Advice on planting corn

Hello,

I have some sweet corn seeds and I was wanting to try my hand at planting corn for the first time. The problem is the packages say they need full sun. The first spot I was thinking of planting the corn is in shade a lot of the day and I am unsure if it gets even a full six hours of sun. The other spot is on a small hill. Well most of that spot is. My regular garden is already full with everything else.

Any help is appreciated.

Thank you.

Reply to
Nate
Loading thread data ...

First of all, how many plants are you considering?

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

There is no rational reason to plant corn. Their yield / area they take up, is very small and they yield less protein than other grains. Their only redeeming virtue is that cooked right after picking and slathered in butter, they are delicious. So welcome to the club. Grow them as you would melons. They need heat, Sun, water, and plenty of nitrogen (fish emulsion every 2 weeks). Plant 3-4 per hill or if you plant in rows, plant 3x3 or, 4x4 ect. Don't just plant 1 row. You'll be asking for pollination problems. Don't plant everything at once unless you use different corn with different days-to-ripeness. Then comes the art form of telling when they are ripe but that is a whole different post. That's the basics but keep learning. Everything in your garden has its' own needs. Get to know them.

- Bill Coloribus gustibus non disputatum (mostly)

Reply to
Bill Rose

Plunk them behind your flowers in full sun. There isn't a choice on amount of light corn needs.

Reply to
betsyb
[...]

[...]

What happened to the old thumbnail in the kernel test? If it spurts, it's ready.

Persephone

Reply to
Persephone

Oh for heaven's sake...you do NOT even need to peel back the husk to know when the corn's ready. Think about it.

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

It would be Persephone.

I understand that there are at least 3 ways in which to pick corn, penetrating it, gawking at it or, groping it. The ol' thumbnail in the kernel ploy is accurate BUT you have to pull its' husk down to do it. If the corn doesn't spurt, then you have to push the husk back up again. It is not such a good deal to try and push the husk back up over the cob to wait for the kernels to swell and spurt, then you have to pull it back down again and if it's still not spurting, push it back up again, besides you now have a point of infection in the ear (of the corn). Then I understand there is the ol' tassel ploy, whereby either when there is hair the corn is ready or, when the hair starts to turn color the corn is ready and, then there is the ol' groping ploy whereby you train your finger tips to slide over the husk, feeling for any hidden swollen or, distended kernels. That last one is to be avoided as it is likely to set off another round of the "Easily Increase Fertility" rapture that recently swept through wrecked gardens.

Of course there is also the pick in the morning vs. the pick just before you cook it controversy.

Actually, growing the corn is the easy part. Picking it is the hard part.

Gardening is really easy if you know what to do and when. Reminds me of the patient who walked into the doctor's office with half a watermelon pushed down over his head, green beans coming out of his ears and carrots coming out of his nose. He asked the doctor what was wrong with him and the doctor said,"Your not eating properly":-)

- Bill

Coloribus gustibus non disputatum (mostly)

Reply to
Bill Rose

Corn is "light hungry"... won't do much in shade, even part shade. The other gotcha is that corn not planted in pretty good sized blocks has to be hand-pollinated to get the kernals to fill. Not tricky, just tedious. And the yield per plant is low.

Unless you've *got* to have some particular corn, or you want it for some sort of demo project, you're probably best off getting it at the local farmer's market or roadside stand. Otherwise, take the hill, and make sure it gets an inch of water a week, especially when the tassels are forming.

Kay

Reply to
Kay Lancaster

This is the straight skinny. So what you need to ask yourself is, do I want to plant corn or not?

- Bill Coloribus gustibus non disputatum (mostly)

Reply to
Bill Rose

No, corn is ready to pick about two days after the racoons get it.

Kay

Reply to
Kay Lancaster

Sometimes two hours!

Reply to
John McWilliams
.

Thank you for the replies so far. Well I have two packages of corn. Peaches &Cream and Silver 'n Gold 65. The Peaches & Cream matues in 85 days the other in 65. Te reaspn why I bought them is I was buying potatoes, onions, tomatoes, sweet andhot peppers, cucumbers, mellons, and a couple other things I am not remembering so I figued that since I am planting a garden much bigger than last year (which was my first "real garden" ) I might as well go ahead and get in over my head a bit more. I have always wanted to know what real fresh corn tasted like grilled or boiled a few minuted after picked.

But I don't want to screw the WHOLE corn thing up. ;)

My garden this year is about twice the size as last year and that is before the corn that isn't even planted yet.

Anyway The original issue was the spot that ha the best sun (at least

7 hours I belive) is on a small slope and I wasn't sure if that is a good spot.

And after reading about the fish emulsion my fiancee' wants to know if dog poop (hehehee) would do as a good alternative as we have two dogs.

So any more input is greatly appreciated.

Reply to
Nate

Relax Nate. You will. Be philosophical and remember the learning curve. At least it will be better than last year.

Forget the pet poop or honey pots (also known as pots de chambre). The poop you want is herbivore, chicken or, even bat poop and that is the straight poop. No doubt aboot it.

Corn and melons have the same needs, so you can plant them together. Corn should be spaced 8" apart, melons 18" apart, so if you leave about a foot clear around the melon in the corn patch, it should work out fine.

Bon appétit (das bedeutet Mahlzeit:-) Anyone going to correct me?

- Bill Coloribus gustibus non disputatum (mostly)

Reply to
Bill Rose

The message

from Bill Rose contains these words:

Sit up straight, Bill, and don't scratch.

Janet.

Reply to
Janet Baraclough

Not this time, Bill, but you're still on probation

Cultural note: As I understand it,"mahlzeit" is used more in Southern Germany. The general usage is "guten appetit".

Persephone

Reply to
Persephone

Genau. Jolly good show.

- Bill

Coloribus gustibus non disputatum (mostly)

Reply to
Bill Rose

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.