This is my very first experience in planting corn and I am very happy with the growth. They are very healthy eventhough they were nearly destroyed during a storm. My Corn Field ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) From what I have seen, corn plants are much taller than what I have. They are less then five feet and the tassles are already growing. Is this normal or will it continue to grow. Branches ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) Is it normal to get sprouts from the base of the plants? All my corns have sprouts from base and some even have 2 sprouts. Does this affect the main plant and quality of the corn ear? Corn ear?? ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) Is this a ear of corn developing or is it branching?? The Dwarf Beans ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) Dwarf Beans ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) I had planted this bean as a companion but it seems that they were being bullied by the corn I guess I just planted them too close. Any advice and comments will be most appreciated. moderator's note: added a more descriptive title to topic
Hello there, KK-- That corn looks very good from here. I will off er some comments for your consideration: Corn Height--Specifically: YOUR corn looks to be a good height to me. There are very many sorts of corn and corn can be quite short to over MY head (I am 6'3" long). The height is determined by the corn sort. Do you recall the name of your corn sort? I assume that the corn that you have planted is "sweetcorn" and not the type used for animal feed, correct? The side shute--That is perfectly normal. My corn has those. These side shutes can also have ears on them. The site of the corn ear-- The third foto has an arrow pointing to a suspected ear site. To be honest, I cannot see well enough to know if it is where an ear will develop. Since the tassels are beginning to form and may soon open, I would expect there to be the beginnings of a cob. The tassels open and begin dropping pollen 2-3 days before the silks emerge from the small ears. I do not see that in the foto in question. As you probably know, it is the silks that the pollen from the tassels fall onto to fertilize the kernels on the cob and cause them so swell. I have also seen "branching" occur further up the stalk on some corn sorts. As I said, I cannot see it well enough in the foto to comment one way or the other. Sprouts-- It is normal to have sprouting low on the stalk and it should not affect corn development. I have that on my own plants and I get very nice ears every year. The Dwarf Beans--It is unfortunate that you tried the companion growing with dwarf beans because dwarf beans will stay bushy and low to the ground and will not climb. Because of their habit, they need full sun to reach their full potential. I would have planted them in a row well to the south or to the north (the object being to get them away from shade) of the corn for an optimal performance. A corn tip--I realize that this bit of advice is too late for this seasons' crop of corn, but I will tell you for the next time you grow corn. For the best results one should plant corn in a square block and not in a single long row or even two long rows. The reason for this is that the corn ear silks become better and more fully pollinated (corn is primarily wind pollinated). If you only have a single long row it is possible that you may have not have the ears properly pollinated and thus have poor cobs to eat. Of course you can have luck and have all wonderful cobs, but the percentages are against you. Please keep us updated with the progress of your garden and it's crops.
Thank you so much for you very detailed comments. Yes you are right they are sweet corns and the third photo, a ear is developing there. I have no luck with the regular pole/French beans so I thought I would try the dwarf stuff forgetting that they will be shielded from the sun by the corn The regular beans that I planted usually yields about 3~5 pods and they just died after that. Goa beans is just as bad for me, I only get 2 small pods the last time I planted it. Guess I have to work harder on the bean department. Thanks for the tip too, due to space limitation I had to plant them in rows. To plant them in a square block, I'll have to change my mini-farm floor plan. Anyway we will see what is the final result is like Thanks again Sojerd, much appreciated.
You are certainly welcome, KK. You know, in that last picture I can see the corn's roots plainly sticking out above ground. I would suggest that you earth-up your plants so that these are covered and stay covered. These shallow roots are the ones that actually take the nourishment from the soil to feed the plant. The corn plant has more roots deeper underground and it is their job to take-up water for the plant's hydration. Further, since the corn plants are producing ears now, I would suggest that you give them plenty of water along with the earthing-up. A little light feeding with an all-purpose fertilizer might help too. From what I can see, your plants are looking very good. I really hope that you have good success with them and look foreword to seeing the piccies of the first harvested ear that you get. I really do like corn. I once had some crab and corn soup at a Chinese restaurant in Manila and enjoyed that so much...sadly it is unknown here in the restaurants. i never eat corn but what I think of the remarkable experience that I had in that restaurant in Manila. It had so many courses that I was quite full by the time that I left. hahaha. At any rate, I was wondering about the diminishing production of your bean crops. You do not plant them in the same place each year do you? I skip at least three years in-between plantings. I also have places where I plant some types of beans every year, but then, I dig out the soil and replace it with fresh soil and compost from a different place (effectively the same as physical crop rotation). I am curious why your beans are not working for you.
Thanks for pointing out about the naked roots, I thought that is natural to provide for more support . OK I am going to have them covered tomorrow with a mixture of 50% of earth and 50% compost mix and I hope that would be enough. I don't use any other kind of fertilizers except for compost from my compost pile. Thanks Sojerd, I'm feeling the same about the corn plants. I will definately post pics when they are harvested. Crab and corn soup sounds great but I have never come across it before but my daughter made "Chinese clam chowder" with corn in it and it tasted real good. You can see how it is prepared here in her blog http://shynn-o-logy.blogspot.com/se...-max=2009-11-17T12:33:00+08:00&max-results=20 Maybe you can try it Before going to the beans, I have some question about the corns. Corn Tassel ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) I think this tassel looks liek it is getting matured,, can I do some hand pollination to the ear? Corn Silk ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) Or should I just cut the tassel and brush it on the silk? From what I googled, I understand that for sweet corn is only 1 ear per plant. Now about the beans, no I did not plant them in the same place but in different places and I also practice crop rotation. Everytime a plant expired, I would dig it out and prepare it for another kind of plant ...... since my bitter gourd is dying from massive "alien attack" I'll plant beans there next with a detail posting for tips and guide Give me a couple of days before I start the post.
Thanks for the link. What a girl you have! hahaha. I enjoyed all the cooking entries. That clam chowder soup looked quite tasty, I must ay. Hand/tassel pollination-- I have done that before but did not notice any improvement. It may help you, however...because your plants are in a row. If you decide to try hand/tassel shaking pollination be sure to use tassels from a different plant than you are pollinating. When I did it, I took one branch of a tassel and just shook it over several ears (with silks) on another plant. It is best to do this on a day when there is little wind and dry. Like I caid, KK--I am not sure that it will improve your harvest. It is worth a try if only to see how much it helps. I think that many corn types only give one good ear of corn per plant, but I usually get two and sometimes three. Perhaps they type of corn has something to do with that. It sounds really good that you practice crop rotation. That is essential in my mind. I am sorry to hear that your bitter gourds are loosing the battle with the "aliens". I shall be looking forward to your next posting with pictures.
Do not cut the tassel off KK just shake them together. Most sweet corn will have between 2 and 4 ears per stalk. Just curious as to why you pull up the beans. Beans are a legume and adds nitrogen to the soil. Why not just turn the vines under for additional fertilizer. Corn stalks if ground or chopped after harvest are also great for keeping the soil loose. We do this with everything from the spring garden. Just plow it under and wait till fall. When the fall rains hit, many of the seeds germinate and grow in our fall garden.
Thanks Sojerd, my daughter is really pleased that you enjoyed her cooking entries. Thanks for the info about your experience with hand/tassel pollination. I will give it a go for insurance and is keeping my fingers crossed that I can get 2 ear of corns per plant. OK I did my homework. Compost Reserve area ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) This is the compost reserve area and it is now empty. Hope those composting in the compost area can be ready when I start on my bean patch. The Mixture ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) The 1:1 mixture of compost and earth. Before dressing ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) Before During Dressing ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) During Done ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) Done, oops!! I thiink I missed a spot there Now comes the hardest part, waiting .................
No, no I am not cutting the tassel off Mart, maybe just a few of the strands and shake it on the silk. The beans are still there, did I confused you? Sorry if I did. Yes I always bury what was growing on the bed when I turn the earth around before planting my next crop Thanks for the concern Mart, really appreciate it.
LOL, Its easy to confuse me on shopping days. You corn looks good after adding the soil. Here in the boonies that is called "laying corn by". Have no idea how it came to be called that. But if you talk to the older gardeners here, that is what the process of adding soil to the roots will be. Just in case you ever get to the southern states.
That earthing-up looks good, KK. That looks like a good compost-soil mix. Good corn is always worth waiting for. You take good pics.
KK, I lost my bitter gourd with an army of army worms! They didn't even tell me we're attacking I wanted to take some pics before they do so. Lol From what I recall corns produce little ears first but they won't develop into big ones... Sjoerd , I will remember that corn tip I've bought some corn seeds to plant too. I've been envious with a grandpa's row of corn who lives nearby.
Good luck with your crop, Blackrose. Sweet corn is one of the most satisfying things to grow in a garden--it's fun to plant, to grow and to eat fresh. What kind of corn seeds did you buy?
Blackrose, sorry to hear that your bitter gourd was attacked without notice by army worms. They sure do play dirty don't they Good luck with your corns and Sojerd tips and comments here are really helpful. Yes I too recommend sweet corns. Just a little update on my sweet corn progress. A beautiful sight ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) Now this is the most pretty sight in the mini-farm. Corn Ears ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) At the moment there is only one plant with multiple ears. Including the side chute of this plant there are 4 ears on this plant. Beanie's Flower ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) The beans have started to flower. I have a question, is there any other way to tell when the corns are ready for harvesting other than peeling them and pinching on the grains? :?:
