This sorry spectacle presents the results of what started out as a
fairly decent corn patch.

http://s1260.photobucket.com/albums/...ornHarvest.jpg

Even allowing for (a) late cold Spring and (b) my procrastination and
(c) effects of global warming ?, I expected better. The plants looked
very healthy. But in the end, not one had full-filled ears.

Anyone in climates similar to So Calif coastal have a clue?

TIA

HB

On 10/16/12 2:46 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:
This sorry spectacle presents the results of what started out as a
fairly decent corn patch.

http://s1260.photobucket.com/albums/...ornHarvest.jpg

Even allowing for (a) late cold Spring and (b) my procrastination and
(c) effects of global warming ?, I expected better. The plants looked
very healthy. But in the end, not one had full-filled ears.

Anyone in climates similar to So Calif coastal have a clue?

TIA

HB


Did you plant in a single row? Or did you plant in a block with closely
spaced rows?

Your photo looks like what happens when the tassles did not get enough
pollen, which happens when corn is planted in a single row or in
multiple rows with too much separation between the rows.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

On Oct 16, 3:43*pm, "David E. Ross" wrote:
On 10/16/12 2:46 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:

This sorry spectacle presents the results of what started out as a
fairly decent corn patch.

http://s1260.photobucket.com/albums/.../?action=view¤...

Even allowing for (a) late cold Spring and *(b) my procrastination and
(c) effects of global warming ?, I expected better. *The plants looked
very healthy. *But in the end, not one had full-filled ears.

Anyone in climates similar to So Calif coastal have a clue?

TIA

HB

Did you plant in a single row? *Or did you plant in a block with closely
spaced rows?

Your photo looks like what happens when the tassles did not get enough
pollen, which happens when corn is planted in a single row or in
multiple rows with too much separation between the rows.

Thanks for suggestion, but corn was not planted in a single row. The
separation between the rows was quite small -- less than a foot.

Any thoughts from people in other climes?

HB

"Higgs Boson" wrote in message
...
On Oct 16, 3:43 pm, "David E. Ross" wrote:
On 10/16/12 2:46 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:

This sorry spectacle presents the results of what started out as a
fairly decent corn patch.

http://s1260.photobucket.com/albums/.../?action=view¤...

Even allowing for (a) late cold Spring and (b) my procrastination and
(c) effects of global warming ?, I expected better. The plants looked
very healthy. But in the end, not one had full-filled ears.

Anyone in climates similar to So Calif coastal have a clue?

TIA

HB

Did you plant in a single row? Or did you plant in a block with closely
spaced rows?

Your photo looks like what happens when the tassles did not get enough
pollen, which happens when corn is planted in a single row or in
multiple rows with too much separation between the rows.

Thanks for suggestion, but corn was not planted in a single row. The
separation between the rows was quite small -- less than a foot.

Any thoughts from people in other climes?
_________________________________________
Sorry HB but I can't suggest anything even though we too have had similar
crappy crops in the past. When that's happened I've suspected a)
Insufficinet heat and b) perhpas not regular enough watering on my part.
Both of those are suspicions I always have when things fail round here
garden wise.

In article , "Farm1"
wrote:

"Higgs Boson" wrote in message
...
On Oct 16, 3:43 pm, "David E. Ross" wrote:
On 10/16/12 2:46 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:

This sorry spectacle presents the results of what started out as a
fairly decent corn patch.

http://s1260.photobucket.com/albums/.../?action=view¤...

Even allowing for (a) late cold Spring and (b) my procrastination and
(c) effects of global warming ?, I expected better. The plants looked
very healthy. But in the end, not one had full-filled ears.

Anyone in climates similar to So Calif coastal have a clue?

TIA

HB

Did you plant in a single row? Or did you plant in a block with closely
spaced rows?

Your photo looks like what happens when the tassles did not get enough
pollen, which happens when corn is planted in a single row or in
multiple rows with too much separation between the rows.

Thanks for suggestion, but corn was not planted in a single row. The
separation between the rows was quite small -- less than a foot.

Any thoughts from people in other climes?
_________________________________________
Sorry HB but I can't suggest anything even though we too have had similar
crappy crops in the past. When that's happened I've suspected a)
Insufficinet heat and b) perhpas not regular enough watering on my part.
Both of those are suspicions I always have when things fail round here
garden wise.

Next year you could try to facilitate insemination, as with cucurbits.

--
Welcome to the New America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA736oK9FPg
or
E Pluribus Unum
Green Party Nominee Jill Stein & Running Mate, Cheri Honkala
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/7/13/green_party_nominee_jill_stein_running

On Tue, 16 Oct 2012 14:46:17 -0700 (PDT), Higgs Boson wrote:
This sorry spectacle presents the results of what started out as a
fairly decent corn patch.

http://s1260.photobucket.com/albums/...ornHarvest.jpg


Looks like "beercan ear development" to me -- thought to be temperature
stress during V8-12 stages, probably a brief cold shock.

Higgs Boson said:


This sorry spectacle presents the results of what started out as a
fairly decent corn patch.

http://s1260.photobucket.com/albums/ii566/giborah/?
action=view&current=CornHarvest.jpg

Even allowing for (a) late cold Spring and (b) my procrastination and
(c) effects of global warming ?, I expected better. The plants looked
very healthy. But in the end, not one had full-filled ears.

Anyone in climates similar to So Calif coastal have a clue?

Climate not at all similar to So Cal but I did have several of my corn
plantings with similar results this year. In my case, it was likely due
to stressful growing condition: extreme heat and drought. The tassels
browned out quickly and the silks dried out.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

"Yes, swooping is bad."

email valid but not regularly monitored

On Oct 17, 4:35*am, Pat Kiewicz wrote:
Higgs Boson said:

This sorry spectacle presents the results of what started out as a
fairly decent corn patch.

http://s1260.photobucket.com/albums/ii566/giborah/?

action=view&current=CornHarvest.jpg



Even allowing for (a) late cold Spring and *(b) my procrastination and
(c) effects of global warming ?, I expected better. *The plants looked
very healthy. *But in the end, not one had full-filled ears.

Anyone in climates similar to So Calif coastal have a clue?

Climate not at all similar to So Cal but I did have several of my corn
plantings with similar results this year. *In my case, it was likely due
to stressful growing condition: extreme heat and drought. *The tassels
browned out quickly and the silks dried out.

Aha! Maybe extreme heat. We have had, and are still having, episodes
of wildly anomalous (sp) heat in the early "Fall", which may have
shocked the poor things.

Next year, if I am spared -- if we are all spared -- I will plant much
earlier. If, that is, I decide to continue veggie gardening. Am
considering abandoning veggies and just taking care of the
decoratives. We consume so little that even buying good organic
produce is probably more cost-effective than spending all that time
preparing, planting, watering, veggies in hopes of a harvest.
Tomatoes are particularly unhappy here -- I'm not the only home
gardener in this area to report bad vibes.

OK, thanks everybody. It's time to have a word with the watermelon
vines that are still under the impression that this is mid-summer...(:

HB

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

"Yes, swooping is bad."

email valid but not regularly monitored

On 10/17/12 7:56 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:
On Oct 17, 4:35 am, Pat Kiewicz wrote:
Higgs Boson said:

This sorry spectacle presents the results of what started out as a
fairly decent corn patch.

http://s1260.photobucket.com/albums/ii566/giborah/?

action=view&current=CornHarvest.jpg



Even allowing for (a) late cold Spring and (b) my procrastination and
(c) effects of global warming ?, I expected better. The plants looked
very healthy. But in the end, not one had full-filled ears.

Anyone in climates similar to So Calif coastal have a clue?

Climate not at all similar to So Cal but I did have several of my corn
plantings with similar results this year. In my case, it was likely due
to stressful growing condition: extreme heat and drought. The tassels
browned out quickly and the silks dried out.

