Corn Maze

[blaze]

Hi I have been reading the boards for a long time now, I have never posted but have read alot of helpful information here. we have been doing a very sucessful home haunt now for 15 years last year we decided to go commercial. We were palnning to start with a 4000 sq ft tent but ran into alot of problems with the state and having to put a sprinkler system in the tent even though its just up temporaily every year, so this year we decided to go a different route a build a corn maze. I was wondering if anyone had any really good info on construction of corn mazes, we already have the basics but could you alot more help, thanks...

[legendsofthefog]

I am assuming that you're doing a haunted corn maze? We actually provide a traditional corn maze (unhaunted) at our haunt in MD... we also have a haunted maze with an open-air "haunted house" in the center. Either one starts with a vision in mind. The big non-haunted corn maze... we wanted to brand with our logo... so when we publish the pictures, there was no doubt where this corn maze was... My best advice is to cross plant at a 90 degree angle... this way you set up your corn rows in a grid pattern... then you can draw your design on graph paper... and make each square in your grid equal to a square in your field. On the graph paper below... it was 1 square = 6'x6'. We use a 6' zero-turn mower to mow the corn at knee height... and we often polish any designs w/ a weed-eater.


You can also experiment with different corn varieties which will vary in stalk strength and height... ultimately, you want 8-10' tall corn in either maze... Our haunted maze had 10'-12' corn... it was interesting.. but we plan to move to a different variety... the tall corn was not as hearty as some shorter varieties.

The cool thing about a haunted corn maze... you're only limited by your imagination. You could make a linear maze (not a true maze) that goes through multiple buildings (such as black-bear sheads, etc) Working with corn is always fun.

[blaze]

Thanks that was very helpful, when do you usually start to plant the corn, Ive heard after the last frost, I'm in NY so it gets warmer a little later, do we still have enough time to get the 8 to 10 ' by oct???

[JamBam]

Good luck...

I had a corn maze (Maize franchise) and haunted corn for several years.

You can do a lot outside. My experience would recomend having two sections of corn: haunted and a maze. Many reasons for that.

I have a gps system that is very accurate and could help you.


Contact me off list at brett@jambam.com .

[legendsofthefog]

corn maze

In my experience... you have a 3 week window to plant corn for October... It starts around the 15th of June, and you can plant as late as the 4th of july... Our first year... we had 90 day corn and we planted with a usual may planting... our corn was brown and dying before our opening night... by the end of the month... there was nothing left in our maze... when the stalks get brittle... they tend to fall over easy... If you have irrigation available.. you can even plant later... but we do not, so we make sure we plant by the 4th of July... However... if you have a drought season, you may be stuck with 3-4' corn.

It would be a good idea to consult with an experienced farmer or corn salesman... take soil samples of your ground, and make sure that your corn has the proper nutrients. Fertilize heavy!!! The more fertilizer you apply, the taller and stronger your corn will be (to a point). Also, you will want to research the variety of corn that you plant... you will want a 110 to 117 day corn (the length to maturity) so your corn will be greener longer.

Jambam - I would love to get some more information about the gps system... I would like to do the corn maze via gps... however, my system only takes me 3 days from the first drawing/design phase to the final product. I think I will use a roto-tiller on a small steiner tractor this year so I don't have to re-mow the path... gps would be helpful, but I don't want to spend big bucks for the system.

[sophisticatedterror]

a system can be had for about 1,500-2k to do your maze

[Jim Warfield]

In Northwestern Ill.

"Knee high by the fourth of July" is the old saying pertaining to the corn height.
Of course many years ago no farmer around this part of the world ever thought of two plantings in one summer either. Picking corn by hand might have had a little influence upon that thinking too!

[blaze]

I cant thank you guys enough for the help, I'm gonna take this info back to my partners and hopefully we can finally get something going after all these years...