🌽 How to Grow the Best Corn!
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- čas přidán 15. 07. 2024
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Corn is an amazingly satisfying crop to grow...but there are a few key tips you need to know in order to grow it really well.
Perhaps you have tried growing corn in the past, only to discover that pests or diseases have spoiled your crop, or that they have toppled over in the wind? Perhaps you found that the kernels just didn't ripen or that the cobs tasted bland?
Well, this is the video that will solve all of those problems and help you to grow your best corn crop EVER!
Get ready for a BUMPER HARVEST with Ben's top tips on how to avoid common corn problems.
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Tip: if you find any one corn plant growing two healthy ears, only save seeds from that one. Eventually you will have more and more plants growing two ears. Twice as much corn.
Great tip, thanks!
I used to be young and fun. Now I get excited learning about corn. 😂
You may be a little bit older Melanie - but getting excited about corn still makes you most definitely fun!
I suffer from panic attacks and always love watching this guy. Calms me down. I started my own vegetable garden with chilis and chives
Cheers for watching, much appreciated! :-)
I know what you mean! He has a very pleasant, soothing voice, and his gardening tips are invaluable too.
He sure is a relaxing type guy for sure, I really enjoy his videos and learn a lot from him. I guess he calms me down too now that you mention it.
A year later and he's inspired me to. I've got a lot of space with full sun and very fertile soil so I'm hoping for success in my first year! Fingers crossed!!
I’ve been growing sweet corn for nearly 40 years and can’t believe how much Ive just learnt
I have a short growing season so I have to start my corn inside. I found that using toilet paper tubes as pots works really well. I don't make them into pots, I just set the whole tube on a tray and pack damp dirt into them. Once it's packed in, the dirt doesn't fall from the bottom, kind of like a soil block. The tubes are nice and tall so I get deeper roots started than in a typical starter tray. And the tubes disintegrate quite quickly once they are planted out, much faster than a peat pot.
That's a really great idea. And not turning them into pots will give you that little bit of extra height. Nice job!
I use the tubes too but I do put them in plastic pots together and fill the tubes and the gaps which helps keep in the moistu. Then they go right in the ground, root ball isn't disturbed.
@@anstriagreenwood3365 I did have to water them every other day. I found the ones on the outside edge of the tray dried out the fastest but the ones that were surrounded by the other tubes didn't dry as fast. My tray also has a rim about 1/2 inch deep so I always watered so that there was water in the tray up to the rim.
You could also try a paper pot former using newspapers, corn is quite shallow rooted and would appreciate spreading their roots early. Mine go into a seed tray so when watered keep the water in.
This is why I come to CZcams the ideas that come out of here are Awesome
You are my favorite gardener on youtube. Steraight to the point, packed with useful information, and calming.
Hi Ben - I'm a seasoned gardener and each time I watch one of your videos I pick up a tip. The oil drench after polination is a new one for me - thanks!
So pleased - and thank you for watching. We're all of us on a learning journey.
My tips: I've grown corn in seed cells for transplanting, as you advised in your video. But I plant much closer together: two plants in each square foot. I don't grow a lot of corn and I use 4' square raised beds. To prevent stalks from falling over, I install a horizontal trellis made of wood with 1' square spaces directly over each square foot of corn - the trellis is suspended about 18 inches and supported by wood posts attached to the sides of the bed.
To ensure good pollination I simply vigorously shake the stalks when they are producing pollen and tassels. You can actually see the pollen floating down toward the silks.
As for feeding, the seedlings are planted in a 3 or 4 inch layer of compost. I add a liquid fish fertilizer about every three weeks when the stalks are well-established.
I'm LOVING the horizontal trellis idea and am tempted to try this myself.
If you are not aware, the Incas used a layer of burnt wood charcoal on their terraced steps that dramatically helped in the growth of corn. I will be doing the same soon
What a great idea. I may try this also!
I have been gardening for 40 years, most of them planting a few cosmos flowers in the corn patch. I haven’t had any worms in my corn since applying this plant in the corn.
That's a really useful tip - thanks for sharing. :-)
I've used the "combing" the silks like a doll's hair with the piece of tassel as the "comb," and it works amazingly well for my little plot (6 plants per sowing--otherwise it's more than even I can eat!). I also tuck the tassel piece upright in the silks or nearby leaves, so that any additional pollen that comes loose drops right onto the silks. I've had amazing corn, filled right to the tips! Thanks so much for the suggestion!
