Corn Newbie

have never really grown corn. But so many people come to market looking for it, I may try it next year. We had 2 vendors sell it. One had plenty of it but the quality left a lot to be desired. Wormy and slimy near the top where the worms were. Another vendors quality was slightly better but only came for 2 weekends. I've heard that corn isn't very profitable but I've got some spare space where I can plant a couple of blocks. So I'm going to give it a shot. But I need some help.

Can corn be successfully grown organically without the pest issues? What organic preventatives would you recommend?

The only time I've tried to grow corn, my stalks were wispy and the ears never really developed. Part of the reason was location and soil quality which I'll address this time around. But what is the secret to growing a good batch of corn?

I am thinking of adding another 3 raised beds in front of my first gardening area. 2 4x12 beds and 1 4x16. I'll have to order soil. What recommendations would you have as far as getting these new beds ready to plant corn?

Thanks for all the good advice I'm sure I'll get

BB

Hey BB,

My corn actually did ok this year despite the drought. Couple things I can tell you that I learned this year. Corn's a grass and feeds really heavy so make the soil as rich as you can. When I first seeded it I had problems with crows eating the seed. I reseeded and covered it in plastic. That stopped them plus speeded germination.

The worms were really bad. The two things that seem to work are BT (dusted them as the silk appeared and again if it rained) and mineral oil, a few drops applied to the silk as it started turning brown.

Stagger the plantings every couple weeks starting in early April so it doesn't ripen all at once.

Everyone at my farmer's market asked for 'Silver Queen' variety. If you plant different types, don't mix the supersweet with non-supersweet.

I plowed mine under in July and got a second crop in October so assuming we get some rain... you should be able to stagger plantings from April-July and harvest June-October.

I planted 1'x1' in raised beds most people allow more room, especially if the soil isn't very good.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff:

I always appreciate your posts because you are so close to me.

I have Silver Queen seed and a few others. I'm looking forward to trying it this year.

How was your yield?

BB

I ended up with about 1 ear per plant. I think it would have done better but I only watered it about once a week. I didn't know the worm tricks so I ended up with worms in most of the ears. I ended up feeding a lot of it to my chickens.

Jeff

BB, my suggestion is to get yourself a subscription to Organic Gardening magazine. It's not too expensive and has lots of valuable information. Also, check out their website for tons of free information and ideas for growing organically. I've been a subscriber since the late 60's and one of their biggest fans.
http://www.organicgardening.com/

Thanks Rose

I was a subscriber and it stopped coming. I think I missed the renewal.

How is your water situation?

BB

My corn looks great. How do you know if you have a worm problem? Bluck I have two ears coming up on one stalk. My other two stalks are coming up pretty well. We have a cool spell coming through this week so I may lose the plants, but they look really good right now.

Hi BB, My water situation is precarious. Found out yesterday just how precarious when I went on a laundry jag and did three loads in succession. Emptied the well!
It refilled by evening, but there isn't much of a pool of water in there. County water is out at my mailbox so that's my last resort. I've lost several shrubs and ornamentals and got a very stunted crop of onions, among others. We had the lightest of sprinkles over night that was gone before it really got here.
Good luck with your corn next season!

Thanks

I'll send some rainy thought your way

If you are going to grow your own corn for your own use, you should grow the better varieties. Here, deep in PA corn counrty, our roadside grower/sellers advertise Siver Queen, but typically grow Silver King for the late corn crop. Silver Queen/King are beautiful corns, but just do not do it for me. Yet they have the name recognition with the customers.

The corn I grow is almost always one of the supersweets. Indian Summer is a particular favorite. All supersweets to my knowledge need to be planted in warm ground. In cold wet ground they will rot before germinating. I've had mixed results in trials with the triplesweets and tablesweets and have decided to return to the super's

1 ear per plant appears to be typical for many varieties. Ear worms, at least in PA, get worse the later in the season you grow. Early crops here don't see many problems, but later crops can have issues. The variety of corn that you plant can also affect how severe the problem will be. You need ears that have good tip coverage and closure to help resist the worm problems. There is also at least one genetically engineered corn out there that is resistant to ear worms. One of the roadside growers this year grew it with great success. I would not personally grow or eat it, but it is there if you look for it.

Grow your own great corn - it's hard to find to buy the good stuff!

Thanks Krowten.

In addition to the Silver Queen, I have a bi-color called Peaches n Cream and a variety called Earlyglow.

I want to use the seed I have first to make sure I get the cultivation right before buuying new seed.

Seems like the worms are a given though

Seems like the worms are a given though

Well, last year with 8 plantings here I didn't have any worms. Still late plantings are the only ones here to have that problem. Also corn root worm beetles eating up the silks and eating young corn leaves [1 - 3 feet high] can be a problem also later into the season.

The corn I'm growing came from my local co-op. They harvest and sell their seeds. I'm growing my corn in containers because I'm just finding out what I can grow and it's just two of us, so I moved the containers into the greenhouse earlier this week because of the cold weather. It will be in the high 70's this weekend, so out they go again.

But, so far they look great. I was really surprised to see I have two nice ears coming out of one stalk.

I'm actually trying a hydroponic method. The planting medium is peat moss, sand and perlite. And then I mixed together a feed based on a method I'm learning about and they get that once a week. So far, they look healthy and happy.

~Megin

MzzPool:

Let me know how you make out with pests!

BB