Since reading and looking at this months MR, Ive gotten on a corn kick (I grew up where corn is everywhere). Anyway, I have a HO scale field on a module. I would like to turn it into a corn field, or rather have removable field inserts to show different crops so that people coming to shows every year have something new to gaze upon instead of the same scenery on the same layout every year.
I also want to rotate the crops in my fields because it is prototypical (or at least thats how my grandfather did it).
I have a 48" long by 8" plantable area. I looked into prototype spacing of corn rows. The individual plants are typically planted 6-8" apart and in rows 20"-40" wide. I did math for 8" spacing...512 plants per row....no not going there. 12" spacing of plants yielded 341 plants per row *19 rows (8" width) gives 6479 plants. Which works out to 180 packages of Faller corn plants ($2228.40). Just a bit more than I want to spend on corn.
Im thinking plant the corn across the narrow width of the field, use 40" spacing on the rows and space the cornstalks at 18"-20"? Move the corn to the edge of the module (currently has a road, but im not married to that configuration) and cut the width down a few inches. Cutting down to 36" rotating 90 degrees and reducing the field width to 6" and increasing the spacing to 18" requires 2291 plants, or 64 packages of Faller corn. $792.32 <--thats getting better.
Maintaining the same dimensions above, but increasing the individual cornstalk spacing to 2ft reduces to 21 per row, 1659 plants total $581.86.
I could use Busch, but I have a couple packages of that product and was not impressed with the appearance (the field Cody made in 2006 looked pretty good). I looked at the Bluford shops in person at springfield, but was similarly unimpressed with the product visually, so I didnt buy any. Looking at their website, it certainly is the cheapest, at $44.95 for 1100 plants/ 66sqin area.
I wonder if I could use one of the less expensive products as filler with more expensive corn saved for the first few plants in each row? I wonder if the Bluford Shops or Busch corn could be made to look like the more expensive corn, enough to hide that fact from the viewer.
I think useing the less expensive would work great for a filler, maybe just use the same method for all, on the tassels, to blend it all together.
Corn rows started at 40" with horse drawn equipment, and todays corn rows are 30", and narrow row corn is anything less than 30". Now you can find many fields using 22" or 24" rows.
I spent 4 years of my child hood life, say 5th grade through 9th, in Iowa. Step dad was a tennant farmer at that time, I did a lot of field work, even at that age, and we planted 30" rows.
But anyway, it's a layout, so what ever fits your layout, and the budget the best, who's going to argue.
Mike.
My You Tube
Gidday, a link to an earlier discussion that may be useful
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/11/p/204217/2233339.aspx
Cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Before JTT, Busch, Bluford Shops and perhaps others introduced these really nice looking corn fields, for many years modelers were satisfied with using indoor/outdoor (plastic) carpeting for cornfields. I would say it looks more plausible to a "live" viewer of a layout than it does in photographs of that same layout. But for what you seek to do, I would not disdain the indoor/outdoor carpeting method, which again was thought to be wonderful when it was first thought up.
Dave Nelson
As Mike points out, era makes a difference in row spacing. I know they are planting much closer, both plants in a row and rows, than I did 35 years ago.
I think the idea of moving the scene to the edge of the layout, to limit the number of plants needed is the easiest. For the area that isn't used for the corn field could be used for different scenes depending on time of year. Corn stubble if it was fall or as you have suggested a rotation crop. Could even have a staging area with a shop and servicing facility for the equipment take up some of it.
I do remember seeing articles using the carpet, didn't look too bad for early summer corn.
Good luck,
Richard
I didn't do any math based on your desired qty's, but you might check out products from Top Shelf Replica's. They have various corn stalks; young, mature, dead.
Just search in your browser for 'top shelf replicas corn stalk'.
So these must be through one of there dealers, is it the Outback Toy Store? Top Shelf's page says to find other products through our dealer links, and it looks like OutBackToys has the corn.
The indoor/outdoor carpeting he's referring to is really more like Astroturf. Foot mats made of it should be readily available for a very reasonable price at places like Wal Mart, and the tufts are already in rows. It may have to be painted but the "leaf" structure is a very good representation of relatively young, pre tassle corn. You coud probably do your corn field for less than $30, including paint and glue.
bibbster I didn't do any math based on your desired qty's, but you might check out products from Top Shelf Replica's. They have various corn stalks; young, mature, dead. Just search in your browser for 'top shelf replicas corn stalk'.
Those look amazing, but they are 1/64th scale (14ft tall in HO), noticibly out of scale.
I guess I should specify that I would prefer mature corn plants (still green).
I created a large corn field along the backdrop of my layout using three rows of Busch corn stalks terraced up toward the backdrop and painted cornstalks on the backdrop fading toward the horizon. The painted stalks aren't much more than upward brushed thin strokes of greens and greenish browns. However, the three terraced rows of stalks in front of the backdrop go a long way toward convincing the viewer that they are looking at a full corn field continuing on to the horizon. My scene is about 40" long and, if I remember correctly, 3 Busch kits did the job. Taking the time to twist the individual leaves on each stalk, though time consuming, goes a long way toward making the Busch product look more prototypical. I had to chuckle at the kit's suggestion to paint the ears of corn yellow, though. Pre-shucked corn would be a nice convenience.
Hornblower
hornblower Pre-shucked corn would be a nice convenience.
Right?
The end product that I end up with needs to be 1st place at National Train Show grade scenery. The viewing side needs to be photograph-able.
BMMECNYCThe viewing side needs to be photograph-able.
Which apparently is attainable with Busch corn, so Busch it is.
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/262270.aspx
I make the same sort of compromise with my forests. Puffball trees don't make convincing individual trees. For that I use either Super Trees or Woodland Scenic armature trees. It would be cost prohibitive to use either of those for the entire forest so I use the puffball trees to create the canopy while using the individual trees in the first few rows. Beyond that all you see are the treetops and the puffballs work well for that.
Use the expensive stuff for the first few rows and the rest will blend into the field. Unless someone really looks hard at it that won't notice the difference.
BMMECNYC Those look amazing, but they are 1/64th scale (14ft tall in HO), noticibly out of scale.
I have never measured corn. But I live in Dekalb County Illinois. In the summer the corn gets taller than the road signs. So 14 feet maybe a bit tall but not a lot.Of course we have had a couple good years in a row.
bibbsterFunny, we planted a garden last year and had corn that was much taller than me, I'm 6'-2". An internet search said, "When the entire plant is chopped and fermented to produce silage, a tall stalk is desired. The height may reach 14 to 16 feet. Field corn plants raised for the production of corn ears usually are somewhat shorter, with stalks up to 12 feet tall." So maybe those 1/64 scale plants are not that far off after all. lol
The exact article you are quoting says the average is 8ft. Which is what I recall from where I grew up. Corn usually grew to 8-10ft tall. Climate plays a part in this.
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/tall-corn-plants-get-55524.html
The height might not be out of scale for corn growing in good soil in warm climate, but the leaves and ears(could not tell if those where on the model) would be out of scale.
Thank you for your suggestion though. They are nice looking plants, just not what I need (they would be planted near the back of a 32 inch wide module, where their tall height would have the opposite effect of what I am going for). The 1" plants might be do-able.