Indoor corn

[tanki60o]

I need some information on my indoor corn plant, 2 seedlings, about 12 inches from root to tip of leaf. Never kept plants before. Please tell me what to do to care for them. My main question is, can I use aqaurium water for fertilizer? Dirty aquarium water is very rich in ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. So can it be used for fertilizer, and if so, do I just use it as watering the plant? Also, how often and how much do I water my 12 inch corn?

[AnnaIkona]

Fish tank water is really healthy for veggies. Water the corn with only fish water instead of tap water. Same amount.

BTW : never heard you can grow corn indoors before

[tanki60o]

How much do I water and how often please? Thanks so much for he reply.

[applestar]

If this is corn as in vegetable and not a houseplant called corn plant which is actually a tropical foliage plant, you need to understand that the seedlings might grow to a certain point but is not likely to reach potential as crop bearing plants.

12 inches might sound tall/good, but I wonder if if it is growing tall from lack of light? Outside in the garden, corn is a field crop that need all day direct sun if at all possible, which is not possible to replicate in an average home.

If you are growing these just for fun and experiment, by all means. Tell us what size containers they are growing in right now, and your future plans. What variety corn they are so we know what the ultimate size would be.

As a basic watering tip: (1) You can feel the surface of the soil, and if it feels dry when you poke your finger in to first knuckle, it needs to be watered (2) you can do this with a wooden or bamboo chopstick -- if chopstick comes out dry, then it needs to be watered (3) or you can lift and feel the weight (heft) the container and it will feel light compared to immediately after watering the last time.

When you water, water until the pot drains out of the holes in the bottom, then if this water is not absorbed back by the container within 30 minutes, drain the drip pan so the container doesn't sit in water.

[tanki60o]

Thanks for the reply. It is not a corn plant, it's the corn veggie, but I don't really care if it doesn't grow a veggie. The opening of the pot is about 4 inches. It is inside, but not in direct sunlight. What should I do about my corn veggie like amounts of sunlight and pot size?

BTW This was my science project and it would have been thrown out if I didn't take it home. It was a genetics project to see if we can get a white leaf corn, which our group did but it died because it couldn't do photosynthesis anymore so I took it out.

[rainbowgardener]

To stay happy inside it is going to need the most sun you can give it. If you have a good south facing window you can put it directly in front of, where it will get at least 6 hrs a day of sun, that would be good. Otherwise it may need supplemental lighting, which would be a dedicated lamp for it with fluorescent bulb/tube, just a few inches away.

[applestar]

You'll need to grow each plant in at least a 5 gallon bucket. You might want to try another experiment with "Global bucket" type self watering/sub irrigated planter.

Here's a thread about it if you want to check it out Subject: Self Watering Container and Sub-irrigated Planter

[tanki60o]

Thanks for your replies! I will make sure it gets plenty of sun, and that I drain the plate under the pot. Unfortunately all the reading I did and I can find is on the corn plant, not the corn veggie.