Corn Progress
 

After the light side dress with 21-0-0, the plants really took off this last week. I guess the tassles are beginning to form and it wont be long before corn is forming. Never having grown corn or have any experience with it, I dont know what to expect. I hope for good pollination. Does each plant only produce 1 ear? And is there anything I can do to help with pollination. A short course in growing corn from one of you experts would be greatly appreciated

They look good! How old are they?

Jackster

Most germinated by 3/21, so roughly 45 days old.

You should get 1 good full ear per plant, and if you feed them heavy, you may get another ear (smaller) to put on.
They will take care of the pollinating on their own,
and you will know when that happens, because you can smell it. I absolutely love the smell of corn pollinating.

Give me fresh picked corn and a big plate full of maters and that's all I need for a meal. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

I am so looking forward to my first ear of corn, hopefully it will end up being one of the bright spots of my garden this year

This stuff is growing fast. Now I can see the tops of an ear coming out on two plants already. And on these two it looks like maybe a second ear is going to form at the next lower node. Am I correct?

Duane,

It's about 21 days to harvest after the silk shows, +/- a day or two depending on the weather.

You can shake pollen into a container and then onto the silks to help germination. You can also save and freeze pollen up to 30 days, or so. Sometimes those second ears don't silk until most, or all, of the pollen is gone.

Gary

I believe it's also time to start watching the ears like a hawk for signs of earworms.

Some folks use a syringe to inject liquid BT directly into the maturing ears. Others drizzle mineral oil into the top of the ear. Still others use rubber bands to tie the top of each ear closed so worms cannot make their way in.

Got the mineral oil today but still not sure when to apply it. How do you know for sure that the corn has pollinated?
In this pic you can see the silk from the second ear on this plant

Duane.........Like you I have never grown corn before this year.....I have approx 30 corn plants.....I have about 12 corn plants that appear to have ears w/ tassles just like your pics above.....Just curious did you have any problems w/ some of your corn plants leaning over like they were going to fall down?......I did, and I just straightened them back upright, and piled more soil to the base of the plant....seemed to work....I also side dressed w/ 21-0-0 at the 1 1/2 foot level.........I believe I have read that when the plant makes ears it is time to side dress again............is this correct??.....I will be closely watching this thread to get advice on getting this beautiful corn crop to the dinner table...Thank you in advance for any advice!!

Hornstrider,

A search for "corn lodging" may be what you're looking for.

Also, for pests...

[URL]http://www.umassvegetable.org/soil_crop_pest_mgt/crops/corn_sweet.html[/URL]

Tormato

I have read the same, side dress again at this point. I also had a problem with my plants leaning quite a bit because of the heavy wind we have had, but like you straightened them up by adding soil around the base of the plant. They are big enough now the wind doesnt seem to effect them anymore. I applied mineral oil on 3 or 4 ears this morning. I also noticed aphids on a couple of the plants, pretty heavy too. I sprayed them with soapy water and then blasted them with the hose to clear them off. Hoping for the best

I live in Hutto Texas on top of a hill....no trees........ the wind is brutal......especially this year....so I suppose you are suggesting mineral oil on the ears??...from a spray bottle, or a cotton swab??....do I coat the tassels also???.Tormato...thanks for the link!

First time ever using the mineral oil so I dont know much about it. I just poked a small hole in the foil cap of the bottle and drizzled a bit of oil right where the silks go into the ear. Hopefully I did it right

Starting to see aphids increase on my corn plants.Any ideas on how to get rid of them?