Corn Quandry

[GoDawgs]

So pretty, Rajun! Happy indeed.

I spied the first few seeds up yesterday. I'll have to soak the ground again as it's dry here. The rain we were supposed to get today won't happen. The front is passing through dry.

[Rajun Gardener]

And just like that, something started the war!!!




What a difference in size a few weeks make. You can see the smaller plants on the right where the ground is lower and holds water when it rains hard, I'm guessing the water washed away the nitrogen.







Some are starting to tassle

[GoDawgs]

Wow, your corn is going gangbusters! It's amazing how you look at it one day and before you know it, it's already knee high once it kicks in! Suckin' up that nitrogen!

[Tormato]

Hopefully the silks are right behind.



I once had tassles ready to do their thing, but no ears showing anywhere. So, I gathered the pollen, put it in the freezer, and a month later I took it out and hand pollinated the silks.

[nathan125]

What is your experience with the double row plantings?

I am considering double rows 12in apart and 2 foot space before the next double row starts. Only have enough space to do 2 double rows..... ie 4 rows total.

[GoDawgs]

So far the corn is looking good. No down-side I can see yet to the double row method. After the first side dressing, pulling some soil over the shallow fertilizer furrow kind of created a valley between each double row. Once I couldn't water overhead because the adjacent potato row had to dry out a bit, I hand watered. It turned out that the valley held water nicely, allowing it to slowly sink in. An unexpected plus.



I think I'll go back to 3' spacing between the double rows next year. 4' isn't necessary. Live and learn.

[JRinPA]

Next year I may go to one big growout. The way I have been doing it is to succession plant, three plantings staggered by a couple or three weeks. It is beginning to wear on me...maybe one big crop and then freezing would be better. I do get corn earlier than any local for sale, but it is a lot of work. Last year, only the 2nd set pollinated decently, and that was by hand.

Reading this, I am envious of Rajun's block of 18 doz at once, 7"/2 ft rows. I have two sets in and I should have planted again last week. I went with double rows this year, two parallel double rows for each set, 9"spacing with about 18" in the double and then about 3 ft between the doubles. So that takes 6 rows of garden space. All three sets are in the same patch.

The last time I put three sets of corn at the same spot, the corn came up nice, pollinated almost perfectly, but as I finished picking the first set (8-10 per day for dinner) and began picking the second, squirrels started destroying all the remaining cobs, ripe or not. I had to pick all of set 2 to salvage, and 3 never got a chance to ripen at all. I'd estimate I lost 50% of the potential that year. I suppose that will happen again this year if I don't find a way to protect it.

BTW that was triple rows that came in so well, but I never sidedressed. Just 10-10-10 and raised beds with tons of compost. This year with the double rows I intended to side dress as well, but I don' know if I'll get to it.

Now I have to measure how much space I am using for these 6 double rows and calculate how many possible in one big block of 7"/24".

[Rajun Gardener]

Looking good GoDawgs!!! Hang in there and before you know it you'll have some of these.



Blanched, chilled and resting in the fridge for supper!!! I had to sample a few of raw and cooked, both were DEElicious!!! Is there anything better than fresh off the stalk sweet corn?


I'm not sure if it's the spacing or the crazy, rainy, cloudy weather but these should be bigger. We had rain most of spring and then 2 weeks ago the rain stopped, the sun came out and it's been summertime heat since. Maybe it's a combination of both.

I also noticed the shorter corn had bigger worms in them compared to a few with small worms in the bigger corn.

I know these were just a few early ones but it's been 63 days since I dropped the seeds and 22 days since I noticed tassles on some stalks.

These were just the early ones that were ripe so maybe the others will grow bigger.

[GoDawgs]

Those are some gorgeous ears, Rajun! Ones to be proud of.
Gotta ask... what variety are you growing? I went back to the beginning of this thread and I didn't see you mention it. I'm just gonna guess that it was all those cloudy days that maybe kept the ears shorter? Corn sure does love the sun.

I keep putting the water to mine. It's at Day 40 from seeding right now.

[Rajun Gardener]

I'm growing Peaches-n-Cream and might drop another few rows soon just to see if they survive the bug pressure.

[GoDawgs]

I've never had much success with a second crop. Between bugs and the heat, I guess it's not to be. Plus I could use a break in garden work.

[JRinPA]

GoDawgs did you pick any yet?
Corn Quandry is a good title. Every year. It just takes up so much room in a garden but I want as much as I can get because none of it goes to waste.

