Square foot gardening for Corn?

12 years ago

Is it a good idea to grow corn in a square foot method. I tried doing 2 corn plants per square feet in a pattern that formed a diamond when 4 sq ft connected, and in the middle I planted squash, and zucchini. The corn grew only up to 5-6 ft and formed 0-1 ears of corn, most had 1 ear and the slower growing plants got the light blocked from reaching them so they made no ears. Next year I plan on doing 1 corn per square feet and a pole bean beside it so it can climb up the stalk of the corn. Is this a good idea or will the two plants compete for nutrients too much (I only put blood meal, bone meal and compost at planting no more fertilizing besides a fish emulsion every other week)

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Comments (5)

hellbender
12 years ago
Spacing is way to close. This year I planted Silver Queen at 16 in. on center (honeycomb style) The stalks grew 10 ft tall and and yielded 85 ears from 35 plants.
yolos - 8a Ga. Brooks
12 years ago
Last year I planted 2 stalks per square. All my corn dropped pollen before the silks came out. No corn at all. I learned that this was caused by the corn being stressed. Not enough water and not enough nitrogen as it was growing.

This year I planted 1 stalk every 10 inches which is approx. one per square. I only got 1 ear off most plants but some had two ears. I planted 4 x 4 of early sunglow, 4 x 4 of silver king, and 4 x 4 of silver queen. Kept them well watered and used blood meal twice during the growing season. I had tall healthy plants,
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lynngun
11 years ago
By growing beans up the corn and planting squash or zuccenie you are doing the three sisters growing method practiced by several tribes of Native Amaricans. The squash provides protection from animals and acts as a ground cover keeping weeds down and the soil cool and moist. The beans then climb up the corn and in return provides nitrogen to the soil. Now, I don't think that it is traditionally done with square foot gardening, but you can do it anyway.
I say you plant your beans with the corn. Just be careful not to plant to many beans per corn ( one should be enough, maybe two) otherwise the weight of the beans can bring down the corn; like what happened to me this year.
Enjoy your Garden,
LG.
slowrider
11 years ago
I would let the corn grow for several weeks before planting the beans. That is what I learned from 3 sisters articles. The corn needs the extra sunlight before starting beans or squash.

Good luck and post results.
tripleione
11 years ago
Beans are not going to be enough to supply the nitrogen demands of both plants. In fact, many beans may also need additional nitrogen for optimal growth. They do have nodules that capture nitrogen from the air, but they are terribly inefficient compared to other nitrogen-fixing legumes.

Source: http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_a/A129/

Make sure that you amend the bed well with compost or fertilizer of your choice. I did not provide my corn with any additional nutrients this season, and although I did get a few ears, my plants only grew to 5 ft (supposed to get up to 10 ft) and the ears were tiny and misshapen. I also had the issue that yolos referred to, where the pollen dropped before most of the silks appeared.