I’m wondering the ‘when how what and why’s ’ of corn and seeing as you have grown it.. can you pass on your knowledge please?
I have the bed for it ready.. its half a metre wide and 3 mt long..full of goodies ,and seeing as space is at a premium here, how close can I plant it ? I haven’t read the seed packet , but do I direct sow ? When to sow ?
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corn is the tallest plant in the vege garden growing to 2 metres high (sunflowers are a similar height).
corn’s a heavy feeder so its impossible to over fertilise or over water.
it is normally planted in a block because it self fertilises by dropping pollen from the male pinnacle down to the female tassles. fertilisation, and hence full cobs of corn, are best achieved when the corn is planted in a square, because the wind blown pollen cannot escape as easily as when it is planted in single or double rows.
you can sow seeds or seedlings. spacing about 30cm (12”) in both directions. sow when danger of frost is over in spring.
corn is so tall that it sends out aerial roots from the low part of the stalk to wind brace itself. when you see these aerials emerging smoother them in mulch and manure to vastly improve the crop.

Ok, thanks. Thats very helpful. There is one part in that area I can widen to make a block for the corn, I’ll do that tomorrow…that will also free up part of the bed for something else, perhaps capsicums. We can get frosts here as late as mid spring so I’ll be aware of that and shade cloth it when frost is forcast. Is there anything that attacks it?
I’ll get more of the smart mulch for it then too, any excuse to get more of that stuff :)

Happy Potter said:

Ok, thanks. Thats very helpful. There is one part in that area I can widen to make a block for the corn, I’ll do that tomorrow…that will also free up part of the bed for something else, perhaps capsicums. We can get frosts here as late as mid spring so I’ll be aware of that and shade cloth it when frost is forcast. Is there anything that attacks it?
I’ll get more of the smart mulch for it then too, any excuse to get more of that stuff :)

widening the bed to 4’0” (120cm) wide is strongly recommended to give at least 4 rows width.
plant seeds in pots now to maximise growing time – plant seeds in the soil again in november after frost.
the average family can only handle 20 plants at a time. – thus 4 rows wide only 5 rows deep.
2 cobs per plant is normal – some people have recorded up to 16 cobs per plant.

pests.
- birds rip out the seedlings
- most other pests get swept aside by the speed of growth.
- aphids bother the old plants.
the best thing is to have a few spare seedlings for replacement of losses and your fertility of soil will do the rest. HP (sorry if i sound like a robot but i’m trying to be factual)

they need full sun

Nope, you don’t sound robotic.
I couldn’t grow enough corn , we love the stuff and buy bags of frozen cobs fortnightly. They are great for giant sons fridge raiding midnight munchies, he will go for whatever is easiest ‘ hand to mouth’ eating and so leaving alone the other things that I need.

I hope to have a grand crop of corn and grow it every year, great eating fresh and blanching and freezing some. Hubby was rapt when I told him I’ll have a go at growing it.
The feral birds here have never touched any veges I have grown, they are only interested in what the chooks get and their grain. I didn’t need the bird netting I bought for it after all , but it will come in handy for the mini orchard when that fruits.

Happy Potter said:

Nope, you don’t sound robotic.
I couldn’t grow enough corn , we love the stuff and buy bags of frozen cobs fortnightly. They are great for giant sons fridge raiding midnight munchies, he will go for whatever is easiest ‘ hand to mouth’ eating and so leaving alone the other things that I need.

I hope to have a grand crop of corn and grow it every year, great eating fresh and blanching and freezing some. Hubby was rapt when I told him I’ll have a go at growing it.
The feral birds here have never touched any veges I have grown, they are only interested in what the chooks get and their grain. I didn’t need the bird netting I bought for it after all , but it will come in handy for the mini orchard when that fruits.

you guts – you’re worse than me – i always plant too many.
‘supersweet’ are the common and most buttery, sweet, luxurious corn – over 100 seed to the packet.
‘jolly roger’ are the healthiest and tastiest from eden seeds non-hybrid selection.

recipe for 5minute corn:
get large pot of water boiling – RUN to the corn patch and pick no fewer than 12 cobs – RUN back inside stripping the covers and silks as you go – throw naked cobs into boiling water – wait 5 minutes and remove hot cobs onto waiting plates – eat with butter and salt – the only real SWEET corn.

Only two cobs a plant? Wow. I expected more. A friend planted some corn. She had about 9 plants in a 2 foot square; and would have got 2 cobs off each one easily.

What are the issues of planting them closer than the 30cm that you recommend? Is it just food availability?

you guts – you’re worse than me – i always plant too many.
‘supersweet’ are the common and most buttery, sweet, luxurious corn – over 100 seed to the packet.
‘jolly roger’ are the healthiest and tastiest from eden seeds non-hybrid selection.

recipe for 5minute corn:
get large pot of water boiling – RUN to the corn patch and pick no fewer than 12 cobs – RUN back inside stripping the covers and silks as you go – throw naked cobs into boiling water – wait 5 minutes and remove hot cobs onto waiting plates – eat with butter and salt – the only real SWEET corn.

——————————————————————
LOL!
I have an even faster way .. get a couple of those longish flat bread dishes and place melted butter S&P on it ready for the cooked cob, roll and eat. :D

SueBk said:

Only two cobs a plant? Wow. I expected more. A friend planted some corn. She had about 9 plants in a 2 foot square; and would have got 2 cobs off each one easily.

What are the issues of planting them closer than the 30cm that you recommend? Is it just food availability?

how many cobs you get will depend on which variety, how much food and water they get, and how well pollinated they get. closer than 30 cm they will be pushing each other over I think!

SueBk said:

Only two cobs a plant? Wow. I expected more. A friend planted some corn. She had about 9 plants in a 2 foot square; and would have got 2 cobs off each one easily.

What are the issues of planting them closer than the 30cm that you recommend? Is it just food availability?

yep – anything between 20-40cm is normal because noone is measuring their spacing when planting seed. seedlings are placed at about 300 – 400mm apart.
they get side branches (which can also produce cobs) at a low level on the stalk. so if you plant them 10cm apart you will have watering, harvesting, nutrition and probably pest type problems.

and yep – 4 cobs per plant is definitely possible if the water and fertilising can be maintained for say 3 months. be careful though – only big, beautiful, full cobs count and i suspect people are counting the useless empty cobs that form but never fill out.

actually the maths has come back to haunt me.
if there’s a plant on each corner 9 plants will fit into 60×60cm
likewise with a plant on each corner 20 plants will fit into 90× 120cm

they are a good wind break if you want to plant them on the windward side of the vege patch.

dats all for now cya

btw the sugars in fresh corn start deteriorating (taste) 20 minutes after picking. for the ultimate fresh corn taste, eat it straight off the plant. it’s very unlike the starchy/hard kernels when shop bought, for the mentioned reason.

But don’t plant them in a windy area or they tend to fall over – unless you mound up around them and get those extra roots anchoring the stem. Speaking from experience here – driving rain and wind practically wiped out my sweetcorn crop last year- or actually in Jan this year.

cackles said:

But don’t plant them in a windy area or they tend to fall over – unless you mound up around them and get those extra roots anchoring the stem. Speaking from experience here – driving rain and wind practically wiped out my sweetcorn crop last year- or actually in Jan this year.

i would add extra mulch and fertiliser rather than mounding – not sure if there is space to mound and it could damage the roots.
its surprising how many plants in the vege patch do like their stems buried -
corn, toms, peas, carrots, brassicas….. others?

i would add extra mulch and fertiliser rather than mounding – not sure if there is space to mound and it could damage the roots.

========
I agree with that! I should have said pile the mulch around the stems, I suppose although where you do have room, that channels between the plants can hold a bit more water – and I tend to plant mine on ridges because of the heavy compacting soil here – yes short rows for block formation as has been mentioned above to assist wind pollination.

Same thing goes for maize for the chookfood patch but keep it well away from your sweetcorn.

Can add Jerusalem Artichoke and Arrowroot. Not veges but oats & grain sorghum get a stooling effect with mulch around the stems, mentioned here as I grow them in the (poultry and person’s) “food patch” too

Right.. found my seed packets and planted a packet of yates corn ‘ honey sweet’ into seed raising mix and they are in the little hothouse …counted about 100 seeds.

Too late to ask should I have planted that many.. what if they all come up!

Some last questions though.
Can I harvest my own seed from this lot to grow more next year ?
How long will they take to fruit?
Do they need to be planted in the open ? eg: will they rot if planted too near a fence?

Oh and one last question re corn ..fertilizer was mentioned.
Apart from the usual stuff I put on my veg beds , worm wee and different manures, BB, potash and Dynamic Lifter, ( which I add to the beds way before planting btw) what else would I need for corn whilst it is growing?
I think thats all ..got a brain drain now, need food and a hot cuppa.

morning HP
100 seed – mmm- big eaters of corn.

the seed will be up in 2-4 weeks (end august)
by mid october (frost over?) they will be 1’ (30cm) high and ready to plant.
like everything else in melbourne you will be hoping for a xmas harvest.

you can cheat by using cloches (plastic tunnels) to warm the soil and plant the seedlings under in september if you want.

if your soil has had sheep manure just plant into that and then when you see the aerial roots ( probably november?) do your magic top dressing act.

Can I harvest my own seed from this lot to grow more next year ?
How long will they take to fruit?
Do they need to be planted in the open ? eg: will they rot if planted too near a fence?
————————————
no these are hybrids so you can’t use the seed.
don’t worry about the fence – they will take lots of sun and they don’t rot.
you could grow beans up the fence as well because they are companions.

One of my work colleagues swears by horse manure for corn :)

pepe said:

morning HP
100 seed – mmm- big eaters of corn.

the seed will be up in 2-4 weeks (end august)
by mid october (frost over?) they will be 1’ (30cm) high and ready to plant.
like everything else in melbourne you will be hoping for a xmas harvest.

you can cheat by using cloches (plastic tunnels) to warm the soil and plant the seedlings under in september if you want.

if your soil has had sheep manure just plant into that and then when you see the aerial roots ( probably november?) do your magic top dressing act.

Arhh ok. Thanks Pepe you have ben very helpful :D

Usually mid sept frost’s have finished, so I might do the plastic tunnel thing.
Actually thats jogged my memory of my granddad doing similar , he had a long piece of plastic tacked to a fence and rolled it up when not in use.
Yes this bed is full of sheep manure, but I add heaps to the soil beforehand and just mulch when the plants are big enough. I’ll wait till I see aerial roots then.

pepe said:

Can I harvest my own seed from this lot to grow more next year ?
How long will they take to fruit?
Do they need to be planted in the open ? eg: will they rot if planted too near a fence?
————————————
no these are hybrids so you can’t use the seed.
don’t worry about the fence – they will take lots of sun and they don’t rot.
you could grow beans up the fence as well because they are companions.

Well that sucks, where can one get corn to grow on from ?
There were beans planted in this bed last year , but they got hidden underneath rampant pumpkins and didnt grow up high enough to set flowers, I dug them in. The soil is perfect, I can’t wait to see tall corn.

Well that sucks, where can one get corn to grow on from ?

Mailorder! Green Harvest and so on – or local Organic Growers – you only need one lot!

cackles said:

Well that sucks, where can one get corn to grow on from ?

Mailorder! Green Harvest and so on – or local Organic Growers – you only need one lot!

COOL!
Thanks :D

Happy Potter said:

pepe said:

Can I harvest my own seed from this lot to grow more next year ?
How long will they take to fruit?
Do they need to be planted in the open ? eg: will they rot if planted too near a fence?
————————————
no these are hybrids so you can’t use the seed.
don’t worry about the fence – they will take lots of sun and they don’t rot.
you could grow beans up the fence as well because they are companions.

Well that sucks, where can one get corn to grow on from ?
There were beans planted in this bed last year , but they got hidden underneath rampant pumpkins and didnt grow up high enough to set flowers, I dug them in. The soil is perfect, I can’t wait to see tall corn.

most sweet corn seed is hybrid for sweetness, but mail order suppliers like Diggers and Eden Seeds etc. will also sell open pollinated varieties. Corn hybridises readily so if you are growing for seed then you need to make sure you only grow one variety at a time so that it does not become contaminated. You would need to allow one or two of the best cobs to remain on the plant until it dries out.

Yes this bed is full of sheep manure, but I add heaps to the soil beforehand and just mulch when the plants are big enough. I’ll wait till I see aerial roots then.
——————-
i may have given the wrong impression – if you want to mulch heavily as soon as you have planted the corn that’s good. so if you never see the aerial roots that’s fine if they are already under mulch.

the ‘supersweet’ should grow to about your head height or a bit more. at $3 for 100 seed they are ridiculously cheap and more palatable than the hybrids.

and more palatable than the hybrids.
———-
… more palatable than the NON-hybrids – mumble mumble.

That’s really good advice, PePe, in fact this is an excellent thread…

I have LOTS of HP, but due to my limited success with the three sisters (circular) garden last year, I am keen to repeat the process this year (building on my lessons)…we’ll plant the corn closer together this time, and buy a decent packet of bean seeds…no more Mr F*******ll for me…

Oh cool Dinetta, lets hope we both get a bonzer crop :)
Is Mrs F******** seeds no good then ?

I bought yates seeds anyway.
So theres good and bad brands of bought seeds ?

Happy Potter said:

Oh cool Dinetta, lets hope we both get a bonzer crop :)
Is Mrs F******** seeds no good then ?

I bought yates seeds anyway.
So theres good and bad brands of bought seeds ?

I don’t know if there’s “bad” brands of bought seeds…it’s just that Mr F seeds that I bought, have not been consistent germinators…we’re talking of three sowings before success here.

I would expect success with beans and corn as they are big seeds, but also have had no luck with Yates tomatoe seeds except for ONE which was flung off my fingers I think, shot up in the 3 sisters garden about Jan and is still giving me 4 nice big tomatoes a week…

My in-laws, who are market gardeners at Cambooya (now that’s a cold place) have said that they buy their tomatoes as seedlings to transplant…they don’t bother with seeds…

Maybe I don’t have the “knack”????

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

Oh cool Dinetta, lets hope we both get a bonzer crop :)
Is Mrs F******** seeds no good then ?

I bought yates seeds anyway.
So theres good and bad brands of bought seeds ?

I don’t know if there’s “bad” brands of bought seeds…it’s just that Mr F seeds that I bought, have not been consistent germinators…we’re talking of three sowings before success here.

I would expect success with beans and corn as they are big seeds, but also have had no luck with Yates tomatoe seeds except for ONE which was flung off my fingers I think, shot up in the 3 sisters garden about Jan and is still giving me 4 nice big tomatoes a week…

My in-laws, who are market gardeners at Cambooya (now that’s a cold place) have said that they buy their tomatoes as seedlings to transplant…they don’t bother with seeds…

Maybe I don’t have the “knack”????

Hahahaha , love the tomato seedling description. Likewise a tomato thrown into my worm far sprouted a lush escapee and got wonderful fruit off it :)
I might be tempted to get Mrs F corn seeds next time then and see what happens, mind you, I’m still waiting for this lot to show up first lol. Planted a week ago.

I’m still waiting for this lot to show up first lol. Planted a week ago
================================================

Was this roughly a “moon” planting? as in “it’s going to grow upwards so plant it just as the moon is about to enter the waxing phrase”??

I’m still waiting for this lot to show up first lol. Planted a week ago
===================================================

Wait a minute! a week ago? where roughly do you live?!

Dinetta said:

I’m still waiting for this lot to show up first lol. Planted a week ago
================================================

Was this roughly a “moon” planting? as in “it’s going to grow upwards so plant it just as the moon is about to enter the waxing phrase”??

Nope, this was a ‘ bung em in while I have 2 minutes to scratch’ thing. I haven’t followed the moon planting thing, I can’t even make hide nor hair on the chart in the womens weekly about it. Only moon gardening here is when the moons bright enough for me to be able to see in the garden at night :)

Dinetta said:

I’m still waiting for this lot to show up first lol. Planted a week ago
===================================================

Wait a minute! a week ago? where roughly do you live?!

SW Vic, Werribee , between Melb and Geelong. Not as cold as where you are !

Nope, this was a ’ bung em in while I have 2 minutes to scratch’ thing. I haven’t followed the moon planting thing, I can’t even make hide nor hair on the chart in the womens weekly about it. Only moon gardening here is when the moons bright enough for me to be able to see in the garden at night :)
=================================================================

I may have a soul sister here…

The general premise with moon planting, is plant those seeds that are going to grow up when the moon is going to wax (get bigger and brighter over the next couple of weeks).

Plant those seeds that are going to go down (e.g. root vegetables) when the moon is on the wane (getting smaller)…

So up goes to the full moon, and down is when the full moon has passed and it’s heading towards the new moon….

that’s my very simple take…I’ll be soooooo embarrassed if it’s the other way around….

Dinetta said:

The general premise with moon planting, is plant those seeds that are going to grow up when the moon is going to wax (get bigger and brighter over the next couple of weeks).

Plant those seeds that are going to go down (e.g. root vegetables) when the moon is on the wane (getting smaller)…

So up goes to the full moon, and down is when the full moon has passed and it’s heading towards the new moon….

that’s my very simple take…I’ll be soooooo embarrassed if it’s the other way around….

Well that makes it pretty simple ! If thats the case lol.

plant those seeds that are going to grow up when the moon is going to wax (get bigger and brighter over the next couple of weeks).
Plant those seeds that are going to go down (e.g. root vegetables) when the moon is on the wane (getting smaller)
———————
be embarressed – this part is correct tho’.
moon planting is only important when all else is equal.
of the ten most important things in gardening
- THE SUN represents the top five places – it is basically everything because it causes photosynthesis, rain, wind as well as the seasons.
- THE EARTH represents the next two places – because it is the soil, the drainage and the locality.
- YOU are the next two spots on the ladder because you are the knowledge and the effort.
- THE MOON comes in a miserable tenth in its influence IMHO.

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

Oh cool Dinetta, lets hope we both get a bonzer crop :)
Is Mrs F******** seeds no good then ?

I bought yates seeds anyway.
So theres good and bad brands of bought seeds ?

I don’t know if there’s “bad” brands of bought seeds……

Maybe I don’t have the “knack”????

Rumour has it that the seeds sold to retailers for individuals like us are the left overs from those sold to commercial growers who get the best ones. And you cannot be sure they have been stored in optimum conditions either. So many a poor starter gives up thinking they do not have what it takes when it is poor quality seed that is the problem.