We've started our own garden for the first time. I'm very excited, but we're worried for our little corns. Here's our concerns: 1) The bottom leaves of many of our corn plants seem to be dying. Is this normal as they grow taller? They were planted 6-7 weeks ago and are between 1 and 2 ft. tall. They get plenty of water 5 days a week usually. 2) Some of the stalks near the base are a reddish color. These tend to be the smaller ones. I read that they may need more or less water or they need to be fertilized. We fertilized for the first time 2 days ago. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this. Thanks! brown bottom leaves ( photo / image / picture from MichaelAndTracey's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from MichaelAndTracey's Garden )
M&T-welcome to the stew from a Stewbie in Wisconsin. We have never had our corn do that before. In the first photo it looks like it's from a lack of water. But then you said that they have been getting watered everyday. Are you watering them or has it rained that much recently? After reading about the watering it might be suffering from to much watering. I usually water my garden once a week. Unless it is really dry. About 1 inch of water a week should be a good place to start. Hope that helps some.
Too much water possibly Thanks, Tooty. That includes rain. I think you're right that they might be getting too much water. Upon further inspection, I'm noticing that the healthier ones seem to be on slightly higher ground. We'll cut back a little and see how it goes.
Reddish stalk problem solved (maybe) So it seems like for the last two days, we've seen the reddish color of the corn stalks start to disappear. We fertilized about 5 days ago and especially today, we've seen less reddish color. Coincidence? Maybe.
When corn is about a foot tall it should be fertilized and watered in well. Your fertilizer will do no good without that. Offhand I would say that it is too much water and too little fertilizer causing the problem. We fertilize when we plant, then again as I said above (side dress) and at about two to three ft. tall we do what is called "laying corn by" which just means turning the soil toward the root and apply ammonium nitrate to the side. As a small gardener you can skip the ammonium nitrate and just apply regular fertilizer and water it in well. Corn is a pretty heavy feeder. Just cut the water down to weekly or 2x weekly if extra dry. And when you water make sure you do at least an inch of water at a time. You can dig down between the plants and feel the soil. If its dry 4 to 6 inches down then its time to water. If moist wait a while. We had a bumper crop of corn this year ! All the rain fell perfectly.
Thanks Mart Thanks, Mart, that information is much appreciated. We'll keep that in mind for next year. At any rate, I'm glad your crop is coming along. Everything else we're growing seems to be doing great. We still have (too many) cucumbers, tomatoes and melons to look forward to.
We got ours out early this year. In Texas we have to plant as early as possible since the summer heat takes a toll on corn. Glad your garden is doing well. I love all the fresh vegetables. Now days you don`t know what you are buying at the stores. I know mine is safe and good for you. If you have excess, just can or freeze it for later. Cucumbers, zuchinni, squash, peppers and onion makes an excellent relish.
You know I just thought,, that reddish color looks awfully natural. What variety corn did you plant? Could bew that's what its supposed to look like.
Hi MichaelandTracey, I just joined this garden site because I was looking for an answer about peeling away old leaves from the bottom of my corn plant and I saw your post and wanted to give you an idea of what the red might be on the corn. I still haven't found my answer but I did find something interesting. I too have the reddish roots on my corn and I found info about Gibberella Stalk Rot. Here is a link. https://www.pioneer.com/home/site/mobil ... stalk-rot/ I too like Mart thought it was natural. This is the first time I am growing anything and corn was my first pick. Hope this helps!
Thank you tranz4md. Good to know this stuff. Welcome to you and to MichaelAndTracey. It's a great learning tool and so much fun to be here.
