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I planted sweet corn in the beginning of March. It took 3 weeks or so before it would even sprout. Now it has grown significantly, but still no signs of corn. The tassels are emerging so that is a good sign. Anyone know what my problem could be? I'm thinking fertilizer? I live in Tucson zone 8a and it is over 100* everyday. I have my drip system hooked up to quarter inch soakers and there is a soaker for every row of my garden. It comes on 3 times a day for 15 minutes. I'm thinking I might need to have it come on for 30 minutes instead of 15. Anything else I can do? Also, my corn is very close together. Should I pull some to make room, if so, how much room should be between stalks? Thanks:)
I am thinking cultivar. What did you plant. Once the tassels begin to emerge, the ears follow shortly thereafter. Corn depending on cultivar and fertility needs from 1 -4 square ft per plant. Yours looks healthy but looks like it needs a nitrogen boost. That frequent shallow watering is also very bad because it encourages a very shallow root system. Wher corn needs to be watered, one inch once a week is best. Once it begins tasseling about your only option is the addition of a high nitrogen fertilizer. Preferably a highly soluble quick acting one.
(blush) spoke too soon. Ears of corn appeared this morning. I'll still be adding nitrogen to give my garden a boost though. This Arizona clay is horrible.
I'm not very experienced with corn, but I wonder how much sun your corn is getting? Is the concrete block wall just on one side of a larger patch, or does it shade a good part of the corn growing area?
My corner is actually in a corner. Being in AZ, the sun is too overwhelming, but the proper balance of shade and water can convince things to grow. My garden is in full sun in the morning all the way until about 4 in the afternoon and the shade moves from the wall you see towards the front of the garden. My garden isn't particularly big, maybe 8'x10' or at most, 10'sq.
(please don't mind the pickit fence and umbrella. I had to get creative to provide shade for my more delicate plants)
I read in several Gardening books that corn is NOT self pollinating, and that you should not plant only a single row of corn. It is better to plant a minimum of four rows (if space is limited plant the corn in a small block). These rows beside each other help to cross pollinate the plants. From the photo, it sure looks like the corn is in one single row.
Hope that helps!
I always heard from the old farmers when I was growing up that you had to plant at least 2 rows of corn to get any production. I'm not sure how true that is, but these were people who farmed in the old days when you had to raise your own food if you were going to eat.
How tall is that corn? If it's not about 6' tall you've probably underwatered. It's usually best to water deeply rather than several times shallowly. Drip irrigation is good, but 15 minutes at a time isn't going to be long enough. Unless you have sandy soil? After your irrigator has been on and shut off again, dig down and see how deep the water penetrated. You want water to penetrate to a depth of about 6". If you water shallowly and less frequently, you're actually weakening your plants.
Mulching around your plants will help to conserve even more water, even out conditions for the plants, and help to cool and shade roots.
And finally, watering at night means more water for the plants and less lost to evaporation. This doesn't matter as much if you mulch.
