Question on Corn

Thu Dec 08, 2011 5:55 pm

A few members may be particularly good for answering this question.

Last year I had a problem with my corn releasing pollen before the silks were out, or out far enough. Not only did my plants seem to get to the pollination stage at different times, but the individual plants timing even seemed to be off. The result was many ears that were not fully developed, some only about 2 or 3 inches of ripe kernels. Any ideas as to why this happened?

I planted 121 stalks in a 11x11 foot square. I was very close to 100% germination I think. Water was about average. I did add blood meal to the soil that year, but I doubt that's what did it. I ended up trying to pollinate a lot of them myself, but it's tough. You all know how easily pollen disperses from a corn tassle as soon as you touch it.

I also planted a little earlier this past year, following the phenological indicators in my area. Everything seemed to sprout in a timely fashion.

Any thoughts? I'd like to avoid the same outcome this year.

Thu Dec 08, 2011 6:10 pm

I would suggest a different variety. Maybe one of the SE types? Which variety did you plant?

Thu Dec 08, 2011 9:50 pm

it was peaches and cream...can't remember if I got it from walmart of Park's

Thu Dec 08, 2011 11:07 pm

Move to Iowa.

After you figure it out let me know.

Eric

Thu Dec 08, 2011 11:31 pm

I have never, ever tasted fresh corn that you pick and rush into a pot of water that's already boiling. It's on my Bucket List !
My question is, as a container gardener, would four corn plants actually produce in a huge tub with good soil, lots of food, plenty of sun and excellent drainage?

Thu Dec 08, 2011 11:47 pm

Corn has shallow roots. They would grow just fine in a large enough container. The trick would be pollination. With only 4 plants, you would almost certainly have to hand pollinate them. It's not incredibly difficult. I think explaining it here would just be confusing. I would recommend searching for a youtube video on it so you can see how it's done.

That being said, the first year I grew corn I didn't know about block planting and grew about 10 or 15 stalks in a straight, overcrowded row. They were the most successful I ever had.

Fri Dec 09, 2011 2:01 am

Corn has shallow roots. They would grow just fine in a large enough container.

Check out this page

Fri Dec 09, 2011 2:30 am

there i am...wrong again....lol, just when you think you know something.

Fri Dec 09, 2011 2:32 am

Corn is a large plant. Its roots will go out 3 feet in all directions and deeper than the plant is tall. It requires room for both roots and sunshine. It also requires heat and carbon-dioxide. A little breeze helps bring the carbon-dioxide. The best advice I can give is to plant in rows 30 inches apart with a plant every foot in the row. You could plant 4 rows in your 11 foot wide area like that and see how it does. 40 plants instead of 121. Remember, corn needs nitrogen and water. I suspect that crowding had as much, or more, of a bearing on the ear size than pollination.

I have had good luck with just two rows of sweet corn 30 inches apart. Corn is wind pollinated and it seems to do fine left alone to do its thing. I do know that crowding corn is a mistake. Many stalks won't even produce an ear if its crowded.

Fri Dec 09, 2011 2:48 am

not to sound contradictory, I know you know your stuff. But I have grown corn for about 5 years now and planted seeds 1ft in each direction every time. Always worked well and I never had a problem with stalks not putting out ears. In fact, I have always gotten 2 ears per stalk. I did add the blood meal, which should have helped with the nitrogen. I don't know. 4 rows, that's not a lot of corn at my house, I'm sure it wouldn't go far at yours either!

I know I read somewhere about how shallow corn roots are. And I figured that was what attributed to them being so easy to pull up. Guess you always have to consider the source and not forget that anyone can make a web page that says anything. And who knows where I read it. Probably somewhere like www.jacklegfarmer.com or something lol.

Nix the container idea up there! It's not gonna be good.

Thanks for the info James. I think I'll go with your first advice first, which was to try a different variety. You are one of the ones I was mainly hoping would chime in on this one for me.

Fri Dec 09, 2011 2:51 am

Fri Dec 09, 2011 3:06 am

it was peaches and cream...can't remember if I got it from walmart of Park's

Peaches and Cream is a good variety. I have tried several SE types and they all seem to do well here. I like the SE types because they last longer on the stalk and also keep well for a week in the refrigerator.

I have just been bumming around some seed catalogs and every page on corn has this: "10-12 inches between plants; 30-36 inches between rows"

You know there is good reason for this statement. It Works!

Fri Dec 09, 2011 3:28 am

not to sound contradictory, I know you know your stuff. But I have grown corn for about 5 years now and planted seeds 1ft in each direction every time. Always worked well and I never had a problem with stalks not putting out ears. In fact, I have always gotten 2 ears per stalk. I did add the blood meal, which should have helped with the nitrogen. I don't know. 4 rows, that's not a lot of corn at my house, I'm sure it wouldn't go far at yours either!

In view of what you say here, it seems hard to explain what happened last season.

I will report that many years ago I decided to try growing a lot of corn in a small space. I took a plot about 20 x 20 and planted densely in rows 15 inches apart. I got some ears on the outer edges, but on the interior of the patch all I got was tall stalks. They did tassel, but no ears formed.

You are right, 4 rows 11 feet long is not enough, but if it gave two good ears per plant that is 80 nice ears. Far better than what you reported. I have the luxury of plenty of space and can plant as much corn as I want. I usually sell some. I plant 32 inches apart and my seeder drops a seed every 9 inches. If I get doubles, I pull one. I always get nice full ears. Since my only experiment with a dense planting didn't work out at all, I steer clear of crowded corn. Is there any way you can devote more room to corn?

Fri Dec 09, 2011 3:35 am

My question is, as a container gardener, would four corn plants actually produce in a huge tub with good soil, lots of food, plenty of sun and excellent drainage?

Deborah, I wish I had the answer to this query. All I can say is, give it a try. That is how we learn. sometimes it doesn't turn out all that well, but now we know. If it did work, you would enjoy that fresh picked corn. Nothing like it.

Fri Dec 09, 2011 1:32 pm

Maybe I can space a little more. I'll have to see how much room I have this year after laying out all of my setup. (BTW the corn is still going to go into the ground) I expanded the potato section quite a bit also.

Maybe part of my problem is worrying too much about it. THe first year I just planted it and left it alone other than watering and weeding. Last year I got so worried about it that I was constantly out there touching and interfering. I'll space em a bit, try to expand the area, leave it alone, and try a better strain of corn. :wink: