side dress sweet corn at v12?

[ess]

I have sweet corn and the best of them are getting close to 6 feet tall the others are maybe 5 i guess, i see some(3-4 of like 25 plants) of the plants starting to come out with tassels at the top

i bought urea pellets rated for 46? nitrogen i already side dressed the plants at the v6 stage

1 my question is this i thought i read somewhere that you should side dress again at the v12 stage

is this right and how do proceed im concerned with hurting any roots

how i did it before was dig a hand trench in a circle around the plant 6 inches away and 2inches deep then cover it

also by now i have mounded the corn to support them with a bunch of dirt

2nd question i have a couple red squirrels living in my yard im concerned with them eating my corn, if i cover my corn cobs with paper bags will they not notice them

 

[ess]

anyone?


I am now seeing more top tassels appearing, how do i apply a side dress, I also have squash/cucumbers/zucchini/yellow summer squash in the middle of the rows as an experiment. ( i dont care as much about these but want to keep them there, the corn is more important)

will I hurt the roots if I try to dig a small trench to apply the white nitrogen pellets, or do i need to wait till i see the corn silks

this is my first time growing corn with fertilizer

also how often to i water it, what i have been doing so far is when the soil drys on the surface water it for 30 minutes rangeing from 2 to 5 days. my patch is about 7 by 7 feet i think

 

[Meadowlark]

No need to dig a trench...just sprinkle your fertilizer around the base off the plants and water it in.

I noticed you mentioned squirrels. They absolutely love fresh corn and will go to great lengths to get yours. Paper sacks won't stop them but bullets will.

 

[gary350]

NEVER heard of v6 or v12 or any other v stuff in 45 years of gardening.

Fertilize soil with Urea 1 lb every 40 ft row 1 week before planting corn seeds till it into the soil. Side dress corn plants with urea when plants are 2 ft tall before a rain or water to make fertilizer go into the soil. Never leave fertilizer lay on soil surface. Side dress sweet corn again when 4 ft tall. Side dress again with fertilizer when you see corn silks on ears this time use urea and 15-15-15 fertilizer. Corn plants need P & K or sugar in leaves will not move to the ears & kernels. Use 1 lb of urea for every 40 ft corn row. Use 1 lb of 15-15-15 for every 40 ft corn row. Corn is ripe for only 2 days actually 1 day but you need to investigate every day. When silks start to dry out pull open husks on tip end of a few ears break open a few kernels if liquid looks like clear water it is not ripe yet. FIRST day that liquid in kernels looks like milk liquid will be sweet with sugar. SECOND day milk will be VERY SUGAR SWEET it is harvest day. THIRD day milk is not very sweet and is starting to taste like starch. FORTH day milk is dried up sugar is gone now you have field corn to feed cows & pigs. We have 162 freezer bags of corn from 480 plants, 3 cups of corn in each bag.

 

[ess]

1 should i harvest all the corn on that 2nd day, i was only hopeing to have corn on the cob not freeze it unless i have to

i was orginally thinking that i could just take what i need then leave the rest till i wanted more

what i did is i had another fertilizer that is liquid based(powder mix) that had a 9-58-8 by fertilome i applied after i put the seeds in the ground and continued untill i did at "v6" (about 8-10 inches tall)(i guess im talking farmer terms from my research) then i applied the urea fertilizer once and nothing since, but i did a healthy amount in circles around the plant

when i bought it the details on the detail page said you should bury the urea because nitrogen leaks into the atmosphere as ammonia.

2 so im at 5-6 feet tall should i just wait till the corn silks appear?

3what would happen if i only apply the urea and not the 15 15 15(or my other one)(not turn sweet?),

4if i do apply my liquid version, would i only have to apply it once

5 if i apply urea to the ground before the seeds can the urea burn the seeds

6 on the squirrels i read on the internet if i put bags on the cobs before they ripen then they probably wont notice them, or im also considering a squrell live trap and catch and release into a secluded area

7 how often and how much should i water corn

 

[ess]

also how do i trench it, would i hurt the roots if i dig , i have squash in the middle of the rows, i was thinking i could apply it into the new mound i put in to support the corn or how to do you suggest(and how do you normally do it with out my special situation with plants in the middle)

 

[gary350]

