Surveying near Columbus-Bardwell area of KY
Had to walk through a corn field 105° wierd thing
The corn was 12' tall with the ears 6' off the ground. Anyone ever seen this before? Some wierd new version?
I thought years ago corn grew tall but now most is very short.
That may be open-pollinated corn. The hybrids sold by the the major seed companies are shorter, as a rule, than the older varieties. There are still sources of vintage seeds.
I'd have kicked it in 4 wheel and tore through the corn field if I were you.
🙂
Probably not. 🙂
When we surveyed around the A&M farm in the late 80's and early 90's, I was a small kid 12 or 13, but some of the corn was much taller than me or the rest of the crew. Most wasn't though. As to variety, I have no idea, I was too interested at looking at the Brazos river and what was walking around campus when we got back to the hotel. 😉
Isn't corn supposed to be "as high as an elephant's eye"?
I surveyed an area that had some cornfields in it several years ago, and the corn was around 12' tall. It must be varying species. Most of the corn I see while driving around in my area is about 6 or 7 feet tall.
In March of 1980, I was sent out to a large acreage tract (that was destined to become a subdivision) to stake a 40' x 40' AT&T site. I noticed at the time that corn had been planted (all 180 acres).
Fast forward to early August, same year. Mike Orchin (project surveyor at the time) asks me to reset the 4 corners, as it had been reported that the corners had been destroyed.
"No prob", I reply. "What do you want me to do for the rest of the day?"
My crack team of "field engineers" and I drive up to the site and "Ruh-roh". That corn was 8 feet tall. I just started laughing. Fortunately, I had a 8-foot long tripod gathering dust in the truck. Unfortunately, my I-man was 5' 09" tall. Good thing we had stolen some Borden's milk crates from the dairy downtown. Upshot was, I had to do the turning, even with the crates and the prism pole was extended up to 12 foot. The job took about 2 hours longer than planned. I just wish I coulda seen my own face when I rounded that bend in the road and saw that corn for the first time.
What?!
You don’t carry a set of "corn legs" in your survey vehicle?
Actually, we don’t carry them any more, either. With the advent of total stations and GPS we just started surveying around the corn.
But in the days of transit and chain, we always carried our corn legs and an eight-foot stepladder this time of year. The I-man had the good job, 12 feet in the air where he could catch the breeze. I pity the fool who has to chain through an Iowa cornfield in August.
What?!
I guess you're talking about maize rather than wheat or barley, took me a while to catch on.
Divided by a common language!
Dave
Corn comes in a multitude of varieties for a multitude of uses. Height depends, in part on the variety. Sweet corn usually grows in the 4 to 6 foot range. Hybrids grown for grain (feed or the dreaded high fructose corn syrup that was discussed here a few days ago) is usually in the 6-8 foot range but can get up to 12 feet. Corn grown for silage will be in the 14-16 foot range.
Height is also affected by things like soil temperature, soil condition and rainfall. For example, corn is a nitrogen hog, so corn grown in nitrogen-poor soil won’t be as tall.
Don Radda won the Iowa State Fair Tall Corn contest every year from some time in the 1930s into the 1960s. His record was over 30 feet tall.
[flash width=425 height=344] http://www.youtube.com/v/RlctpThjks0 [/flash]
[flash width=425 height=344] http://www.youtube.com/v/COqdwfh1-Wg [/flash]
My Corn. Tallest is about 9 1/2 feet.
Should look like this if everything goes according to plan. This is from last year's crop. Some kernels are lighter and some darker. I'm trying to see if I can get a more uniform color.
If you want more detail, these people are serious about their corn.
The only reason we ever use that word
is to be clever, as in
The 2010 Maize Maze at Elgin, Iowa.
The only reason we ever use that word
Here in the UK, we only grow it for forage to turn into silage, and it's around 8 feet tall. The only people wanting it for the corn on the cob are gardeners, and then it is a struggle. Last year mine grew tall enough, but the cobs never developed, so I've not bothered this year.
It does get tall enough for a maize, so they are advertised here and there.
I grew up in Illinois. One of my very first field survey projects was a farm survey. I remember thinking just what in the hell am I doing out here holding this rod and trying to keep that stupid bubble in the middle while the heat was knocking me down, the leaves were cutting my face and the bugs were crawling up!! It's a wonder I ever made it to my second day. here I am 18 years later and I still have days in the field when I ask myself what the hell am I doing!!