The tassels keep producing pollen for days, so rather than clipping them off when they start producing, I go around and collect all the pollen in a large plastic bag, shake it up well and distribute it around to the silks. That also lets many different plants potentially pollinate each ear.
That is a really great tip Shannon, thank you.
You're the Alton Brown of the gardening CZcams game. Great content no bs
i remember when i was 3 or 4 i planted corn in the sandbox that was built under my playhouse. my mom said it wouldnt grow there bc of the sand and it having very little light and told me not to get too excited about it. i watered it every day and it did grow! i dont remember much beyond that, i dont think any corn cobs actually came of it or anything but i made five plants and they got two or three feet high and i was so happy! it probably only took root bc the sand was directly on top of the soil below. ive always loved growing a few small things here and there, flowers and vines and pretty little things. im ready to tackle the big one now, im making my vegetable garden this year!
What a wonderful experience Mikki! Very best of luck with your new vegetable garden. :-)
One way of hand pollinating (I always hand pollinate) is to take a paper bag when the tassels are producing pollen, cover the tassels with the paper bag, and shake the tassel. The pollen then falls into the bag. Then take a soft paintbrush, dip it in the pollen, and brush the silks with the pollen on the brush.
It's very tedious and time consuming but does work.
Yes, I've seen that done too and it does seem a very efficient way of catching and using all the pollen.
Oh thanks, I'm gonna try this this year. Cutting the tassels is quite messy, if you cut it in the morning when it's open, all the pollen goes to waste, if you cut it later in the day, it's closed and no pollen gets out...
Thankyou 🙏🏼 that’s so interesting.
Nope. That is too much work. End of discussion.
Thanks 😊
I plant my corn seeds among black beans and pumpkin, we call it in Mexico Milpa and is an ancient system of farming!! I recommend to use bocashi to feed the soil before start.
Ah yes - like the three sisters method. Very effective I hear.
I was going to say in Canada (and US, I think) is the 3 sisters. I've never grown corn, but this year I'm not only going to try corn, but also pole beans and summer squash.
Thank you! This is one of the most in-depth videos on growing corn. Live in Northern California where it gets pretty dry. Can't wait to harvest!
Plant sweet corn on drip tape - Corn requires a LOT of water. Corn is a heavy feeder - Spoon feed by side-dressing or injecting N when stalks are 8" - 10" high, and again when the stalks are "hiney high", and, unless you have really nutrient-rich soil, alternate fish emulsion and a balanced fertilizer thereafter.
Some great tips there, many thanks.
Your veg beds are wonderful, good info given about sweetcorn. This video seems more professional and you give more information in a less rushed presentation. Much better to enjoy and watch.
Thanks Katherine, really appreciate that.
That mouse looks soo guilty of seed theft 😂😂😂
I live in Mississippi and grow sweet corn every year. I hill my corn rows and plant in squares , direct sow and sometimes mix in sunflowers or vine peas/beans we have strong west winds sometimes tornadoes here in summer and thunderstorms that will sometimes knock down a few stalks exposing roots, just cover the root with some dirt and the stalks will usually stand back up on its own in a few days provided it isnt snapped or broken . thanks for the info on the pest and pollenating, I learned some things I will try .
I was actually thinking when he mentioned the wind and limiting nitrogen that he really just needs to hill up the rows (or mulch with something heavy, like wood chips) to keep the corn in place. I grow field corn in my garden, but the same rules apply. Give it the nitrogen it wants, then keep the stalks upright by making sure the base of the plant is well supported.
Thanks for the tips both. :-)
Great video & excellent tips. I successfully grew corn last year & very lucky to be still eating it now. Love your channel. Cheers Denise- Australia
Just planted today, so excited. Great videos 👍
Thanks Ben. Going to plant mine next week so very timely 👍
Great video, probably the best one i have seen so far about growing sweetcorn. Such a lot of good information delivered so it can be easily understood by beginners like myself. Thanks for the video!
Cheers for watching Nathan.
Hi,Ben. I’m from Thailand, I have been growing fruits and vegetables in England for 4 years now,this is my first year growing sweet corn in England and your video has got all the details how to grow them and I love you super cute dog,thank you very much. Happy gardening ❤️
That's great to hear Yanee - good luck with your sweet corn and let's hope things warm up a bit so we all get a nice crop! :-)
I start mine off in deep pots like the ones you'd typically buy fruit bushes or climbing plants in, putting 2-3 seeds in each pot. It allows those enormous roots to develop really well before planting them out (even so, the first year I grew corn I left it a bit late and most of the plants had anchored themselves to the soil of the greenhouse through the bottom of the pot!). A problem I have encountered a couple of times is corn smut, but it rarely affects the whole batch.
