2 cobs per stalk

Add plenty of nitrogen at the time of planting, and water well, plant them in a block for good pollination, not a single row.

I would say yes to the chickens but not before the stalks are large or when the ears are forming, havn't done the chicken thing in the garden so can't say for sure.

Either side of the end of the row or either side of each stalk? Corn pollinates by the breeze, or you can hand pollinate.

Can't help with the deer, tin plates sound good though but may be inneffective if they get used to it.

Brendasue

2 cobs?? thats all??? I might have to plant 3 rows of 10 then. Nitrogen from the chicken poop compost should work.

I meant for the sunflowers to be on the end of the rows.

I finally looked it up and have a link. Do you think this is a pretty good guide?

Thanks

Here is a link that might be useful: how to grow corn

Good enough. You can also work coffee grounds int the soil where it'll be planted, mix it good though as the grounds can repel water if not mixed.

Also we form a mound around the base of the stalk, seems to help keep the corn upright during windy days. We only grow a couple blocks though, so it's not a big deal to mound it.

Doesn't Islandmanmitch grow a lot of corn? Maybe he'll have a few more suggestions.
Brendasue

Brendasue you have covered it pretty well, the only thing I might add is corn prefers well drained soil and has deep roots. Corn needs nitrogen and lots of it. I try for a pH of around 6.5 but will take .3 in either direction. I plant when the soil temp exceeds 55 degrees measured at 2" below surface. At about a foot and a half high it gets side dressed.
Now for deer. Buckshot unless you are in a hood then use bow and arrow. Roasted deer goes good with roasted corn.

Great info guys! I want to grow lots of corn this year. It sure does take up a lot of room for what you get!

Runningtrails google the three sisters. It utilizes the wasted space from corn. I didn't do the beans though as I prefer the bush varieties, and I was worried the beans would pull the corn down when the vines grew large.

Brendasue

wow. I looked up 3 sisters and it is a Native American Way so you know that appealed to me. I was a little dismayed about the squash part (yuck) until I saw that pumpkin counts as squash too (yeah). So I have to figure out if I can find a 10x10 plot in my yard that is in FULL sun. I know of one spot but I am 99.9% sure my septic system is there. I can't go tilling around there!!

Thanks all of you for the information. I am hell bent on planting corn (so I can have an excuse to make my scarecrow LOL!!!) and I just have to figure a few more things to plant. I really would like some collards and other things. Any other neat Native American planting techniques you know of?

Here is a link that might be useful: 3 sisters....so interesting!!

That is interesting! I grow squash and beans. I'm afraid of the beans bending the squash down too but I guess if they grew it that way, it must work. Good concept.

the beans would would grow on the corn not the squash. Sounds like you need the three for it to work right.

It was late last night. I meant to say "bending the corn down". lol! Sorry...

I might try that. I read up on it and the pumpkins helps to keep the racoons away from the corn with it's prickly stems and leaves. Interesting.

I'm growing a little coloured corn to sell for decorations with the coloured gourds in the fall. I am going to plant that corn in the back field so it doesn't cross with the stuff in the front. I want to save the coloured corn seed for next year. The yellow eating corn is easy to buy but the coloured seeds are hard to find.

How do you hand pollinate corn?

Yes all three are needed for the most benefit to take place.

Hand pollination is just snipping a tassle & running it along the row of corn, touching tassles as you go, it ensures pollination rather than hoping the wind did a good job & your spacing is adequate. I think it's 100' between varieties to prevent cross-contamination, but I'm not sure I only grow one variety.
Brendasue

Will the tassels pollinate the corn it grows on or does it have to pollinate a different cob. Can I shake each tassel so the pollen falls down on the cob below it and get good pollination?

I am going to hand pollinate a lot of things this year.

I have to plan my planting around the resident groundhog family and racoons that accesses the back garden plot but not the front one by the road. I also plan with the cardboard that I have. Some things I will till between and others I will use cardboard. The tilled rows have to be wide enough for the little tractor. Takes some planning with crop rotation in mind, as well. It's a fun and hopeful thing to do in the winter. Spring is just around the corner!

