!    To do this I am twisted around on my tractor and use that as the excuse as to why my rows ain't straight for shit (I'd be a terrible farmer).

The first row or so I will also confirm my plant spacing.   You want a seed every 4 to 6 inches (depending on your population).   I then plant (keeping a close eye on everything) and then I tend to walk the rows to ensure the seed is covered.   Like I mentioned because mine doesn't pivot this happens once in a while.

SOMETHING TO CONSIDER ON YOUR ROW SPACING - is your tractor tire spacing.   I tend to plant and then once I start seeing weeds I use my boom sprayer to spray gly (I use RR seed - conventional seed sucks because you can't fight grasses and corn HATES competition).    As such, the last thing you want to do is be smashing the young plants with your tractor tires while you spray (the smashed ones will die).    So make certain you have your spraying/weed control plan clearly defined and understand how it can affect your planted crop.    Also keep in mind the ground clearance of the equipment you will use as you don't want the axle pushing plants over either.    One of the things I do because of the wheel spacing on my tractor is that I either makes some extra wide gaps between planting passes (I will be broadcasting in cereal grains and brassica into these areas later in the summer for fall forage) of I plant more like 15 ~20 inches to the previous row.    This adjustment allows to either left the standing plants go under my machine and miss the tires or be wide enough to miss the tires depending on which you prefer.   I keep the planter at 30" I just adjust my "offset" for the next pass.

Sorry for the long post....I have just made a lot of mistakes and it took some trial and error to figure a few things out with mine.

I use 30".....that is what the farmers do here and they are trying to maximize their production.    One of the things to consider with row width is your tractor tire width.   More than likely you will be spraying after the plants have germinated....you don't want to be running over these plants as it will kill them.    I plant on 30" and simply adjust my "offset" for the next pass with my spraying needs in mind.

Wider rows will reduce your yield potential, but will leave more open ground if you intend on broadcasting brassica or cereal grains into it later.

If you want to plant beans I simply split the rows and thus end up with about 15" rows and the beans canopy just fine.

I'll be spraying with the 4 wheeler.   

I like this.   Then hang a stand where they will come in and out at that skipped row. 

My JD71 2-row planter is set up for 30" rows.     I'd leave it at 30" for corn.    Most times I double plant the beans by planting between the rows...thus 15" rows.   Seems to help on weeds.