Sweet Corn

[SleepyFarmall]

Planted a patch of sweet corn on May 25 and it looks poor. Low germination rate and still only bout knee-high which is small for eastern WV corn. Planted Gotta have it and Incredible. The stand is low quality compared to what I'm used to so I'm asking if anyone else has experienced it for this year. I used my 44 Farmall BN with cultivators to till. Thanks, Michael

 

[rrlund]

The wife watered the crap out of hers and still got a poor stand. She planted some twice and it took forever and a day to even come up the second time. I guess you can water all you want and it's still not the same as a warm rain. Anybody who doesn't learn something to carry with them from this trying year just ain't paying any attention.

 

[Richard G.]

Two grand daughters have been selling sweetcorn for weeks.
Headed to a big market this morning with a pickup load.
Sell out every time they go.
And sold a bunch here also.
Also have about an acre of watermelons about to come in.
They are learning what farming is about.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Fertilizer?

 

[montidale]

I planted six rows of sweet corn with a two row planter mounted on a Farmall C. Its been really dry here in central Minnesota for the last two years. I have had problems with germination over the years. Until my brother-in-law came over and figured out I was burying the seed too deep. I have a good stand of corn this year. I fertilized it twice with 10 10 10 and watered once or twice a week. my beans took a long time to come up, and my peas never really did germinate. seems like every year some plants do better than the other. Then the next year its the other way around.

 

[NY 986]

Ground around here was fairly cold this spring affecting seed germination. Sweet corn seed is less hardy than field corn seed IMO.

 

[redtom]

I've been trying to use old sweetcorn seed from previous years for a while and it's just not working. After all, I find it hard to believe seed distributors throw all the left over seed away at the end of the year. I think they blend it into next year's. That being said, this year I bought new seed. We've had very droughty conditions in michigan. It came up very slowly and barely grew despite our frequent watering. When it finally rained the last sprouted. I side dressed it with a hoe and some 19-19-19. It's going now but short. I plant the little hairy onion plants too and they literally stood still for a month until rained. I think it's the cold hose water.

 

[grandpa Love]

We planted 10 rows of sweet corn in Alabama. It's all picked and mowed down now. Stalks were short, under 4 ft, but most had 2 nice ears. Odd year. Same seed , from same bag, was much different last year.

 

[grandpa Love]

Let's see a picture of the BN !!

 

[rustyfarmall]

(quoted from post at 04:11:26 07/19/23) Planted a patch of sweet corn on May 25 and it looks poor. Low germination rate and still only bout knee-high which is small for eastern WV corn. Planted Gotta have it and Incredible. The stand is low quality compared to what I'm used to so I'm asking if anyone else has experienced it for this year. I used my 44 Farmall BN with cultivators to till. Thanks, Michael

We gave up on the Incredible variety. 2 years in a row the germination rate was less than 50%. Went to Bodacious this year. Germination was slightly better, but still a long way from being 100%.

 

[Barts Dad]

My brother in law plants his sweet corn in individual plastic coffee cans in early April and sets them out in a three season porch until Decoration Day. Then they are transplanted in his raised garden. He just cuts open the containers places them in a predug hole. He set up a rain barrel this year and had good results. Lot more rain in NE Illinois than SE Wisconsin.

 

[1970-1655]

I planted 3 rows of Peaches and Cream June 1. Less than 1/3 germinated. I checked soil temperature, moisture, ph, everything, before planting. The seller said 98% germination, so I called them with pictures. All I got was I don't know why that happened.

I planted 3 more rows 90' on June 28, using left over seed from 2020, same variety, different seller, and all but 6 germinated. When that got about 3 - 4 tall, skunks dug all but 10 plants up. Most they only clipped the seed off and dropped the stalk. I replanted from the same bag, and it is doing good. This time I sprinkled moth balls about every foot all the way around the patch.

I have a few game cameras around the corn patch and if I see a deer has invaded my sweetcorn, I put an electric fence around it. This is how I know it was skunks.

 

[gab]

My sweet corn and tomatoes are about the best I've had this year. Corn was over my head until an inch of rain and a gust of wind flattened it about ten days ago but it straightened back up pretty good.
The corn is Ambrosia and I think it all came up, the rest of the garden was a disaster.

This is at the top of Illinois.

 

[Jim in LA]

I planted Kandy sweet corn May the third. I did not get to fertilize it, then two big rains a week apart, followed by hot humid days and the grass took over. The corn grew to about three feet high and started tassles in the top and never matured. I managed to plant one 100ft. row of purple hulls and harvested them. I plowed up the garden(1/2 acre fenced) with the intention of starting over and planting the rest of the purple hulls and more squash that I didn't get to plant in May but daily 1 inch plus showers have put that on hold. This has been a wet and windy summer.

 

[parisspringstom]

Planted ambrosia sweet corn at two week intervals starting in mid may. First batch 50 percent germination. Second and third batches 90 percent. 1&2 batches picked. Good corn and made good ears. In southwest Mo.

 

[Turkeyfoot]

I'm pleased that I'm having good luck with mine this year. Getting close to harvest. Got a couple of good rains on it that helped. It's Kandy variety.

It got pretty tall. No fertilizer. I grew beans in that spot last year.

 

[glennster]

obsession 2. peaches and cream first picking today 12 dozen

 

[aFORDable]

Granddaughter has been selling Incredible for 9 years. Just sold 160 dz (baker's) last week. She has orders for 100 + more but the 11.5 inches of rain with 60 mph wind we got last night has laid it flat on the ground. We were going to start pulling it Saturday. It was the second planting. I plant with a 1962 861 Ford with a 2 row 309 Ford planter that I bought and restored 9 years ago. Our last year since she starts college this fall. Sweet corn likes fertilizer (I use 10-10=-10) and side dress with nitrogen when about knee tall. It also likes water but not 11.5 inches in one night. It gets about 8 ft. tall and has excellent yeild. Her customers love Incredible.

 

[r.w.b.]

did anybody ever take soil samples and fertilize to specs? lime is cheep lime is good lime helps fertilizer.
everybpdy pulls or cut the stalks off n feed to animals. it could be your throwing away part of soil nutrients.
good farmer has soil anylised and feeds soil as needed. germ might be factor but lack of nutrients could be a bigger factor. but thats my thought as dad was a fertilizer and lime hauler. it dont take long to see whos on top with fertility

 

[rustyfarmall]

(quoted from post at 02:11:57 07/20/23) did anybody ever take soil samples and fertilize to specs? lime is cheep lime is good lime helps fertilizer.
everybpdy pulls or cut the stalks off n feed to animals. it could be your throwing away part of soil nutrients.
good farmer has soil anylised and feeds soil as needed. germ might be factor but lack of nutrients could be a bigger factor. but thats my thought as dad was a fertilizer and lime hauler. it dont take long to see whos on top with fertility

I am always generous with the 10-10-10 fertilizer on sweet corn, and I applied lime just one year ago. Fertilizer makes no difference if the seed does not germinate.