Do not trench in fertilizer. Pour fertilizer on the soil around the plants then water the fertilizer it will dissolve in water then soak into the soil. Easy job 1 lb of uren for every 40 feet of corn. You can freeze corn on the cob it will last a whole year in the freezer but it takes up about 5 times more space. We do both, freeze corn on the cob and kernels in bags. If your soil already has plenty of P & K you don't need 15-15-15 fertilizer. But if sugar in corn leaves does not move to the ears & kernels corn will not be as sweet as it could be but then it is too late to add fertilizer. If you see purple color corn silks on ears you have about 1 week to fix the problem with P & K fertilizer. I have lots of squirrels probably 18 squirrels, we have a dog & cat they keep squirrels out of the corn. Paper bags will not stop squirrels. Sweet corn is not as hardy as field corn. I plant all my corn seeds the same day & 90% germinate on the same day so 90% get ripe the same day. You can fertilize as often as you want corn loves fertilizer I have not been able to kill corn with too much fertilizer I just get larger better corn. I try to let mother nature water my corn but TN is often dry as desert June to Sept so I water with the hose every day. This year we got rain about 1" of rain every week perfect for big corn. When I water I try to get soil very wet I only water where the plants are not the empty space between rows. I don't have time to spend more than 45 minutes watering 5 row of corn each row is 34 ft long. Plant north south rows for best corn that way sun get on ALL the plant leaves. If you plant east west rows sun never gets on north side of the plants. Research shows 5" seeds spacing is no better & no worse than, 6", 7", 8", 10", 12" seed spacing. Ears are the same size you just get less corn with wider seed spacing.

When corn silks turn brown & dry a little poke knife into kernels if you see clear water corn is not ripe. Check corn kernels very day. When water turns to milk it will be sweet. 2nd day milk will be much sweeter harvest the whole corn crop. Remove husks taste milk in every ear save ears that have sweet kernels. Ears that are not sweet save in another pile anything that loves grocery store corn will the corn you don't want.

Corn starts to loose sweetness 30 minutes after harvest. Put corn in boiling water or ice water to stop corn from loosing sweetness. Wife boils corn 4 minutes then cuts kernels from cobs then freezes it in bags. We put ears in ice water to freeze whole ears in larger bags.

 

[Meadowlark]

No need to dig a trench...just sprinkle your fertilizer around the base of the plants and water it in.

1) What part of the above do you not understand?

2) Have you had a soil test? Without one, you are just guessing and very likely to guess wrong.

3) Want to take any bets on the bags protecting against squirrels? I'll take the squirrels in that bet every time.

 

[ess]

the p and

If your soil already has plenty of P & K you don't need 15-15-15 fertilizer

1 i used that 9 -58 -8 powder fertizer from seeds till it was about 6-8 inches tall i did more than that reqomended amount so i stopped till the urea. do you think there is still some of that p and k in the soil if its been a month or 2 since i applied it(ive only applied urea once by trenching it in, and then nothing more after that)

Research shows 5" seeds spacing is no better & no worse than, 6", 7", 8", 10", 12" seed spacing. Ears are the same size you just get less corn with wider seed spacing.

2how far do you have the plants apart? i have them at 10-12 inches apart (aiming at 12)

3 if i do need to apply the extra p and k is my 9 -58- 8 fertilizer ok instead of your suggested 15 15 15

4 next year when i plant seeds doesnt urea pellets burn the seeds or no

2) Have you had a soil test? Without one, you are just guessing and very likely to guess wrong.

i havent tested the soil but the neighbor just gave me a ton of black dirt out of the forest that is drainable, im thinking just applying the fertizer is ok, im not looking for perfection, it seems to be doing great so far

3) Want to take any bets on the bags protecting against squirrels? I'll take the squirrels in that bet every time.

i guess if its a problem i will just have to pre buy a catch are release squirrel trap, and release in a secluded area, i dont have dogs or cats

 

[ess]

1) What part of the above do you not understand?

i got the trenching idea from a few internet videos i watched they would dig a trench in the middle of the row and put some pellets in and bury them,

i seen on another video them applying the fertilizer and rubbing it in with one of those 3 prong tools

 

[gary350]

It is hard to over dose corn with too much, N, P, K, but other plants in the garden will not like 15-15-15. A better general purpose fertilizer is 6-12-12. Potatoes & Tomatoes do good with 5-20-20. Beans like 15-15-15. Onions like 21-0-0 to make tops but once onions have 9 to 12 leaves switch fertilizer to 5-20-20 to grow bulbs. Each plant likes a certain fertilizer, certain soil, certain weather, certain temperature. etc. We are talking about CORN. I don't know of any garden vegetables that will suffer or die from too much P & K I mean a reasonable amount not a whole 100 lbs per plant. Last time I tested my soil was 43 years ago. Last summer I asked how much soil test is answer $65. it takes 2 weeks. Hey $65 will buy a lot of fertilizer. There is nothing wrong with trenching fertilizer into the soil its too much work for me I'm not a spring chicken anymore 29 more years I will be 100 years old LOL. Another thing, what works good for 1 person may not work at all for another person, different weather, different soil, lots of things determines how well your plants grow. When I lived in Illinois I could grow 3 lbs of potatoes per plant very easy but in Tennessee it is much harder to grow potatoes I am lucky to get 1 lb of potatoes per plant. Corn grows better in Illinois than TN. Corn grows good in Phoenix AZ but will never make kernels humidity is too low to pollinate. Melons & sweet potatoes are a do nothing crop plant them walk away come back in 4 months you have a good crop, these plants love very hot blisters full sun 13 hrs very day. Certain geographical locations have different bugs that can be a nightmare of none existent. TN I have NO bugs on, corn, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, beans, sweet potatoes, water melons, okra. But if I plant a certain plant that attracts bugs the rest of the gardens bugs too. Cucumbers & squash are bug magnets in TN but may not be a problem in other STATES. The best way to keep bugs off my squash is plant 1 seed next to an ant hill, ants find bugs eggs before they hatch. Ants do nothing to stick bugs. If you have different ants where you live this may not work for you. What you really should learn is what each plant likes best then try to find a way to give each plant what it like so it grows best for YOU. Example, Tomatoes grow good in MI & IL but not TN or AZ. Tomatoes do not like hot weather when we start having 95° weather in TN tomato plants die if planted in full sun but plants do good planted on the east side of a shade tree so plants get full shade after solar 12 noon. Our solar 12 noon is 12:55 pm by our CLOCK. Best time to plant tomatoes in Phoenix AZ is Nov 1 they have 65° weather most of the winter, Feb 15 to 28 is freezing weather at night. TN we have 6 months of none stop rain Dec 20 to May 15 we have about 4 feet of rain every winter then dry as desert June to Oct.

