Growing corn for fall harvest?

[Lindsaylew82]

I'm thinking of interplanting my corn with peanuts! Anyone ever done that?
Anyone growing peanuts at all?

Was perusing (lurking) Google Search and actually found a few varieties tooting earlier dates than Golden Bantum! One of which called Yukon Chief, only grows 3-4 feet high, and makes 4-5 inch cobs. Perfect little girl corn!!! May try it next year. It boasts seed to harvest time at 55 days!!!! And the reviewers seem to back up the claims!

[Taiji]

As Imafan mentioned earlier in this thread, early sunglow is another early variety of about 55 days. I noticed at the big box stores here, that both early sunglow and golden bantam are on the seed shelves. Pretty cheap and easy to come by. You don't have to wait for a mail order.

I haven't grown peanuts. My mom used to a long time ago. I think they take a long time.

[Taiji]

I just made my third planting of corn. I am out of room for now. If some gets freed up later (or I get another section of my circle garden built! ), I will still try another planting.

That's amazing! I only just planted my first a week ago. It goes to show all zone 7's are so not created equal! I think my last average frost is May 5 or 7. Do you know what yours is there in your new location?

[Lindsaylew82]

Corn was here same day, I posted about waiting. There were some other seeds I ordered with the corn, that I unfortunately couldn't get via big box.

Sunglow is a hybrid. While I'm not completely opposed to it, I was hopping to grow an heirloom variety. Golden bantam is an heirloom! So is Yukon Chief, which I may try to start in......AUGUST!!!! Or I may just not waste my $6....IDK. It's perfect kid sized corn. She would be thrilled.

I did a little research on the peanuts, and the corn/peanut combination *is* a common occurrence with larger operation organic corn growers. It was said to both stabilize the stalk's root system, and fix nitrogen.

I'm just wondering now, if the big bags of raw peanuts in the shell at the grocery store have been treated to prevent germination... At $1.00 a bag, I may buy them, shell them, and try them anyway! $1 green mulch!!! Yaaaaaaas! Talked to my mom today, and she said my grandparents would grow peanuts as a cover crop (in this very garden!) in the late summer and fall. She said my Nanny would get into her about eating them raw, because they might would give her a bellyache! I don't remember them growing anything here in the fall except turnips....gross and worthless IMHO...

I am still slightly worried about pollination because the heat tends to get a little intense here by the time these will be silking.

We tilled and raked our little spot tonight after the kids went to bed. 200 seedlings are ready to be poked in the earth by a 4 year old tomorrow. The crows heard us talking about it, and they're waiting!!!

It's gonna be a fun project! And definitely worth the time spent with Big Kid. I love how excited she is about this CORN!

[Taiji]

Oh yes, I forgot, SSE doesn't sell hybrids I don't think.

Here it would be the ravens and the gambel quail, which is why I put screens down til the plants get bigger. Funny, I've never had anything come in and eat the corn off the mature ears. (not yet, shouldn't have said that of course!)

Maybe some raw peanuts untreated from the health store would sprout. When I buy grains to plant for cover crops, that's where I get 'em.

[rainbowgardener]

RE: I think my last average frost is May 5 or 7. Do you know what yours is there in your new location?

Indeed not all zone 7 is equal. It only tells you how cold it gets in the depth of winter. Your elevation makes a big difference. My average last frost here (7b) is around April 1! My average last frost in Cincinnati, zone 6a before I moved was around April 15.

But even last frost doesn't tell the whole story. In Cincinnati, frost might be past, but the weather would still be quite chilly, with lows dipping back down in the thirties unexpectedly for a good while, before the weather finally stabilized. Here we didn't seem to go through nearly as much of that.

[Taiji]

Yes, elevation governs everything out here. It has still been frosting lightly in some spots, even though the thermometer may read in the upper 30's! When the forecast calls for a low of anything around 40, I start to get worried. It depends so much on where you are even within the same zip code around here.

[imafan26]

I have grown bantam corn It is an heirloom but it is not a very sweet corn. It depends on what you are using it for.
I prefer the super sweet corn with longer ears like Silver Queen, and I grow a local variety of corn because it is maize mosaic virus resistant that is bred by the UH that is sweet and can be grown year round here. Both are also tight husk varieties.

Although, it may be too late to order from the catalogs. Consider ordering from them in the future. You will have a lot more choices than what you can get off the shelf. Most of the seeds I ordered were shipped the next day when I ordered on line. When I mailed in my order it took about 2-3 weeks. Do not buy more corn seed than you can use, they do not have a long shelf life so needs to be used by the expiration date or germination drops precipitously. Keep the seeds in the freezer and they will keep a little longer.

If you are concerned about GMO seeds, don't be. No catalog company that sells seeds to the public sells GMO seeds without telling you what you are buying. GMO seeds are usually only sold to farmers that need to sign an agreement not to propagate the plants. The seeds in a catalog for home gardeners generally do not have GMO seeds. More varieties of organic seeds will also be available and by definition cannot be GMO.

[Lindsaylew82]

I put an order online through seed saver's exchange. I'm not really sure what the holdup was....

Annnnnnyway! We just finished planting! Big Kid was perfect! Went to big box to get pool chemicals with my mom and found 2 hybrids. Silver and Gold (63 days), aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand.... Sunglow! We only had enough of the Heirloom for half the allotted space. We have 9 rows X around 45'. I think she'll get at least a few ears! Maybe it'll be as sweet and eager as she is!

[KitchenGardener]

Wow, 9 rows of 45' each? How cool is that! Here is wishing you and your DDs the best, sweetest, quickest petite corn.

[imafan26]

Raw peanuts can be planted but you are better off buying peanuts that are grown for planting. Peanuts are a long crop 100-130 days. Longer than the corn will be up. I don't know about interplanting because corn is a heavy nitrogen feeder. Legumes cover crops need to be infected with the mycorrhizzae bacteria to form nitrogen fixing nodules and the nitrogen is not available until the
cover crop is tilled in and it decomposes. Cowpeas, vetch, and clover are the most common cover crops for nitrogen fixing. Beans are most commonly double cropped with corn. The beans use the corn stalks as poles.

[Lindsaylew82]

If there's one thing I grow without problem it's clover. I don't think mycorrhizal bacteria are lacking here. I've grown plenty of legumes over the years as well. There were plenty of peanuts, and crowder peas grown here for generations. This garden spot has been in use for almost 70 years!

There's definitely enough time to grow and harvest them, here. We usually don't get a frost here until mid October. I was worried about the HEAT killing the pollen from the tassels before the silks could be pollinated. The main reason I was worried about planting late in the season.


Peanuts! They're a pretty neat plant to grow! I do think I'll try it! I won't invest much in the project. No certified fancy pants seed. Going the el cheapo route!!!

[Lindsaylew82]

If you are concerned about GMO seeds, don't be. No catalog company that sells seeds to the public sells GMO seeds without telling you what you are buying. GMO seeds are usually only sold to farmers that need to sign an agreement not to propagate the plants. The seeds in a catalog for home gardeners generally do not have GMO seeds. More varieties of organic seeds will also be available and by definition cannot be GMO.

Ultimately, I am always trying to avoid GMO's, but I tend to lean towards heirlooms because of flavors, biodiversity, and the stories behind them. I try to teach my daughter about the plants' histories. I do grow some hybrids, like Sungold tomatoes, for flavor, so I'm not opposed. I do like to stay on the side of heirlooms though.

Lynn Coulter sums it up best for me...

Heirloom seeds aren’t just about gardening. Throughout the centuries they have been intricately linked with medicine, love, romance, exploration, discovery, and poisons. They have been part of history, science, cooking, literature, fairy tales, genetics, and wildlife. They are wrapped up in farming, travel, state fairs, archeology, philosophy, and so much more. When you plant heirloom seeds remember where they’ve been. Keep them going.

[jal_ut]

Corn is a large plant. It needs room to grow. If planted too close it will have no ears on it. If planted too sparse, the ears will not get pollinated right and the kernels will be spotty on the cob. I always say plant a corn patch. Three rows 12 feet or more long spaced 30 inches with plants 8 to 12 inches apart in the rows works. You can expand on this for as much corn as you may want, but this is a recommended planting style.

[jal_ut]

Corn needs nitrogen for sure. You will have to decide if you will use fertilizer from a bag, but for me a bag of ammonium nitrate spread on the corn patch the day of planting is how I fertilize it.

I always buy my corn seed. I like a variety called "Ambrosia". I make a planting, then when that first is three inches tall make a second planting, then when that second is three inches tall make a third planting. This spreads out the harvest. Here at this high elevation area a fourth planting will never make it.

[jal_ut]

About corn with beans. The way to do that is plant 3 rows of corn, then move over and plant 3 rows of beans. Please none of this beans climbing the corn nonsense!

[Lindsaylew82]

Hey Jim!

I tried that once! It was a hot dang mess!

[jal_ut]

Get it planted. I am going to plant another few rows tomorrow. With a little luck it will be ready about September 1. I like Ambrosia.

[Lindsaylew82]

Planted! 3 large blocks. 9, 40' rows!