"Jim Carlock" wrote:
I've read somewhere that one ear of corn per plant is what
is to be expected. I have found that corn loves alot of sun,
likes a lot of heat, and really does well in direct sunlight and
does not like any kind of shade.
What's the most ears of corn grown off of one plant (seed) ?
I've found that in direct sunlight, a seed planted two weeks
after seeds planted in half-sun/half-shade will fruit earlier than
the earlier planted seeds. Furthermore, I've found that seeds
should be placed at least two feet from another seed. I am
actually leaning towards three feet between the seeds but I'm
reading that wind can damage the corn.
Something to consider... Square Foot gardening deals with this
balance. While giving more ground space to each plant might produce a
second or third cob more consistently you have to measure that against
the total crop when plant closer. The early corn I planted requires 8
inches between plants. In a 4'x4' plot I can fit 6x6 corn or 36
plants. At least 50-75% of my stalks have two cobs. So a 4'x4' at
8inch spacing will give me about 54 cobs(assuming 50% will have 2, 50%
will have 1). If I planted them in 12" squares I would have 16 plants
and to get the same crop of 54 cobs each plant would need to produce
3.375 cobs per plant-just not realistic.
The only speculation would be the size of the cob varying with the
amount of ground--which I would think would also be deteremined by
cultivar planted.
One thing I will have to try next year is deep planting the corn in
little cup-pits. Eight of my stalks were blown over in this weeks
rough weather. Cubed-Foot Gardening suggests planting corn in
bottomless styrofoam cups embedded in the ground. Once the stalk is
taller, remove the cup and fill the dirt in. THe deeper planted stalks
should hold up better in wind. I am concerned about deeper watering
with that method.
15mph winds seem
to have an effect on under than one foot and corn of two feet
is much stronger. And it gets stronger as it grows.
After the corn is harvested, can the stalk be expected to bear
more corn ?
DiGiTAL ViNYL (no email)
Zone 6b/7, Westchester Co, NY, 1 mile off L.I.Sound
2nd year gardener
http://members.aol.com/DigitalVinyl66/Garden2004.html