Aha! Maybe extreme heat. We have had, and are still having, episodes
of wildly anomalous (sp) heat in the early "Fall", which may have
shocked the poor things.

Next year, if I am spared -- if we are all spared -- I will plant much
earlier. If, that is, I decide to continue veggie gardening. Am
considering abandoning veggies and just taking care of the
decoratives. We consume so little that even buying good organic
produce is probably more cost-effective than spending all that time
preparing, planting, watering, veggies in hopes of a harvest.
Tomatoes are particularly unhappy here -- I'm not the only home
gardener in this area to report bad vibes.

OK, thanks everybody. It's time to have a word with the watermelon
vines that are still under the impression that this is mid-summer...(:

HB

Have you considered perennial vegetables? They can be integrated with
your ornamentals.

I have a clump of artichokes growing as an accent in my back lawn. We
get a few edible artichoke buds in the spring. In your coastal area,
they should actually do much better than in my inland area.

I also have asparagus in the back of one of my beds. It can grow quite
tall and bushy in the summer. In the spring, you can get enough spears
for several meals.

Here, the problem with asparagus is heavy soil. The asparagus did quite
well for about 30 years. Then we had an exceptionally wet winter, and
the plants rotted. They had dropped some seeds, which sprouted. Just
as the seedlings matured to the point of providing us for a few meals,
we had another very wet winter that rotted these self-sown replacements.
Now I have seedlings from them. Maybe I'll get a good crop in about
two years.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

Higgs Boson wrote:
....
Next year, if I am spared -- if we are all spared -- I will plant much
earlier. If, that is, I decide to continue veggie gardening. Am
considering abandoning veggies and just taking care of the
decoratives. We consume so little that even buying good organic
produce is probably more cost-effective than spending all that time
preparing, planting, watering, veggies in hopes of a harvest.
Tomatoes are particularly unhappy here -- I'm not the only home
gardener in this area to report bad vibes.

for me, gardening is a lot about exercise
with purpose.

what do you do for getting organic
material into the soil or do you grow
cover crops in the off season?

find plants better suited to your climate
that you would rather grow. fruit trees,
dates, figs, almonds, avocado, grape vines,
pistachios, citrus, ...


OK, thanks everybody. It's time to have a word with the watermelon
vines that are still under the impression that this is mid-summer...(:

will they keep fruiting all winter there?


songbird

David E. Ross wrote:
....
Have you considered perennial vegetables? They can be integrated with
your ornamentals.

I have a clump of artichokes growing as an accent in my back lawn. We
get a few edible artichoke buds in the spring. In your coastal area,
they should actually do much better than in my inland area.

I also have asparagus in the back of one of my beds. It can grow quite
tall and bushy in the summer. In the spring, you can get enough spears
for several meals.

Here, the problem with asparagus is heavy soil. The asparagus did quite
well for about 30 years. Then we had an exceptionally wet winter, and
the plants rotted. They had dropped some seeds, which sprouted. Just
as the seedlings matured to the point of providing us for a few meals,
we had another very wet winter that rotted these self-sown replacements.
Now I have seedlings from them. Maybe I'll get a good crop in about
two years.

is it impossible to trench it for better
drainage? might avoid further rot troubles
and interruptions in production.

still, if you managed to do well for 30
years it may be the case that you had worked
some organic material down in deep enough
that it improved the drainage enough, but
then it finally rotted and went back to too
heavy and too poorly drained.

i'd open it up again deeply and put down
a drain (either a french drain with a tube
or a french drain with a gravel pit seep)
then add plenty of organic material again.
30 years of reasonable reliable production
is excellent for any planting (including
many trees). a drain/tube/trench may be
overkill, but if i'm digging deeply enough
to plant a root crop around here then i'm
doing a lot of work. it won't be hurt by
adding a drain.

the problem here is simlar (too heavy soil)
and lack of space that isn't already spoken
for. i'd love an asparagus patch. to put one
in would mean clearing the northern hedge and
that's way more work than i'm up for right now.
perhaps in a few years...


songbird