a newbee

thanks.  that sounds reasonable.  did you stagger the planting so they all didn't mature at the same time?

Play in the dirt

I've grown corn in a 4 by 4 bed.  Four plants to a square.  At first I had a low height chicken wire critter cage on it to keep out my barn cats, birds, and assorted visiting critters. Worked perfectly.  Later on I used chicken wire fencing and horizontally placed cord to keep the stalks from raccoons/deer and keep the stalks upright in windy summer storms. Remember Mels mix is very soft.   Without the horizontal reinforcements all those stalks in the picture blew over a couple times to a 45 degree angle. Then I took Mels advice just like I should have to start with and used horizontally placed cord.
Depending on your return per stalk(one or two ears usually) you'll have to decide yourself if its worth the investment of space and effort.  Freshly prepared minutes from harvesting is quite a treat.  I've been known to nibble from it raw,sweet and tender without even cooking, yes, it's that good!
Here is a pic of my corn from a couple of years ago
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/gallery/Personal-album-of-llama-momma/gina-s101-pic_3011.htm

I have a lot of room in my garden so I space things out more than most gardeners.  I tried to stagger my harvest by planting three different varieties of corn with different maturities.  Planted at the same time.   I was afraid of shading if I staggered the time of planting. 


In 2013 I did not get a single ear due to tassels forming and dropping pollen before the silks were out.  I learned this was due to improper watering and/or fertilizing.  I planted 2 per square in 2013 and decided to plant 1 plant every 10 inches, with 4 rows spaced 12 inches apart.  4 x 4 of Early Sunglow, 4 x 4 of Silver King, 4 x 4 of Silver Queen.  I guess you can't take the row gardener all the way out of me yet. You really can't see any corn from this picture, but they are sprouting.

I agree with Llama Momma, the stalks have a tendency to blow over easily in the MM.  I dug trenches and planted the seeds in a trench.  As the stalks grew, I hilled up the dirt so they would withstand the wind better.  I also put a row of twine about 1 foot off the ground along each row. It did not work 100% but was better than doing nothing. 

Enlarge this imageReduce this image Click to see fullsize

I really like your trenched seed idea.  On the matter of horizontal support my cords were much higher I'm thinking it was placed at approx. the three foot height.  Can't recall if I tied it to 3 or 4 foot tall green metal posts.  I also tied some right to the chicken wire itself.

I tried Quickie corn which is shorter and has shorter cobs, 2 per square.  I tied cording horizontally across the bed at about the 2 ft height.  It kept them from being blown over.  Tho the corn was super sweet and delish, the harvest wasn't worth the space I needed to grow it, IMHO.

i planted for two consecutive years and have not been impressed with the quantity , but sure loved the quality. This this the tipping point where you have two choose, quantity VS quality. If it's quantity I suggest don't waste the space. Somebody else in your area may have better results and can chime in.

Cajun Cappy wrote:A highly successful corn method I have been using for years now is to trade for it.
our garden boxes are small and I have never been satisfied with the corn I got from one of our 4 ft boxes.  I have a friend that has a huge rowed garden he works with a cub tractor.  I have fruit trees and pecan trees and when we plant cucs we go pickle crazy.  he has lots of corn and we have lots of fruit and enjoy canning.  He gave us several bushels of corn some we canned into corn relish, and gave half back to our friend and some still is in or freezer frozen unshucked on the cob.  It is great on the grill.  I think an important seldom mentioned part of small space gardening is the huge advantage of a neighborhood network.  

+!

Aw, Newbies gotta try corn at least once!   I tried 3 times in 2 years and finally got the hang of it. Not going to do it this year because of other things I want to try.

sanderson wrote:Aw, Newbies gotta try corn at least once!    I tried 3 times in 2 years and finally got the hang of it.  Not going to do it this year because of other things I want to try.

I'm with you.

My beds (technically bed, singular is more accurate since it is all connected) was built a few weeks ago b4 discovering the SFG method.  I designed it to conform to the space I had available and it ended up in  the shape of a capital 'E'. The long, left side is approx. 18' x 2'  and the 3 legs are 3.5' x 9'  The 2 areas between the legs of the E are about 3 '  wide and allow me to reach into the garden space.

I have started to build a trellis along the 18' side for pole beans, cukes, sugar snap peas, and what ever else I can squeeze in there.

The 18' side faces the north meaning the sun passes over the bed from the top leg to the bottom leg.

Now that you have a rough idea of the space I'm working in, I have a  corn question.   Any thoughts/suggestions on whether to plant in the top 'leg' of the E or the bottom leg.  My wife is not sure she wants corn anywhere so this may all be a moot point.  Nevertheless, I would still like  the group's input.

Thanks

Forgot to ask about tomato cages.  what has everyone found to be the most useful, adequate size, reasonable cost, etc.?

I would put the corn on the west leg in hopes it can cast shade on the afternoon garden.  Often the late afternoon sun is too harsh, especially for any greens.  So using corn for a bit of shade is helpful. 

What kind of tomatoes are you talking?  Indeterminates you will grow tall or shorter bushier determinates?  I just use the bigger size 3 stake tomato cages from a big box store for determinates and peppers and such.  For indeterminates you can use a trellis or tall cages.  You can buy or make heavy gauge ones that fold flat at the end of the season.

Making cages

good thought on using corn for shade.  actually I lucked out in that the garden will get afternoon shade from some tall river birch trees that grow west of the garden in the front yard.  otherwise, I would be cooked literally and figuratively because mid-late afternoon Florida summer sun is a bear.  in fact, i am curious to see if anything grows in our summer heat ... i may be looking at spring and fall growing seasons.

We are in Cajun country but also are very south like you below the 30th parallel.  With our heat the only thing that seems to do well in our humid summer is or citrus of course but in our garden boxes the only thing that actually thrives through out the summer is okra and peppers.  If ya find anything else let us know.

I'm in coastal N.C. and we can get some pretty hot and humid July and Augusts.  About the only greens I can keep going are kale and chard and shade cloth helps there. 
 I did manage to get some lettuces by planting in cement mixing tubs set on cinder blocks under my river birch tree.  It has enough filtered shade to cool without cutting off all sunlight.  I had 2 tubs and planted them 4 weeks apart.  By the time the first one bolted the second was coming along.  I then replanted the original.   Lots of water and cutting early when small to medium.  Didn't try to do cut and come again because the heat turned them bitter earlier than than I wanted, but I can take slightly bitter greens and could eat them when just turning.

Eggplant can take the heat.

Kay

Cappy,  Do the other plants just try to survive for a couple months in the summer and then perk back up in the fall and produce more?

Kay, 4 tubs planted a week apart. Sounds like something I'm going to try.

Sweet potatoes love the heat and their vines provide a natural mulch to help keep the soil moist.

yolos wrote:Sweet potatoes love the heat and their vines provide a natural mulch to help keep the soil moist.

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