Thanks for video Ben hopefully my sweet corn will be an improvement on last year following some of your guidelines 👍
I'm planning to grow my first corn this year. Actually, I want to grow the Three Sisters - a native companion planting tradition. Thanks for the tips! 🇨🇦
Great move Jacqueline.
Please share more info
I transplanted both my sweet and popcorn this year...it went so well I'm going to do so every year now. Ben, wonderful tutorial...as always.🙂 I'm a better gardener this year thanks to your channel.🙂
Thanks for watching Valorie, it's really appreciated. :-)
You are awesome! Thanks for making this video- so helpful!!
I grow my corn in foot-wide containers and bunch them together -- about 8-11. Got the best results last year. Very juicy corn.
Nice move!
This is a great video, could not believe how much there is to learn! For the little story, I had two corn kernels on my kitchen counter, that we dropped while making pop corn. I grabbed them and put them in a small pot where I had previsouly grown some seedling and to my surprise a few days later I had a growing corn plant! Now they are in my square foot gardening planter outside, next to pumpkins and cabbages. Not sure what will happen, but I have enjoyed seeing the plants grow! ;)
What a great result! I did something similar a few years ago. All good fun!
Another brilliant video packed with great information and to the point. Thanks Ben.
Cheers John, no problem.
I grew up on Jubilee Sweetcorn. Still the best variety I’ve ever come across. Hard to find on the East Cost, but thanks to the interwebs, it can be ordered.
Thank you so much Ben. Your videos are PACKED with information.
Thanks so much - glad you enjoyed the video. :-)
Great video. Thanks for the info. Production quality is great on this one. Keep up the good work
Cheers Steph, really appreciate that, thank you.
This is my first yr to grow sweet corn in Texas. Thanks for the good advice.
Good luck with it Jeff - and enjoy!
Thank for such Great advice for planting corn🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽💖💖💖
Watching these videos all ways help I find i have normal got the seeds soon after waching.
This is my first year growing corn, and I had no idea about the pollination process. Thanks
Its my first year as well and I was totally clueless about it 🙃 😅.
Excited to try this, thank you for the tips
I lost a good number of ears to cob worms last year. Going to try BT spray this summer. Interesting idea with the oil. Never heard of that. Will give it a shot!
Wonderful advice on growing corn, Thanks!
This is awesome intel!! Thank you for the channel
Thanks for this video,it helps a lot ,this year I want to grow my own corn,so this will help me 😊👍🇸🇪
Hi, not sure if you see comments on old videos but wanted to say that you should definitely consider growing baby gem lettuce with your corn! I had some that I had thinned and placed them in a number of areas of my veg garden to see where it liked to grow and where I planted 1 in each square of my corn grid, they have grown to almost twice the size!
That's a really awesome tip - thanks so much for sharing this!
I am about to sow my seeds so thankyou for this timely video!
Hope you will success corn planting , happy gardening
I sowed 45 Swift sweetcorn seeds into root trainers and guess what all of them germinated. Planted them all on allotment and had to buy a small freezer to store them in the garage. Learnt my lesson not to plant so many or in future, sow in stages in case they don't germinate😂
That's a very impressive germination rate!
You're luckier than me...that's why I always start corn/veggies in the greenhouse and transplant at optimum time/temp/conditions.
@@tulipsmoran5197 what a lovely name.
Thanks you , really helpful video
Man oh man! I have just learned a whole lot today.
👍
Great video. We found that our corn needed a lot more sun and a longer growing season than we could provide direct sowing so I will be starting them inside (yes I probably should have done this weeks ago)
Hi Libby. I've certainly found I need to push the boundaries a bit and sow as early as possible to give a long enough growing season. But you've still time to start them off if you haven't already - be quick though!
I sure did. Cheers
Thank you for that video.
Thank you..and Well done.
I’m really good at growing decorative or dry corn... because I never seem to pick it early enough. This year I’m planting popcorn, so I won’t fail at picking it on time.
Better luck this year - and you can't fail with popcorn as you say!
Very nice video, thanks for sharing, full packed of useful information 👍
Very helpful, thankyou!!
Awesome job!!
Thanks for sharing.
