Facts about growing Corn

[Gary350]

I wish I had read this before I planted my corn. I have 36" row spacing, seed spacing is 6". I could have gotten 1 more row with 30" row spacing. My problem this year is the trees grow taller every year my corn only gets about 7 hours of full sun. I should have planted my corn a month ago instead of waiting for warmer weather. My corn is a 65 day crop it will mature in late July when temperature is 100 degrees if I had planted a month ago my corn would have matured in 90 degree weather.

Corn will germinate at 50 degrees F. Frost will not damage corn. Corn is not damaged by cold temperatures down to 28 degrees F. Corn is self pollinating by the wind, it will not pollinate below 50 degrees F or above 112 degree F. Corn will not pollinate in very low humidity climate.

An ear of corn averages 800 kernels. A pound of corn consists of approximately 1,300 kernels. 100 bushels of corn produces approximately 7,280,000 kernels. Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and Minnesota account for over 50 percent of the corn grown in the U.S. The "Corn Belt" includes the states of Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas and Kentucky. The USA produces 40% of the worlds corn. There are 92.3 millions acres of corn grown in the USA.

If you mix 1 lb of corn meal with 3 lbs of water, bring it to a boil then add 1 teaspoon of vinegar a chemical reaction takes place all the carbohydrates are converted to sugar in about 10 minutes.

Corn grows best in fertile soil, warm weather, full sun, high soil moisture, high nitrogen soil. The largest crop is produced when corn matures at 85 degrees F.

From planting to harvest takes 55 to 95 days, depending on the variety and, to some extent, the weather.

Recent research at Iowa State University has examined the effect of 15, 30 and 38 inch row spacing on corn grain yields. The results of these studies are summarized in Table 6. Narrowing rows to less than 30 inches showed very small and inconsistent results with the overall effect showing no yield benefit for row spacing less than 30".

Another study show row spacing of 32" produces the best yield, this is a different geographic location.

One test shows 20" rows out yielded 30" rows by 28.5 bushel of corn per acre. With a yield goal of 200 bushel per acre planting 33% more seed gives a yield of 228.5 bushel per acre.

Best Corn seed planting depth 2".

This data is from Tennessee this does not apply to northern states where they have cooler weather.

http://varietytrials.tennessee.edu/weig ... rsions.pdf

[jal_ut]

I have found that corn planted too dense, the inner plants will have no ears. Corn planted to thin the corn will have ears, but the cobs may not get pollinated and the kernels will be spotty. what works here is rows spaced 30 inches and plants 8 inches to a foot in the rows. Plant at least 3 rows.

[Gary350]

I have found that corn planted too dense, the inner plants will have no ears. Corn planted to thin the corn will have ears, but the cobs may not get pollinated and the kernels will be spotty. what works here is rows spaced 30 inches and plants 8 inches to a foot in the rows. Plant at least 3 rows.

I know what you mean corn is a tricky crop from the small garden. Best crop I every planted was about 1980 it was 50'x50' with 32" rows spacing and random seed spacing about 6" to 8" apart, ears were large and full I had to gave 3/4 of it away it was too much corn for us. For years I planted a 20'x20' crop ears were smaller and pollination was less but it was just right for us. This year I have 4 rows I think I will add 1 more row today. Rows are 20' long but too much shade trees are too tall.

[jal_ut]

Over the years, I have planted a lot of varieties, I buy seed from a local seed store. They have been good to only stock ones that do well here. I have came to like "Ambrosia". I plant only that one kind now. To get a spread out harvest, I plant three rows and when the plants are three inches tall plant three more rows, then when that second planting is three inches tall plant three more rows. RE shade: I planted a bunch of trees on the perimeter of the lot when I built the house here on a bare lot. When those things grew up the roots and the shade took out my garden pretty much. I had my logger friend come cut down 8 trees. Oh well, now we have firewood, and can again grow veggies.

Here May 5 is corn planting day. There in TN your weather and conditions are much different. You likely need to plant earlier and find a variety that will do well there. Good luck in your experiments.