 

[ess]

thank you for your help so far

Q1is it ok to use the 9-58-8 fertilizer i already have for the corn if i need to p and k to the soil for sweeter corn(id prefer not to buy more fertilizer if i can help it)



Q2 how far apart is the final spacing for your corn 12 inches? Because i didn't understand your following statement

Research shows 5" seeds spacing is no better & no worse than, 6", 7", 8", 10", 12" seed spacing. Ears are the same size you just get less corn with wider seed spacing.

comments
i had a black ant mound in my garden for a while(they moved in) and it was terrible they would chew up the plants and kill the ones near their mound, but i put torro liquid ant killer there but the army ants noticed them and went and took over the black ant hill then left after that

as far as bad bug i have allot of slugs they like to eat green and red tomatoes (not the plant) and they like to eat potato leaves(but my potoato in my garden is big so its not so bad. i used to use grass mulch(with newspaper) but the slugs lived under that and attacke my garden so this year i just went strait soil and it seems to be better but well see when the red tomatoes come. i hear useing a bear trap works well for them(or yeast, flower, sugar, and water mixture)

 

[gary350]

9-58-8 is a strange fertilizer. I would try and mix that with other fertilizers to get something good for certain plants. If you mix 9-58-8 with wood ash you could get something like 9-58-30 this will good for tomatoes & potatoes. If you mix 9-58-8 with Urea you could get something like 30-58-8 this would be ok for corn. Don't worry about bugs or animals eating potato leaves it won't hurt anything it probably does more good than harm. If potato plants get too large then new potato crop will be small. My best potato crop is planted Dec 1 or March 1 in hills to keep seed potatoes our of the mud, cover seed potatoes with enough soil so they can not freeze, they seldom grow any green above ground plants at all. I do garden experiments every year to see what else I can learn. Most of my garden rows are spaced 32" apart. Tomatoes & peppers turn into a jungle with 32" row spacing. Beans do excellent with 12" row spacing, to save garden space you can plant 10 rows side by side 12" apart. Onion & garlic beds do good with 4" for garlic & 5" spacing for onions. Corn needs 32" spacing. I do 32" row spacing for the tiller to get between the rows. Once plants are tall they shade out grass & weeds I no longer need tiller for weeds. Most corn research says, Uren 1 week before planting seeds, Uren when corn is 24" tall, Uren when silks appear on ears. This year I really went over board with Urea on corn 1 lb of Urea for every 40' row every 2 or 3 weeks all summer, best corn crop I have had in years but we had summer rain this year. Our rain usually stops about June 1st garden is dry as desert until Oct, only about 1" of rain per month all summer. The nice thing about no rain weed & grass seeds do not germinate so garden has no weeds. Never water your whole garden with a water hose your asking for weed & grass trouble. I make levees around my plants so I can pour 1/2 gallon of fertilizer water in them every evening 1 hour before dark. You need to get very creative to grow plants in our geographical location that don't like being in your geographical location. Most potatoes don't like hot weather but Red potatoes & Kennebec potatoes like TN 100°F summer weather. Tomatoes & peppers don't like 100° either but they do good in early morning sun then full shade from a tree or building after 12 noon. Melons, okra & sweet potatoes love it HOT like cactus. Actually cactus does not like it hot or cold it can handle the worse weather but it grows best at 75° and if you give cactus fertilizer & water some will grow 6 feet taller in 6 months.

 

[ess]

thanks that good info

Research shows 5" seeds spacing is no better & no worse than, 6", 7", 8", 10", 12" seed spacing. Ears are the same size you just get less corn with wider seed spacing.

Q how far apart is the final spacing between your corn after you thin the plants out (not row spacing but plant spacing) Because i didn't understand this statement

 

[gary350]

thanks that good info



Q how far apart is the final spacing between your corn after you thin the plants out (not row spacing but plant spacing) Because i didn't understand your earlier statement

I plant seeds 5" apart and I NEVER thin them out. All corn rows stay 5" seed spacing until harvest.