My top tip is about pollination, I never trust the nature to do it, as if like me (in Cornwall) wind comes predominantly from one direction one side will be poorly pollenated. Always choose a calm day first fan the tassels out so you will get maximum coverage and shake, next time flop the fibre fan over the other way, third day fan them out into a circular pattern. Don't do this all on the same day as you will be pollenating your hands not the corn! this will ensure maximum yield, I very rarely have any unpollinated kernels. Lastly before pollenating give the tassels a very sparse water mist to help the pollen to stick.
Ingenious method Richard - genuinely ingenious! Thanks for sharing.
Lovely place, Cornwall. Lucky you!
Your corn plant very green in your garden , i just transplant from pocket to sack now start to grow up with green leaved, thanks for sharing nice tips i learn something new from you
Thanks for watching. :-)
@@GrowVeg thanks so much
Oh great this video was! Than you for the great info! God bless!
Very cool thanks for the tip
Planning to grow corn for the first time, so this was very helpful. My biggest takeaway is that I can dedicate a 4x8 to 18 stalks! That's a lot more than I was initially thinking of.
Your videos leave no room to guess... Metric and Imperial directions each step... Thank You.
Thank you!!
Awesome video thanks
Thank you very much!😊👍
We’ve never tried starting corn inside. We just seeded our corn a couple days ago...hoping for a great harvest this year 🌽
Fingers crossed!
Having just stumbled upon this its great,very informative.thanks for your work Ben am suscribed👍🌽
Great stuff Danny, cheers for the sub!
Good tips Ben. I "chit" all my larger seeds corn, beans etc before planting into seed compost.
That's a really good idea as they can be a bit slow/tempremental to germinate sometimes.
Hi Ben great video, I have just sown my corn today, first time growing it for me as is most of the stuff I have, looking at some good weather here on Anglesey stay safe 👍 🏴
Love Anglesey, and home to the great Medwyn Williams champion vegetable grower. Good luck with your corn.
@@GrowVeg thanks it really is a lovely place 👍🏴
Growing corn in a bag in a plastic tote or kiddie pool work great too!
I'm going to be transplanting mine when it's warm enough into some large fabric pots, hopefully they'll do ok :)
Good, I was about to plant
Planting my corn today
Awesome - great to be getting them into the ground at last! :-)
Thank you been it very interest ! I can do it my I have to buy a lot of compost!
Trying corn again this year as last year planted too late. So fingers crossed that it works out this time
Fingers crossed for you - good luck!
I'm pretty new to gardening and growing, the lockdown last year definitely gave me the bug for it! Haha I just did 3 types of peas last year, but this year I've got a few things on the go, including sweetcorn. I picked Ambrossia which should be a nice sweet variety, though I did plant them (all!) at the start of April, so now they are all sitting still in my window but are around 1 and a half foot tall now, but the stems seems a little thin and delicate and some are leaning over a bit towards the window for the light. It's been such a cold, windy, rainy and haily week but today we go a bit of nice warm sunshine so I took them out for 15-20 mins and I'll continue to do that for the next week or so, hopefully then I can replant them in the large fabric pots I have towards the end of may (I don't have the option to plant directly as we have mostly a gravel garden with nearly every space taken up with other pot plants haha!
You're doing the right thing in hardening them off gradually to the outside conditions. I'm assuming you're in the UK. The weather is improving dramatically this week, and I'd wager we've had our last frost - but I may have spoken too soon! Keep them out for as long as you can during the day to get them their light, then bring them in as late as you can after a few days. They'll soon be good to go outside.
@@GrowVeg Yes that's right, I'm in Cambridgeshire :) Thanks so much, what an awful day of rain today but thankfully it's filling up our water butts haha! Going to be getting them out tomorrow for sure, supposed to be getting up to 19 degrees here! ☀️
You have been very helpful thank you God bless you
And you Malek.
I grew corn for the first time a couple of years ago on my old Allotment and was over joyed how perfect they were and a real glut of them too. Now that was on fantastic soil thanks to the expert previous Owner of my Allotment I'm no expert and I'm trying them this year in my garden as I gave up the Allotment I really hope they are as good Love this guy I've learnt so much from him thanks Growveg 😊
You're very welcome, and thanks so much for watching. :-)
Thanks mate :)
Cross fertilisation of different strains can also lead to bland corn - I always grow just one variety in a season and try to protect them from neighbouring allotment corns with a screen.
Very interesting
I’m trying corn for the first time and starting seeds indoors under grow lights. I’m soaking the seeds for 24 hours as prescribed on the seed packet. I’m planning to use some alphas-ha meql mixed in with my soil mix to add nitrogen. I will plant 25 this year and see what happens. Thanks for the great tips.
