Corn Growing

sanderson wrote:Ya'll think I should just give up trying to grow corn while I still have a shred of dignity left?  They stalks did reach 9' tall but pollination was a lot of miss and not much hit.    

Oh no, I really thought this year would be different for you.  Do not give up.  Half the fun is trying to figure out how to grow things in your climate with your growing conditions.  That is definitely a pollination problem.  So all you have to do now is to figure out how to hand pollinate.   Have you tried to hand pollinate?????  If so, how are you doing it.

yolos wrote:

sanderson wrote:Ya'll think I should just give up trying to grow corn while I still have a shred of dignity left?  They stalks did reach 9' tall but pollination was a lot of miss and not much hit.    

Oh no, I really thought this year would be different for you.  Do not give up.  Half the fun is trying to figure out how to grow things in your climate with your growing conditions.  That is definitely a pollination problem.  So all you have to do now is to figure out how to hand pollinate.   Have you tried to hand pollinate?????  If so, how are you doing it.

  

I just went and bought some corn from a local farm. Yikes, 6 cobs cost me $5 Canadian. Maybe I'll try growing some next year. I tried it in the past and found that earwigs love to hide in the cobs and run out when you start taking off the leaves. Yeuk.

sanderson wrote:Ya'll think I should just give up trying to grow corn while I still have a shred of dignity left?  They stalks did reach 9' tall but pollination was a lot of miss and not much hit.   

No, don't give up.  Nine feet is a great size, so you didn't have a fertilizer problem.  Switch over to a square bed rather than the long bed for better pollination. 

I didn't give up, I just kept asking questions and doing research.  I'm still waiting for my Green Oaxacan corn, a field corn.  I'm sure they won't be perfect.  They are starting to topple over and it's not the breeze causing it.  Oh well, something new to research.
R

Years ago when I worked at a government agricultural experimental station in Vineland, Ontario, Canada, we pollinated corn by covering the tassles with a paper bag and shaking the pollen into the bag. Then we covered the silks on a cob with the paper bag. That way the corn was well pollinated and stayed true since it was not cross pollinated from other varieties.

Thank you everyone for the encouraging words. I posted as more of a joke on me trying to grow corn. Unless I get an open bed, I will just retire this endeavor and focus on crops that are every important to me like tomatoes, peppers, herbs, garlic, cucumbers, sweet potatoes and beans. At least I know I can grow 9 foot corn.

One of my Green Oaxacan corn stalks bent over and fell.  I noticed it was leaning over but I didn't do anything about it.  I think the corncob was getting heavy and the stalk couldn't handle it.  It's the first time for me to plant a field corn and I'm learning along the way.  I pulled out the two corncobs and opened them up.  I was surprised that it was not very "Green."



The one in the lower half is the first top corn, it had better pollination, and the one above it was the lower corncob on the cornstalk.  This is an in between stage when it is not mature enough to be collected as a dent corn, notice no dents, and it is past the fresh corn stage.  In all my corn growing experience, I have never ever grown two corncobs in one stalk, but it could be because I didn't fertilize enough.

I decided to cut off the stalks just above the first corncob of the cornstalks remaining that I could reach because more of them are leaning.  I'm still waiting for them to dry out on the stalk.  So far, no creatures have discovered my corn.

Rose, are they supposed to be green?  Are they past prime?  What did they taste like?  I am not a big field corn fan, but some really like the starchy thing...

Roseinarosecity wrote:
  In all my corn growing experience, I have never ever grown two corncobs in one stalk, but it could be because I didn't fertilize enough.

There are several varieties of corn that do produce more than one ear per stalk.  Corn is a heavy feeder and does require a good deal of water too.  From what I have experienced, on the varieties that produce more than one ear per stalk, if they don't have enough water or fertile enough soil, they won't produce as well.  
I have grown an off color corn variety that can be eaten fresh.  It can put on 3 to 6 ears and the stalk is about 3' tall.  I grew 25 plants in a 3' x 4' plot using the Original SFG method.  I didn't have any problem with it pollinating naturally.  

https://www.seedsavers.org/blue-jade-organic-corn

Scorpio Rising wrote:Rose, are they supposed to be green?  Are they past prime?  What did they taste like?  I am not a big field corn fan, but some really like the starchy thing...

They are suppose to be green with some yellow; my seeds were from Baker Creek. Here's Baker Creek's picture:

But reading some of their reviews--and it has a high star review-- it looks like I may need to wait a bit longer for the deeper color, but I don't really know.

Since the stalk bent and it looked like holding it up was not going to help the stalk, I removed them and decided to cook them.  I trimmed them off the cob and simmered for 25 minutes in my tomato-basil sauce; it was a bit chewy but very satisfying.  It kept me full for a long time.  No actual 'corn' taste.  I am growing them to make a green masa.

Interesting!

Scorpio Rising wrote:Interesting!

+1

DorothyG wrote:I have grown an off color corn variety that can be eaten fresh.  It can put on 3 to 6 ears and the stalk is about 3' tall.  I grew 25 plants in a 3' x 4' plot using the Original SFG method.  I didn't have any problem with it pollinating naturally.  

https://www.seedsavers.org/blue-jade-organic-corn

Those Blue Jade Corncobs look great! what size were they, 5 inches each?
R

I harvested all my Oaxacan green corn over a month ago.  I laid them or hung them to dry out.




