On 27 Feb, 21:10, Maxim wrote:
I also tried corn, which didnt
prove much of a success, mostly in the later stages, any ideas why?

Maize?
Maize is wind-pollinated [1], and is commercially grown in large
blocks to ensure that the majority of the plants get pollinated. 3 or
4 stems in a garden, with no neighbours planting it, would be
problematic. I can imagine good vegetable growth but no seed set.

There are techniques for hand pollination which can be found on the
web, but they are intended for controlled cross-breeding rather than
forcing a small crop to maturity.

If you want to grow maize, you will need full sun all day - it really
needs that - and a block at least 2.5m square . The plants need to
be about half a metre apart. You need to grow them in pots and plant
them out to avoid pest damage. I've heard of people staking them, but
that wouldn't seem too necessary unless it is extremely windy. They
won't like that anyway.

You can underplant them with salad crops, because they grow very
vertically and there is a lot of bare soil there.


[1] All grasses are wind-pollinated.