[imafan26]

To add to your corn information
Corn is a temperate crop
Tropical corn can be grown year round. They will produce ears on a shorter day.
Corn has a few serious diseases
Stewart's Wilt
Maize mosaic virus
If any of these diseases are present you need to get resistant varieties
Tight husk corn varieties help keep corn earworms damage down
There are different kinds of corn
Fodder corn like dent corn for animal feeds. Most of the corn grown is grown for animal feed
ornamental corn
miniature corn
Corn comes in shades of yellow, white, bicolor, red, purple, multicolored
Sweet corn comes in standard sweet, sugary enhanced, and supersweet varieties
Corn is a heavy nitrogen feeder and yield per square foot is low. It is generally not recommended as a home garden crop if space is limited since a home gardener's limited space can be better put to use with higher yielding crops that take less time and space to grow. However, who doesn't like the taste of fresh corn.

[feldon30]

In a home garden, I pack the corn in. I'll put 3 rows in a 4 foot wide bed. Then I fertilize the heck out of it with 45-0-0 when it's a foot high and again when it's 4 feet high. The 30-36" stuff on the back of the seed packet is targeted towards farmers with hectares of space.

[rainbowgardener]

Yup, I have a 4' x 4' bed with 16 corn plants in it. I haven't grown corn for years, and never this way. So we will just see what happens. It is making tassels now! (YAY!!). If jal-ut is right and some of the plants don't make ears, I still have time to thin out the two more blocks of corn I planted in succession (one set is about six inches high now and the last one is just showing above the ground). I haven't fertilized per se, but it is in very rich soil, growing like crazy and I just gave it its third dose of aerated compost tea.

[jal_ut]

" The 30-36" stuff on the back of the seed packet is targeted towards farmers with hectares of space."

Again I will say if corn is too crowded the inner stalks will have no ears on them. I don't have a clue what to expect in a 4x4 foot bed. Maybe 16 plants will make a go? This sounds like a fun experiment. Please keep us informed?

[rainbowgardener]

Definitely will keep everyone posted! This is an experiment. Like I said, if I find these don't produce very well, I will still have time to thin the next two blocks of corn in succession, so we can see if that helps.

Since people keep talking about "heavy feeders" I did give my corn and tomatoes a little bit of Rose-Tone fertilizer (what I had on hand). Trying to give my crowded corn the best shot. They are making tassels! Is that a sign that they will make ears also, or can they make tassels, but not ears?

[Gary350]

I saw something once online where someone did an experiment with a tiny 5'x5' crop of corn. When corn made tassels they put tarps around the crop to keep the pollen contained. According to the report it made good corn. I use to plant a compact crop of corn every summer 10'x10' crop with rows 12" apart, seed spacing was 6" apart, it made good corn every summer for 20 years.

I planted corn 2 weeks ago nothing is coming up. I carefully dug around in all the rows I can find no plants and no seeds. I hope moles did not eat all the corn. I don't think moles eat corn seeds. Garden soil is still 64 degrees. Soil is still soaking wet 2" down not sure I can till it until it gets dryer we had about 10" of rain in the past 2 weeks. I need to till soil several times in hot sun to warm it up and dry it out. I need more seed.

[rainbowgardener]

Cold wet soil probably rotted your seeds out.

Where in TN are you, that your weather is so different from mine? With the exception of a couple brief mild cold snaps, we have had a warm sunny spring. For some place that gets 50" of rain a year, I have had to water the garden surprisingly often.

My corn is three feet high with tassels.

[applestar]

Moles won't eat corn but if something else like voles are using mole runs, they might have taken advantage.

The corn can develop the tassel and not produce silk and cobs if undernourished, but the tassels will supply extra pollen for the silks that are present and ready on other plants. I'm finding that sometimes, tassels that formed before the silks will be depleted of pollen by the time silks come out and you have to rely on tassels that developed later. My method to even out the seedling with pre-started ones at same height can backfire in this case.

I need my corn to produce this year because I'm trying to grow out some of the hybrid sweet corn crossed with Glass Gem corn and also trying to see if Mirai350Bc can be introduced into the cross-breeding experiment. Actually I'm hoping for a melange with some other varieties, too.

Since I'm packing them in small beds as usual, I decided to opt for Chickity DooDoo fertilizer I spotted at the local Agway, but I've used Plant-tone which is high in nitrogen before -- I think that was last year.

BTW I've been trying to get alfalfa pellets, but somehow, I keep missing out -- the closest feed store next town over closed up. At Agway, I forgot the last time and this time, the answer was "it's coming this afternoon".... Then a customer came in and said she thought there was a man-hunt going on in near-by woods -- sheriffs vehicles at every access and a helicopter hovering over the woods. It was too creepy to go back even if I had the time/energy. Heh.

