United States Department of Agriculture

Iowa Native Prairie Planting Guide

Planting Native Prairie 

Into Corn/Bean Stubble

1. 5 to 7 Days Before Planting - Apply glyphosate 

herbicide to kill emerged weeds. If you are planting 

early (March 15-April 15), evaluate the field to see if 

emerged weeds are present before spraying. 

2. Planting Day - Use a no-till drill or broadcaster to 

plant a mix of native grasses and forbs. Plant shallow 

(1/8” for forbs, 1/4” for grass), since forbs germinate 

well on the surface. Don’t till soybean stubble - 

untouched bean stubble is an ideal seedbed.

3. Roll (Cultipack) After Planting - If you broadcast 

seed, roll after planting to improve seed to soil contact 

and help decrease seed predation.

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Soybean Stubble (Spring Seeding)

Corn Stubble (Spring Seeding)

Follow the same guidelines as above for bean stubble with 

the following considerations:

» Drilling into corn is more challenging than soybeans 

due to the amount of residue. Low humidity days will 

help. 

» Broadcasting is not recommended due to the amount 

of corn residue. Broadcasting is not allowed in the NRCS 

327 Conservation Cover Practice Standard.

» Baling cornstalks is a way to reduce the residue without 

tillage and reduce erosion concerns from the site. Do 

not mow stalks before baling. You want some residue 

(30%–40%). When residue is removed, broadcasting seed 

is allowed in the NRCS 327 Standard.

Option 1 - No-Till Option 2 - Use Tillage

1. Till Cornstalks before planting to reduce residue. 

Approximately 50% of the soil should be showing. Time 

the second trip within a few days before planting to kill 

emerged weeds. 

2. Roll (Cultipack) Area once or twice to create a firm 

seedbed. Your footprint should not sink in more than 

1/8”. Rolling is critical to keep the forb seed shallow.

3. Plant, drill or broadcast seed.

4. Roll (Cultipack) again after planting.

Natural Resources Conservation Service, Des Moines, Iowa, August 2018
Planting Native Prairie Into Corn/Bean Stubble

Other Considerations:

» Residual herbicides from the previous crop can impact 

prairie establishment. Consider herbicide products to 

use on prairies that are less likely to carryover. Some 

contact herbicides have no residual or limited residual.

» Seed forbs on the surface or a shallow depth (up to 

1/8” depth). Grasses do fine planting up to 1/4” depth. 

Seed on the surface is ok (up to 40%). Tip: When using 

a native grass drill, disconnect every other tube on the 

forb box, so seed lands on the ground. 

» If you are trying to complete a seeding in an area 

with reed canary, develop a long-term plan to kill it 

completely (very difficult) and a proper seed mix that 

will compete with it. 

» Do not use fertilizer because it will only help the weeds 

out-compete your seeding.

» When broadcasting, rolling will help with seed to soil 

contact and to reduce predation of seed from birds, 

mice, and night crawlers. 

» When seeding small areas or when broadcasting seed, 

add a carrier to help ensure you don’t run out of seed 

(i.e. rice hulls, paper mulch, pell lime, ground cobs). 

Consider broadcasting the area twice to ensure good 

coverage.

» On small areas (< 2 acres), you can seed from a bucket. 

• Flag off lines every 50’ to help stay in line. 

• Use sand as a carrier - 2 parts sand to 1 part seed, 

minimum. 

• Weigh seed and separate into buckets. 

» Adding 1⁄2 - 1 bu. of oats to spring seedings can reduce 

erosion. NRCS 327 Standard requires 1⁄2 bu. on slope > 

5% when seeding on tilled land. Mow before seed head 

emergence to allow light and to preserve moisture for 

seedlings.

» For High-end Seedings (pollinator / CP-25 / prairie 

reconstruction):

• Ideal mix is: 50% grass/50% forbs.

• Strive for diversity. 

• Limit tall grasses (Big Bluestem, Indiana, and 

Switchgrass) to .25 lbs./acre each ((4 oz. or 1.0 seed/

ft2).They grow quickly and can out-compete forbs in 

the establishment. It’s still important that they are in 

the mix. 

• Consider using high-end seedings around the 

farmstead for added beauty. 

• Consider Iowa ecotype seed (Iowa prairie remnant 

plants) for long-term to permanent seedings.

If you have additional questions, contact your local NRCS 

Field Office, Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) 

biologists, or Pheasants Forever biologist for further 

guidance.

Fall/Dormant Seeding

Fall/Dormant seedings can take place Nov. 15 through April 

1, or until the freeze/thaw season ends.

» Advantageous to the forb component. Germination 

increases for many forb species if they go through 

freeze/thaw cycles. 

» In diverse forb mixes, seed 0.25 lbs./acre each (4 oz. 

or 1.0 seed/ft2) of Big Bluestem, Indiangrass, and 

Switchgrass. Dormant seedings are not as conducive 

as a spring planting for the tall warm season grasses. 

For spring plantings, use 0.1 lbs. (1.6 oz. or 0.4 seeds/

ft2)to 0.25 lbs. (4 oz. or 1.0 seed/ft2) of each seed, as 

recommended.

» Ideal seedbed is untilled soybean stubble.

» Plant: drill (if ground isn’t frozen) or broadcast seed and 

then roll.

» Don’t broadcast on ice covered ground, snow crusted 

ground, or when snow cover is > than 4”.