Then, I ordered two different size corn shellers and waited one month for the corncobs to dry.
One month is today and my husband and I shelled all 41 cobs in 25 minutes.  Here is what I got:



And my bare cobs look like this:



It's odd that some had a red cob and some had a yellow cob.

Now it's time for green tortillas or green tamales.  Wish me luck.

Those are wonderful! Great harvest!

Turan wrote:Those are wonderful!  Great harvest!

+1

Rose, Please post a photo of what ever you make with the flour.

For the first time in my SFG I would to try growing corn this year:

1. The farmers around here grow and sell a lot of Peaches and Cream corn. I would like to try something different and which does not grow too tall.  Suggestions are welcomed.

2. I will use part of my old style SFG 3x6 bed which began as a lasagna bed.  I'm thinking of dedicating a 3x2 (6 squares) to this experiment (at most a 3x3 area). 

3. I will have 4 plants per square and would like to try the Kim method of staggering the planting over a four week period as described earlier in this thread. 

Suggestions, critiques, advice are all welcomed.

@trolleydriver, 

Golden Bantam is an heirloom yellow variety whose introduction in 1902 made yellow corn more popular than white sweet. It's stalks grow between 5 and 6 feet tall. It is recommended for closer than normal planting. When we had a farm, I used to grow it and freeze it on the cob. 
You should be able to buy it off the rack at your local hardware or dollar store.

Last year I grew Golden Bantam and Painted Hill. It was a terrible year for corn, which tells us something about varieties abilities to handle adverse conditions.  G.B. grew at least 6' tall and was finiky about our fickle weather, and died from fall frost before ripening anything (it did have baby cobs at frost).  P. H. handled the weather much better, was shorter and seemed to need less space, and gave me a few ripe ears, enough to taste test and save seed.  I will be only growing P. H. this year.  P. H. is a cross between Painted Mountain (a hardy flour corn) and Luther Hill (a heirloom sweet corn).

That all said, neither is what I would grow for using Kim's system.  For that one needs very fast maturing varieties, especially in our regions. I would try Early Sunglow or Earlivee.  I have had good results growing the Sunglow.  It is hardy, fast and short.

Sounds like a good experiment for the coming year! I look forward to your documentation of the results.

Watching! It sounds like the whole 3'x6' bed would be needed, maybe with 2 planting? This from a woman who has had inconsistent results from Silver Queen.

Now this is the type of chatter that gets me fired up and chomping at the bit to get out there and Grow Something. I have had a desire to grow corn in buckets to have a movable/changeable maize maze. I am going to do it on a smaller scale and with a corn flour variety just to grow corn in a bucket. Never have. Now need to make contact with my horse manure guy and see if he will have enough composted to make this real. I want to make my own tacos from scratch.

Dan in Ct wrote:Now this is the type of chatter that gets me fired up and chomping at the bit to get out there and Grow Something. I have had a desire to grow corn in buckets to have a movable/changeable maize maze. I am going to do it on a smaller scale and with a corn flour variety just to grow corn in a bucket. Never have. Now need to make contact with my horse manure guy and see if he will have enough composted to make this real. I want to make my own tacos from scratch.

Maybe you should consider a dwarf variety for a container, unless you are kidding about a movable maize maze--say that 10 times.  Flour corn may grow to ten feet.  I grew Green Oaxacan corn and it got very tall.  You are right about preparing the soil with manure; its a big nitrogen consumer.
R

I am getting ready to sow my first corn.  The ANSFG book says 4 per square. I bought Strawberry Corn seeds from Baker Creek. This is produces short, 4 foot high plants with small cobs that can be used for popcorn and decoration. The suggested plant spacing is 12 inches (i.e., 1 per square). Should I go with 1 per square or take a chance at 4 per square?

trolleydriver wrote:I am getting ready to sow my first corn.  The ANSFG book says 4 per square. I bought Strawberry Corn seeds from Baker Creek. This is produces short, 4 foot high plants with small cobs that can be used for popcorn and decoration. The suggested plant spacing is 12 inches (i.e., 1 per square). Should I go with 1 per square or take a chance at 4 per square?

I went looking at what others have to say about growing this variety. Most seem to plant at 8" apart to get more than 2 cobs per plant.
Good luck, they are such cute cobs!

I need help.  Living in Southern California where our summer heat last year was a killer, I decided to beat the hot weather by planting a short-season sweet corn, Early Sunglow hybrid.  But Mother Nature is simply not playing along.

I planted in April 23, 2019 all my corn in my raised bed every 6 inches and I fertilize with an organic Neem meal fertilizer.  It has been growing fantastic.  The stalks are exactly like the package said they would grow, 4 feet.

Here's my problem:  the tassels are out, the silks are barely coming out and Mother Nature decides to come in with two days of constant drizzle in the morning.  "June gloom" is natural here in Southern California, well, except on a drought year.  This drizzle is ruining the pollination.  Today I went out to find my tassels with small clumps of pollen on the tassels.  How in the world are my silks going to get pollinated?  It's going to be an overcast day today and the next 3 days.

I would take pictures but we are getting a good drizzle right now.  Is my corn a total loss?