[rainbowgardener]

RE: "Since I'm packing them in small beds as usual" ... ok, applestar, 'fess up.. what does packing them in small beds mean specifically, how many plants in how many square feet?

Since you have done it before, how has it worked for you? Did all the plants get ears of corn?

[Gary350]

Where in TN are you,

30 miles south of Nashville a town called Murfreesboro TN.

[applestar]

Rainbowgardener, I have a bad habit of continuously trying new things and not sticking to what I know works. Hopefully there is some kind of cumulative wisdom going on in my head.

I have generally had more trouble with incomplete pollination than inadequate growth and ears not forming. By this, what I mean is that corn plants seems to duke it out for themselves and if there isn't enough nutrients, there will be dominant/bullies that will take what they need and leave half-grown runts -- they will make some attempt to silk, but mostly end up with empty baby corn like cobs (which BTW are edible if picked at green stage) These runts are excellent for pollinating silks that form lower down on neighboring stalks.

Here are the maps for this year's corn patches. (I actually meant to respond right away but I went out to measure because I was pretty sure that narrow VGB bed wasn't quite 24 inches -- it turned out to be 20 inches.... But it was so nice outside after a brief shower we had, and still early enough that mosquitoes are rare -- though they did find me -- and I ended up puttering around for about an hour.... )

So the narrow VGB where the inter planted Marrowfat peas have been gaining ground and 4 ft x 4 ft VGA which is currently going full steam with the Asian greens and broccoli, shading the corn starts I planted... But with the upcoming sustained 80's/60's temps, I don't know how much longer the greens and peas will last and they would at the very least flag, while the corn will be loving the extra heat and should take off.



The SFH (Sunflowr House) proper and the Annex are separated by the dark brown path. I'm pretty sure SFH is 12 ft by 8 ft --

...yep here it is -- last time I grew corn there
Subject: NEW PROJECT! -- Extreme PETC : Cilantro, Peas, Fava, CORN...

Well, friends, I might be premature in posting this, but succeed or fail, I thought I'd share with you my this year's experiment.

Designated: Sunflower House. 8'x12' with 24" green wire fence to keep out rabbits
...expanded this year on the east end to accommodate TPS potato transplants. Adjacent to "Haybale Row" this year planted with three varieties of seed potatoes.
Crop succession : last year's Falstaff B. sprouts, leeks, carrots, and cilantro overwintered, some garlic, Egyptian walking onions, garlic chives, clover cover crop
>> early this spring self seeded cilantro, Red Russian kale, double rows of shelling peas and fava beans
>> mid spring 2" mini blocks and 6" pots of corn transplants between existing crops and along center and end rows reserved for the purpose, and some watermelon
>> late spring to be sown melons and runner/pole beans

View from NE corner:


View from East side:




View from South side:


View from West side:




View from NW corner:


- Snow peas on the arch trellis is rapidly finishing up >> melons and beans will be sown in the next few days
- Cilantro have been harvested with several remaining allowed to bolt along with overwintered carrots to attract beneficial insects and for seeds (these can be cut as deemed necessary to make growing room)
- Leeks and garlic have sent up scapes (planning to harvest leeks/thinking to cut off garlic scapes though I think these are elephant garlic)
- Egyptian onion mother plants are growing top sets and starting to fall over
- garlic chives are being harvested
- Shelling peas are being picked every day and when finished will be cut down as mulch
- Fava beans are podding but still small. Tried eating them as edible pods but was not sure if I liked it that way. How long for to mature beans I wonder? Already solidly shading the corn in the north row. I did put up another string at about 3ft height to hold up the favas and keep from leaning/towering over the corn after taking the pic.
- One most vigorous out of four B. sprouts plant was allowed to bloom and go to seed this spring for beneficial insects and for harvesting the seeds. They are almost mature and should be ready to shatter soon, certainy within the next week or so. Then the seed stalks will be cut and entire plant will be lopped at the soil level.
- Most of the corn appear to be doing fine. There are three varieties are planted in three blocks and East-most block of "Orange Squat" was planted first, followed by Howling Mob and then Double Red Sweet in the West-most block.

Two of the watermelon have sprouted, one growing true leaf.
(That carrot will have to go.... )


-- harvesting peas by reaching over the still short corn and between the favas from the north side path: