Corn help

[dubwise]

Hello folks. I'm growing "Truckers Favorite" & "Hopi Blue" varieties of heirloom corn for the first time this year. They were started in a greenhouse and moved outside about two weeks ago. Currently they are about 24"tall and they were planted in soil mix of fish compost, composted horse manure, perlite and river silt. When they were planted they were side dressed with mexi-bat guano. They seem to love everything right now. Does anyone have any suggestions on feeding? I would like to keep things organic, but if anyone has any helpful suggestions on pests as well...I'm all ears...
get it? I'm all ears. (applause, applause) thanks I'll be here all week.

Anyway, anything helpful is greatly appreciated.

 

[SeaMaiden]

I learned, too late, last year, that corn varieties must be kept separate from each other or they'll cross pollinate. 100' or so should do it. They're nitrogen hogs, but also really need calcium. So you may need a little top-dressing of additional calcium. It seems to me that you should have enough nitrogen given what you're using.

I can't help further, still learning about growing heirloom varieties. I will say that my Hooker's sweet Indian corn was one of the best producers for me.

Are you going to eat it sweet, or let it go for grain and milling? I use mine for making corn meal, though we did have some sweet corn but out here in California sweet corn is just too cheap to buy, doesn't make growing your own for sweet worth it.

My pest problem with the corn was aphids, the ants kept bringing them in.

 

[cravin morehead]

My pest problem with the corn was aphids, the ants kept bringing them in.

i totally agree. last year, here in so cal, my corn got it bad from the aphids. i tried spraying with neem, spinosad, etc, but couldn't keep them down. my corn this year is from ears i buried from last year. i going to try some Tanglefoot around the base of each stalk. hopefully that will keep them ants from farming the aphids on my corn! we'll see....

 

[dubwise]

Thanks so much....very helpful! We have tons of ants around here, and last year the okra seemed to help keep ants away from everything else. I do have some nem oil & will use it as time goes by. Thanks again!

 

[FoCo(No.Co)]

I know we hate using chemicals, but you could put a 'bug barrier' spray around your garden to prevent ants from marching in, that way you dont have to apply anything directly to your crop.

That nasty synthetic shit that people spray around their houses works pretty good.

 

[Zen Master]

I use a simple boric acid (commonly sold as a roach killer)/ sugar water mixture placed in little water bottle caps and various small saucer shaped things to kill ants.

not quite a simple syrup but heavy on the sugar in some hot water then mix in boric acid. I use a 2:1(ish) ratio sugar:boric acid.

place it near the nests and the ants take it back to the colony/nest and it kills em quick and easy. Safe to use around plants too.



I got some "Martian Jewels" corn I'm growing this year. A sweet white corn with a deep purple cob. I just had to try it since I've got some "Alien Dawg" hybrids I'm gonna run soon

 

[cravin morehead]

great tip on the boric acid!! those corn look awesome!!

 

[SeaMaiden]

Have you guys ever heard of glass gem corn? Looks beautiful, I have NO idea how you'd use it (flint, dent, sweet, silage?).

 

[dubwise]

@zenmaster-thanks for the tip...I will get this up tomorrow!
thanks everyone for helping out. I will get some pictures up tomorrow with how well they're doing so far. Please post up any shots of your corn this year!

 

[cravin morehead]

Have you guys ever heard of glass gem corn? Looks beautiful, I have NO idea how you'd use it (flint, dent, sweet, silage?).
__________________
yes i did see that in mrs. babba's garden thread. they are so beautiful that they look fake!! i, too, have no idea how they're used, but i'd grow them just to look at!! heres the pic:

hey dubwise, how they doing?

 

[greenmatter]

if you have a feed store near you alfalfa pellets are about $11 for a 50 pound bag. great source of N among all the other good stuff it does for the soil and LOTS cheaper than buying it from any of the organic fert companies.

 

[LouDog420]

Coons used to always get the corn right before it was ready... Little fuckers did me in a few years and I gave up...

Best of luck, sorry I don't have any helpful tips!

 

[Al Botross]

Yep, looks awesome, could even be used as jewelry. But I contacted this dude and he said it mostly for ground corn but if eaten young freshly pick makes pretty good Eatin Corn. I also ordered $70 worth from the seed preservation charity they mentioned.

The "Martian Jewels" is from seedsavers and i was one of the people who grew it last year and sent it in. its pretty good.

Sea Madien - the pollination issue with corn is only if your going to save the seed, But if you eatin or using it, it is what it is ie. silver queen X Kandy Korn, your eating and tasting Silver Queen, the Kandy Korn traits dont show till next generation.

Second, I'm in an area that grows tons of corn and yes you can get sweet corn 8/$1 Slaughterhouse/ silver queen (ja know wha i mean?)But I do grow much sweet corn anyways - Because nobody grows the Super Super Sweet hybrid commercially that are the Best period.
Having trouble remembering the nomenclature but Last year I grew a SeSVii hybrid that came with instruction to eat with in 5 minutes of harvest as the Sugars broke down so fast in 1 hour it tasted like field corn. But it that 5 minutes, everyone that tasted some last year still say it the sweetest fruit or veg they have EVER tasted. and i think i got it from one of the commercial seed packs with the real pretty art on the packs, not a real picture.

 

[SeaMaiden]

View Image


Yep, looks awesome, could even be used as jewelry. But I contacted this dude and he said it mostly for ground corn but if eaten young freshly pick makes pretty good Eatin Corn. I also ordered $70 worth from the seed preservation charity they mentioned.

The "Martian Jewels" is from seedsavers and i was one of the people who grew it last year and sent it in. its pretty good.

Damn it! I've been waiting TWO YEARS to get somma dat glass gem seed! <grumbles>

Sea Madien - the pollination issue with corn is only if your going to save the seed, But if you eatin or using it, it is what it is ie. silver queen X Kandy Korn, your eating and tasting Silver Queen, the Kandy Korn traits dont show till next generation.

Yes, I save my own seed and have some goals in mind, mostly to find those varieties of heirloom foodstuffs that do well in my particular area. I would like to nativize what I grow (organically, of course).

Second, I'm in an area that grows tons of corn and yes you can get sweet corn 8/$1 Slaughterhouse/ silver queen (ja know wha i mean?)But I do grow much sweet corn anyways - Because nobody grows the Super Super Sweet hybrid commercially that are the Best period.

I've already run out of planting space for my Brassicas, I'm doing Veronica 'fractal' broccoli big this year, never run it before so I'm taking a big gamble. I need to find more space to plant the corn, because the varieties I'm growing are good as both sweet eating corn and as grinding corn for meal. Makes a FANTASTIC cornbread, even if the color is ugly as sin, kind of a greenish-blue, looks a lot like a bruise.

Having trouble remembering the nomenclature but Last year I grew a SeSVii hybrid that came with instruction to eat with in 5 minutes of harvest as the Sugars broke down so fast in 1 hour it tasted like field corn. But it that 5 minutes, everyone that tasted some last year still say it the sweetest fruit or veg they have EVER tasted. and i think i got it from one of the commercial seed packs with the real pretty art on the packs, not a real picture.

I guess you've just gotta eat it on the spot, eh? I do that often, graze my way through the gardens. Arugula is one of my favorites to find, I love that peppery taste, but anything that you can just take off the plant and eat is great, too. If it's that sweet it probably doesn't even need cooking, does it?

 

[Al Botross]

DE for the Ants - FTW!

 

[SeaMaiden]

No, not for the win. I've been using it, they just 'swim' right through it, like it's nothing. They practically take tiny dust baths in it, like tiny, exo-skeletonized chinchillas. In fact, I swear I can hear them laughing as they jump into the clumps, like children playing in autumn leaves.

 

[Al Botross]

no it didnt need cooking, in fact we made some corn/jalapeno salsa al-la Chipotle. and it was outstanding

 

[Al Botross]

really i have two types of ants in my area and they're all dead , look like black pepper in my baking flower


You got those big black hairy back ants up in those foothills?

 

[SeaMaiden]

Oh my God, we have so many different kinds of ants up here. On one hand, I like it a lot better than being overrun by the Argentinian ants that are now pretty much all along California's coast. But on the other hand, ants like carpenter ants almost make me scream like a little girl. We've got two main species that are problematic for me--the black ants that farm the aphids, eat the styrofoam insulation of the house (under the stucco), and the red&black ants that are larger and very aggressive. I can never find the nesting site of the black ants, can always find them for the R&B ants and it's those ones that pretty much scoff at the diatomaceous earth.

We also have something called a velvet ant, black with a red back, and they're supposed to pack a hell of a wallop. Fortunately, though I see them all over the place I haven't yet been dinged. There are also these little teeny tiny ants that move very fast, I call them crazy ants, and they don't seem to do anything except make nests in poorly chosen locations.

The black ants that are so prevalent have also caused shorting out in our main breaker panel and have ruined several outlets, forcing us to replace receptacles and GFCIs much more often than is necessary.

 

[cravin morehead]

just thought id update. so far, my using tanglefoot around the main stalk, down low, on each corn plant has kept the critters off. i have yet to see even an ant on my corn. well i do see a bunch stuck to the tanglefoot though! now im going to try it on other plants too. give it a try, nice and cheap. $5-$8 for enough for years...

try it out...

cm