Hi, I have about a 200 sq ft garden in my backyard (west suburb of Chicago). Last year, I had corn which yielded a couple dozen ears. Unable to eat all of it, I intended to harvest the cobs by the handful over a week or two. One day after my first harvest (about 6 ears), I went out and saw that the remainder of the corn was eaten by animals; I'm guessing raccoons and/or squirrels. The entire crop was literally destroyed; stalks broken/bent over; every ear eaten; it was like a tornado hit. The funny thing is, none of the corn was ever touched prior to this incident.
So, that brings me to my question. Do cornstalks give off some sort of scent/pheromones that attract animals, after the cobs have been picked off of them? Like I said before, none of my corn was eaten all year, but after I picked a few, the rest were eaten the next day. My only thought is that there is some scent secretion at the point on the stalk where the ear was picked from, hence attracting the animals. If anyone has feedback or info, it would be much appreciated!
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bsinatra24
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rainbowgardener
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Can't really answer your question. The tornado effect would be raccoons, very destructive. When I used to grow corn, my raccoons weren't as polite as yours to wait until I had picked some to start destroying. I expect it is at least partly about ripeness. They don't like corn that is immature, but they would eat it sooner than I would. Many people have reported the experience of monitoring their corn for weeks and telling themselves tomorrow (or in a couple days) it will be perfect, only to come out the next day and find it all gone.
I gave up on growing corn. It seemed like you would have to have some kind of Fort Knox like set up. EVERYBODY loves corn, including deer, birds, squirrels, raccoons, woodchucks, wood rats and pretty much every other kind of varmint. And I had all of them on the property where I was.
I gave up on growing corn. It seemed like you would have to have some kind of Fort Knox like set up. EVERYBODY loves corn, including deer, birds, squirrels, raccoons, woodchucks, wood rats and pretty much every other kind of varmint. And I had all of them on the property where I was.
I agree animals of all kinds seem to check out the garden and will wait for the fruit to be ripe for the picking when they are at their peak and the sweetest or the hottest when it comes to peppers. They will go after unripe fruit though if there is nothing better around and they will leave some things alone if there is more tempting food elsewhere.
I have slugs and snails but they wait until the strawberries are ripe before they chomp into them.
Birds wait until peppers are red but will eat yellow ones if they are small enough, I think they see red better.
I need to pick my tomatoes at first blush or the birds will eat them. They have gone after every large tomato I have grown but the cherries fare better, they still get eaten, they are just more productive. If I have ripe papaya then they might leave the tomatoes alone. If the papaya is not attacked by the birds, then I know it isn't very sweet and I cut the papaya down.
BTW I eat all of my corn by myself. If I can get 47 cornstalks, I average 67 ears. Corn has a small window for picking. Too early and the ears are not full, too late and they are starchy. I harvest all the mature ears at one time while I have the water on the boil. I only leave any ears that are not ready yet. I end up eating corn every day for a week, but they are good. I did try freezing them, but I probably have to cook them a shorter time, they got mushy and well tasted like frozen corn. Fresh corn can be eaten right off the stalk but, to keep them sweeter they need to be cooked off right away before the sugars turn to starch.
I have slugs and snails but they wait until the strawberries are ripe before they chomp into them.
Birds wait until peppers are red but will eat yellow ones if they are small enough, I think they see red better.
I need to pick my tomatoes at first blush or the birds will eat them. They have gone after every large tomato I have grown but the cherries fare better, they still get eaten, they are just more productive. If I have ripe papaya then they might leave the tomatoes alone. If the papaya is not attacked by the birds, then I know it isn't very sweet and I cut the papaya down.
BTW I eat all of my corn by myself. If I can get 47 cornstalks, I average 67 ears. Corn has a small window for picking. Too early and the ears are not full, too late and they are starchy. I harvest all the mature ears at one time while I have the water on the boil. I only leave any ears that are not ready yet. I end up eating corn every day for a week, but they are good. I did try freezing them, but I probably have to cook them a shorter time, they got mushy and well tasted like frozen corn. Fresh corn can be eaten right off the stalk but, to keep them sweeter they need to be cooked off right away before the sugars turn to starch.