My first two double rows are about at half silk. The tassels tops are about my eye level, call it 5-1/2 ft tall. Looks like two cobs forming on each. I am growing "Incredible" this year. Seems to me it has been excellent weather for my setup of raised double rows. We have had heavy rains, but then it clears up the next day instead of lingering high humidity and wetness. Lots of fields here have flooded areas each week. It has been nice not having to water.

This next month of course will make or break it but to me it looks good at this point. There was no way I could see to side dress it the way I have it set up, but I did look into it this year. I was about ready to plant butternut starts in the walking paths, but now I'm thinking maybe I just put them in the doubles of the set that is at half silk already. I was worried about the butternut stealing too much nutrition too soon, but they are just a week old and if those rows are done in 4 weeks...? Last year I planted two hungry 5 week old cantaloupe in one end of a corn block while the corn was still very young. That entire end of the block didn't stay a deep green and never sized up, and was practically a total loss.

I'll take a picture tonight and see what you guys think.

[GoDawgs]

JR, I'm glad you mentioned it! I must be slipping because I picked the first four ears yesterday, didn't take a pic and didn't mention it!

Here's what the Silver Queen looked like eight days ago:



We ate them with lunch yesterday and the kernels need to size up just a bit more but the pollination was perfect and they were right tasty! Maybe another five days. With Silver Queen those silks have to be completely dark when ready and most of the ears are still showing a tinge of gold right where they emerge from the ear.

I side dressed down each side of the double row at the 5 leaf stage and again when tassels started showing.

I've also got Japanese Hulless Popcorn growing (first time for popcorn) in a bed near the Silver Queen. Got the planting timing right as the first tassels are just starting to peek out and the Queen is done pollinating. This pic was 8 days ago too and they're about a foot taller now:



Again, I had some delayed germination here and there so there are plants of different sizes. That's probably going to cause some pollination issues just like it did with the Spring Treat in a bed. This has taught me that when planting in a bed, overseed. Hadn't had that problem before but overseed I will!

[JRinPA]

I certainly ate a lot of silver queen growing up. I've been growing a white supersweet the last three years but this year it will be yellow...I hope I like it. Nobody else here seems to have a color pref. I have always liked white corn better. I see yellow corn and I think it's from the grocery store, from a can, or for feed. Hopefully this Incredible changes my mind.

Upon closer inspection I would estimate only 1/4 have silk showing on that first set. The top cobs are forming 6 or 7 leaves down. I never thought to look at that before. Garlic has me counting leaves.

My first set, I planted every 5" intending to thin if needed. I planted under clear plastic and slit it when some sprouted. I may have slit too early. I had about 75% timely germination, but a few feet with blanks, so I swapped some from thick to thin. Then I put down the thin black bio mulch, punching holes for each sprout as I unrolled it. That was a chore but I'm so glad I did...it does such a great job. Then ag19 hoops over top. I did end up thinning it a bit, but it wasn't until I took the agribon off. The next two sets I planted 9" spacing in the row and double seeded through the heavy woven mulch that you burn holes through with a torch. I still I had a few misses double seeding, less than 5%, but most had two and I thinned to one each. A few fell over with the extra hole space and heavy winds but seem to have recovered. I took the agribon off the third set today. They were pushing the hoops, so about knee high.

Around here all the farm girls say "knee high by the 4th of July" for corn, meaning that everything is going well. My first set was knee high by mid-May when I put out tomatoes.

With the plastic mulch, I'm not sure how I'd side dress. There should be plenty of nutrition since the entire beds are finished compost. It is the nice dark stuff you can see next to the corn where I planted sweet potatoes (Georgia something) a couple weeks back.

This is the first year I did all direct seed for corn, rather than soil block transplants. I think what I want to try next year is a first round of 2-3 week old soil blocks into the ground on the same day as I put the second set into the ground as seed. First, we'll have to see if the 2nd and 3rd sets get hammered by squirrels when the first becomes fully ripe and gives off sweet scent. If that happens again...I don't see a way other than one big block. I'm still looking at ideas to prevent that. I'd love to sit there with a .22 and end those problems in one morning but that would be frowned upon by all the people that buy their corn for $6 a dozen.

[JRinPA]

Direct overseeding two to a hole worked pretty well. As long as you buy a big enough bag of seed and can go through it before it gets too big, seems like the way to go rather than changing up the spacing. I never have anywhere near perfect germination outdoors.



Edited to add: I planted 2"+ deep. The rows were made and smacked down firm with shovel, then I took two 5/16" bolts. One set at 2" with a nut that a made the hole 2" deep, then dropped in the seed, and a second bolt with nut on the end to ram them down. It went pretty quickly. They have stood up very well to high winds.