Corn Quandry - Page 4

JRinPA · July 21, 2019

I'm wishing I had planted a fall set. I don't know how that works, here. We vacuum sealed 55 ears of the first set a few days back. My second set looks ready to pick already. They caught up from a 2 week staggered start. The third set was dropping pollen very nicely yesterday morning. I gathered some on a state park map and hand pollinated 2nd and 3rd ears on the second set, and everything on the 3rd set.

I'm gonna go sow some seed in the raised bed right now. Yesterday, I finally put drip tape in our backyard raised beds. The red beets are about done there. I'm going to stuff a block of this Incredible in there and see what happens.

JRinPA · September 13, 2019

Any else try a fall crop of corn?

How was the popcorn?

Well I went and sowed that day or the next, late July. They looked pretty good until a big blow two night back knocked some over just as they are dropping pollen, and this wet weather came on. I had high confidence of success that has now been downgraded. We'll see how they do this last few weeks. Seems to me pollination works better when dry.

Pic is from the kitchen sink window. West is 90 degrees left from that pic, so some corn blew down to the right. I'm sure the neighbors fence helped some, but the taller block in the back was hardest hit. I put starter fert underneath those seeds + bigger spacing and black mulch and they are a foot taller. The front block I planted between existing beet rows so I couldn't do much on spacing, fertilzer, or mulch.

GoDawgs · September 13, 2019

Looking pretty good, JR! Your corn looks happy. Man, I wish we could get some nice rain like that. Maybe that next tropical system that's trying to form out there will bring some our way. H Dorian sure didn't.

I've tried planting later corn but there's double trouble; heavy insect pressure and heat that is really too much for good growth and pollination. Here's a great link about that: https://cropwatch.unl.edu/how-extend...-pollination-0

I posted about the popcorn with pics on:
http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=49623

Lessons learned! Next spring I will overseed as it's always easier to thin plants than play catch-up reseeding skips.

July 21, 2019	#46
JRinPA Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: SE PA Posts: 972	I'm wishing I had planted a fall set. I don't know how that works, here. We vacuum sealed 55 ears of the first set a few days back. My second set looks ready to pick already. They caught up from a 2 week staggered start. The third set was dropping pollen very nicely yesterday morning. I gathered some on a state park map and hand pollinated 2nd and 3rd ears on the second set, and everything on the 3rd set. I'm gonna go sow some seed in the raised bed right now. Yesterday, I finally put drip tape in our backyard raised beds. The red beets are about done there. I'm going to stuff a block of this Incredible in there and see what happens.

September 13, 2019	#48
GoDawgs Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Augusta area, Georgia, 8a/7b Posts: 1,685	Looking pretty good, JR! Your corn looks happy. Man, I wish we could get some nice rain like that. Maybe that next tropical system that's trying to form out there will bring some our way. H Dorian sure didn't. I've tried planting later corn but there's double trouble; heavy insect pressure and heat that is really too much for good growth and pollination. Here's a great link about that: https://cropwatch.unl.edu/how-extend...-pollination-0 I posted about the popcorn with pics on: http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=49623 Lessons learned! Next spring I will overseed as it's always easier to thin plants than play catch-up reseeding skips.