We are well past the Fourth of July, and a pachyderm would not need protective goggles to stroll among the four (!) surviving corn plants.
"Corn as high as a Boston terrier's eye by the twentieth of July" just doesn't have the same ring to it...
On the other hand, it looks like I'm going to get a second bloom out of the Delphinium, and I'm pretty stoked about that. One of the surviving Nemophila has broken out in bitty pale blue flowers, too.
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...it looks like I'm going to gat a second bloom out of the Delphinium, and I'm pretty stoked about that. One of the surviving Nemophila has broken out in bitty pale blue flowers, too.
How do they taste? ;-)
Tam, did you ever get around to eradicating the striped turds that were ravaging your garden? Or are they waiting for the harvest?
You probably have a nitrogen deficiency in your soil. Corn needs lots of nutrients to thrive. It is very hard on the soil as a result and is why farmers rotate different crops into their corn fields every so often and have to fertilize every year.
It's probably too late to do anything for this year's crop but try adding some nitrogen heavy fertilizer to your garden area next spring before planting.
Tam: a whole bunch of factors contribute to good corn growth. First take the pH of the soil. You can have sufficent nutrients in the soil but they can be 'locked' out by poor pH.
Second, if you know where you're going to plant your sweet corn next year, then pile as much snow on that spot as possible this next winter. It's free nitrogen. Or to paraphrase Erma Bombeck, "The grass is always greener where the snowpile was."
Phosphorus and Potassium are important as well, but not as vital as a good pH and plenty of N for corn. The latter is why I bitch so much on my blog about the price of ammonia this coming fall.
All The Best,
Frank W. James
No alternative fuel funding for you this year, eh?
'Tain't just you either.
My wife put in a half-dozen sweet-corn seeds in the garden and only one of them is more than 2' tall at this point and they've already started to show the tassel.
Oh well, no sweet corn this year. At least the peas are going bonkers.
delphinium is such a grand flower, I'd be happy to have that at the exclusion of pretty much everything else.
Sweet corn in a home garden....
Unless you have lots of space, sun, and fertilizer it's almost a waste of space. Good corn can be had at roadside stands, just get to know one. It pays to be friendly with them, and find out who has actually been to the field and who just found it in a truck someplace.
Around here, I can buy at Amish stands, and actually see the field the corn came from.
Save the garden space for other things... heirloom tomatos, peppers, herbs, squash, etc. Grow what you like to eat.
Frank James is more than correct about soil chemistry... it's everything. But, for the home gardener, there is the magic of 'compost' Learn that one subject and you can have beautiful and productive gardens forever.
I'll be headed that way soon... and I can bring corn if you wish :-)
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