I’ve had crappy luck with growing corn. I think a lot of it is just my skill and knowledge about how to care for the plants. Plus weather and critters have been issues. One thing I haven’t considered is the variety…maybe I need something different. I’ve only tried kandy Korn variety. Is there a better (easier) variety?
I’m aware that sweet and super sweet varieties shouldn’t be grown next to each other and I don’t do that. I only grow one type and there are no neighbors with corn. A field of corn is about 200 yards away. Will that be a problem?
Can I get some advice on growing corn and perhaps a good variety to try?
I’ve been growing a small patch that is at most 15x6 feet, or at smallest 10x5 feet. I plant 6 to8 rows. I try to assist pollination by taking the pollen bearing stamens and brushing them on the young silks. It may not be working, part of the problems seem to be the corn doesn’t really fill out the ears or mature. Other problems include the plants will almost always get wind damage some time during the year…they will get blown over.
Then there are the mysterious critters that steal the almost perfectly ripe ears in the night. They climb my 3 foot fence and remove the ears and drag them away.
There are weather problems, hardly any rain last year but I watered…still crappy crop.
I’ve tried 6 years and had one good year, and two poor years, in addition to 3 years of essentially nothing.
You didn’t say where you’re located. which can make a good deal of difference, but
One very good and mostly trouble-free variety is Bodacious which I’ve grown for years with very good results. (Note; the link to a well-known seedhouse is not an endorsement of that particular company. You can find Bodacious seed at most garden centers.) Several years ago when I contracted to grow sweet corn for a local grocery chain, they asked for this one specifically.
A couple of things you might consider… Corn is a heavy nitrogen user. If yours is not producing well, you might want to try side dressing it with some commercial high-nitrogen fertilizer such as ammonium sulfate or urea when the plants are 4-6 inches high. If you’re trying to grow organically, a good layer of compost tilled in at planting time would help.
Corn likes plenty of water, but doesn’t like to have its feet wet all the time. Generally the time to irrigate is when the plants start to show signs of wilt in the heat of the day. I also don’t think hand pollinating is a good idea - you may be defeating your purpose by removing the stamens before they’re at full pollen production. Corn is equipped for self-pollination and generally does a pretty good job. If you do want to assist, it is sufficient to just shake the plant a little when it’s shedding pollen, rather than removing the stamen and rubbing it on the silk. Or, if there’s a bit of breeze, you can just walk between two rows, brushing the stalks as you pass.
SS
I live in southern Wisconsin, which might be important; zone 5.
I might try bodacious as suggested. I just found that I have a package of open pollinated golden bantam. I might try that, though I’m not sure if I can plant it with the se variety. Can I? I guess I wouldn’t expect it to taste as sweet as the others, I like the idea of saving seeds for next year.
So, can I plant these two varieties in close proximity to each other? If I do, can I save seeds from both varieties and plant again next year?, or will the golden bantam work, but the bodacious not work for next year?
Corn is my white garden whale. You’d think it would be a bit easier given that corn is all over the place, from Wisconsin to downstate New York. But aye, she be avoidin’ me since I first started a-growin’. I’m nailing a gold piece to the side of my house; it’s for whatever Doper’s advice leads me to the harvest.
The important thing to know about growing corn is that it is wind pollenated. Many people make the mistake of planting a few long rows of corn. You will get a much better result by planting a block of corn. Instead of a few rows 10 feet long try a square of 10 feet by 10 feet. A bigger block would be better. Corn does not do well in a few narrow rows.
The problem with ears not filling out is a pollination issue. Wind damage is also caused by narrow rows.
I don’t know what your space limitations are but look around and ask yourself where you can plant a big block of corn, rather than a few long rows.
This seems to be a complex matter, but poor results can occur with some types of cross pollination. You’d probably be OK if the two varieties tassel at significantly different times.
The Golden Bantam should be OK if it pollinates at a different time than the hybrid (in general don’t save hybrid seeds, you’ll often end up with inferior produce).
You need to read up on the difference between the newer “supersweet” hybrids (like Kandykorn) in which the sugars do not quickly turn to starch, hence you can pick them when ripe and keep them in the fridge for days unchanged, and the old-fashioned types (like Bantam). If you are going to plant different varieties, make one “early” and one “midseason” and one “late”. Plant corn in big blocks, give them lots of sun, heavy on the fertilizer and water, and either put an electrified wire around your patch when it is ripening, or sleep out in the patch. Coons, possums, and even rats will eat your whole crop otherwise. Everybody loves corn. Yum.
Electric fencing for the “mysterious critters”. One down low (6") off the ground, and another about 4’ high. Raccoons & deer, but my major assailant was cows. That takes more fencing.