Hope they grow well for you.
Hey Ben! I have been inspired today to plant my own corn field that is a matrix of 4 x 4 with some holes double planted, so about 20 corn seedlings (or starts). I tilled my soil and put in some decomposed chicken manure about a month ago and have been gradually forking through the field in order to break up some compacted soil. I then covered it with compost, measured out the matrix, dibbed some holes and poured in a pinch of mychoryzal funghi powder into each hole. Planted out pre-moistened seedlings into each hole, backfilled and watered in. This is the first of what will be the three sisters. You mentioned a lot about pests but what do you do about dead baseballers walking through the field, I really don't want to tear the whole thing down just to put in a baseball diamond ;-) Cheers!
Sounds like your corn will get off to a great start. Not sure about the baseballers - a very specific pest indeed!
Only the more cultured among will get the latter part of your comment. Anyway, back to the field we go - I may even dream of it!
🤣🤣🤣👍
Tip from gardennerd, place clothes peg at top of corn where silks emerge, this stops worm from getting in,
Awesome tip - thank you!
I love your little muppet dog.
For years I have mostly unsuccessfully fought corn earworms. I tried the oil. I tried some insecticides. There was still earworm damage. Last year I got some GMO seeds from a friend who grows sweet corn commercially that has a BT gene. There was not a single corn earworm in a cob. The BT factor kills them when they bite the husk. Saves a lot of time and works like a charm.
That's great to hear. :-)
Snap off side shoots at the bottom. 👍
I have had luck planting corn and pole beans together in the same bed. The beans provide the corn with fertilizer and the corn stalks give the beans something to grow on. I tried the three sisters method before, but I have a problem with squash bugs killing the vines, so now I just plant two sisters.
Glad that's working well - it should still give good results I'm sure.
Last night should have been the last frost up here in hartlepool its a cloudy wet day today and im gettin in the dirt
Good on you! I suspect it is the last frost date for most of England, but let's see... fingers crossed for all of us!
G’Day Ben, Hand water or irrigate below plant. No rust and helps keeps pest off. See your sprinkler, certainly helps time saver but you look like someone who would like to do things better. Corn is my fav, so if there is any crop I put more effort in, its corn. I use a wand and water my rows. I have a small block 5x5, stalks stand up high enough easy to water. Shallow roots so no need to spend but a few mins in each row. Thanks for your time, and always be corny!
Cheers for the comment there - I'll be sure to stay corny!
We have another video on corn coming out in a few weeks, so keep your eyes out for that one.
If you have a garden shredder after uprooting the spent plants let them dry out as much as possible and pass them through the shredder, they will compost far quicker, same with cobs they will compost but take an age unless chopped up.
This also makes good livestock feed. Sunflower stalks & seeds offer a good nutritional value as well.
Great content ben, pearls of wisdom wish you were my neighbour I would have the best garden in England!
Cheers George! :-)
Pollinating... yes... must remember that.
Personally, I grow my corn with a wind barrier around it as wind rock when young really holds the plants back, this is generally 2.5/3ft tall and it also makes a slight difference as a microclimate. I also grow only one type of corn outside too to prevent cross pollination which can also be a disaster. This year I am growing F1 "Incredible" outside and "Minipop" under cover in one of my polytunnels, happy growing everyone...Steve...😃
That's a really good idea Steve. I could see how a 3ft tall barrier of row cover would work quite nicely in a windy spot. :-)
Steve - what kind of wind cover? - I was thinking guage polythene.
heavy guage
Please advise commercially few best corn plant varieties
Very usefull and inspiring
Also would they grow ok in a polytunnel of sorts .I have problems with the wind where I am.i do realize that perhaps pollination might be a issue inside maybe .cheers
Great video cheers, my sweetcorn is growing very well indoors and getting ready to plant out, about 4” tall so far so might wait a few days, I’m not sure whether to pot them on and wait a bit or not, it’s nice weather down here in Portsmouth but can get a bit chilly overnight and early mornings, I think I’ll use fleece for a week once sown 🌽
Using fleece for a week after planting is a smart move. :-)
@@GrowVeg thanks, i that’s what I’ll do, when I potted on the corn from small plugs I was amazed how long the tap root of each 4” plant was, they are really long, I’ll definitely plant out this weekend and good advice to use fleece, cheers 😁
thanks now i know what went wrong last year I used fabric bags they competed for nutrition i guess this year they are 12 inches apart in a 4 x 4 in 3 raised beds