This year I will plant our potatoes on cardboard and not buried in the soil. We should get potatoes that are clean and easy to just lift off the ground. We'll see how that goes... :-)

Quote: "Will the tassels pollinate the corn it grows on or does it have to pollinate a different cob. Can I shake each tassel so the pollen falls down on the cob below it and get good pollination? "
Too detailed for me. We plant 3 rows 2-3 ft apart & all pollinated naturally. We try for a little work as possible.

What kind of potatoes? We're doing them in the barrels this year, our 2nd year. We did a trial run last year with Yukon, and the yield was horrible. I did some research & learned that Yukon grown in containers will only produce on the bottom (or first) layer of dirt/compost. It will not grow up the plant like others will according to the info I found. Maybe someone can confirm this?

Brendasue

Forgot to mention, we get all the cardboard we could possibly want, and place it between the rows of corn. On top we put the chicken waste, partially composted. It doesn't finish the same year(decompose into the soil), but keeps weeds down & gives a jumpstart on the fertilization for the following season. Just keep it away from the plants as it may still be hot. Works for us.

Brendasue

"Great info guys! I want to grow lots of corn this year. It sure does take up a lot of room for what you get!"

I average about 25,000 stalks per acre. That averages 50,000 ears per acre. Two crops per year averages 100,000 ears per acre.
I plant over 32,000 stalks per acre on some corn.

I guess it depends on how you count it.

wow where was I while all this dialog was going on!

I am going to stick with the 10x10 3 sisters planting method.

Runningtrails, LOL I was wondering what you were talking about (the beans bending the squash). ok so that explains that

I am planting some good sweet corn. no colors here.

I am interested in knowing more about the barrel planting BrendaSue. Never heard of that either.

Mitch: hhhhhhhhhhhhhhh you making me make my brain work here

okay here goes:
28 stalks of corn or 56 cobs
28 bean stalks (how many string beans grown on a stalk??
24 pumpkins

dang what am I going to do with all that corn? I need one of those old corn cobbing machines.

I have heard about the barrel potato planting but also heard that the yield wasn't that great. I have wanted to try it for myself but I don't really need to conserve garden space that much. I just want clean potatoes that I don't have to scrub. Let me know what kind you try this year and how it goes. I've read that you can use tires for that too, stacking them up as the plant grows. I might try it one year just for fun, especially if I decide to put in a lot more corn.

islandmanmitch, I only have 3.5 acres and have lots of other things to plant too.

Cardboard between corn rows is a good idea. I use it on the garden to keep the weeds down too but had planned on tilling between the corn this year. Time is the problem for me. It takes time to slice open and lay out all those boxes but it sure makes for less work!

Misjay2u, you can Google growing potatoes in tires or barrels and get lots of good info.

I froze my corn whole this year, husked and in freezer bags. Does anyone freeze them in the husks? I have heard that they keep well that way and don't need any boiling or other preparation. Do you tie the end of the husk closed? You'd need a lot more freezer space like that but it would be a lot less work.

Yes runningtrails I freeze corn in the husk. You remove the loose husk. I don't tie the husk. I put it in plastic grocery bags. Freeze it in the freezer. To eat. You open the silk end up a little bit. Pour a little bit of water in the opening. Microwave for 3 to 5 minutes for each ear. Pull the husk back and use for a holder. Butter and enjoy.

I froze some corn last year and it freezer burnt. I wound up giving it to the chickens. Admittedly I did not keep them in the husk.

Glad you didn't use the new math or else you'd have lost me!

Well, the barrel method didn't work so well for us last year as I said, we'll be trying again.

We creamed our corn last year & canned it. Quite a bit of work as we didn't have the cobber thingy, but the corn is very good! Plus, it doesn't take up my freezer space so I like that.
Brendasue

oops I mixed up threads and meant for my response to be here rather than on a different thread. Oh well you probably already read it. I found a good link for the potato gardening. Instead of using a bucket they build up with 2x4.s. I really like this one. I guess this falls under sq ft gardening.

So now the plan is a 10x10 corn field with pumpkins and beans, and a potato crop. hmmmmm I might be a country girl before its all over with after all!

And I meant to discuss the potato method here not on the other thread (wish I could erase it from there)

Here is a link that might be useful: potato growing