Question about growing sweet corn -NEWBIE HERE-

[DFB]

You can also find the contact information for your Maine Cooperative Extension as well as for ALL the other New England states...VT, Mass, Conn, RI, and NH too.

About the Guide | UMass Amherst New England Vegetable Guide

A more balanced fertilizer like sixdogs already advised in post 14 would be better than a big dose of high N at this stage...you want to enhance good root growth as well as top growth.

 

[dave1949]

Yellowing can also be caused by over watering and/or wet, poorly drained soil.

 

[sixdogs]

The only other readily available stuff around me is 10-10-10 or 36-8-12 (or something along those lines) lawn fertilizer, and the 46-0-0 urea. Do you think 10-10-10 would work if I applied it heavy enough?

You really need a soil test but it's late in the game. You could band a heavier amount of 10-10-10 and it would work for this year. For simplicity in my life right now, I band 19-19-19 after the plants emerge and get a great crop. The numbers just refer to the percent of product in the bag. 10-10-10 has 10% of actual product and 90% inert filler.

I planted 1500 seeds this year on an 8" spacing and I think I used 2 1/2 50 lb bags of 19-19-19. Double your application for 10-10-10. I'll try to take a picture tomorrow.

You can cut a trench with a hoe and stay the 4" and 4" away. When the roots hit that fertilizer you can go out in the middle of the night and hear it growing. Corn squeaks.

Get a soil test in the fall. You can buy a cheap kit and do it yourself. Next year, work the ground early, spray Roundup or generic to kill weeds and grass and then just try to keep the weeds down with a hand sprayer and no hoeing to bring up more weed seeds.

Your yellowing is most likely poor soil in need of nutrients--fertilizer. What area of ME do you live in? Gravel soil on the coast is different from Bangor loam and different from Aroostook sandy silt.

 

[gdk22984]

You really need a soil test but it's late in the game. You could band a heavier amount of 10-10-10 and it would work for this year. For simplicity in my life right now, I band 19-19-19 after the plants emerge and get a great crop. The numbers just refer to the percent of product in the bag. 10-10-10 has 10% of actual product and 90% inert filler.

I planted 1500 seeds this year on an 8" spacing and I think I used 2 1/2 50 lb bags of 19-19-19. Double your application for 10-10-10. I'll try to take a picture tomorrow.

You can cut a trench with a hoe and stay the 4" and 4" away. When the roots hit that fertilizer you can go out in the middle of the night and hear it growing. Corn squeaks.

Get a soil test in the fall. You can buy a cheap kit and do it yourself. Next year, work the ground early, spray Roundup or generic to kill weeds and grass and then just try to keep the weeds down with a hand sprayer and no hoeing to bring up more weed seeds.

Your yellowing is most likely poor soil in need of nutrients--fertilizer.

Understood. Thank you very much for the help!

 

[sixdogs]

Understood. Thank you very much for the help!

I edited to ask what area you live in since the soil type matters as well.

 

[gdk22984]

I edited to ask what area you live in since the soil type matters as well.

Sorry about that, replied before your edit. I live in Southern Maine, 25 minutes from the NH boarder, 15 mins from the coast.

 

[DFB]

Sorry about that, replied before your edit. I live in Southern Maine, 25 minutes from the NH boarder, 15 mins from the coast.

Must be pretty sandy soil around there

Take good note of the percentage ratio by bagged weight for fertilizer

 

[gdk22984]

Must be pretty sandy soil around there

Take good note of the percentage ratio by bagged weight for fertilizer

Digging holes for deck posts, I can tell you that it's a few inches of loamy soil, then a sandy type soil. A foot or so down it turns to clay. I tilled the first 10 inches or so for the corn, then added manure/bedding compost. the bedding has not yet all decomposed so you can see bits of wood shavings mixed in. I am hoping the manure was decomposed enough and is not causing issues.

 

[sixdogs]

Sorry about that, replied before your edit. I live in Southern Maine, 25 minutes from the NH boarder, 15 mins from the coast.

I can guess about were you are and you'll be fine.

 

[sixdogs]

Digging holes for deck posts, I can tell you that it's a few inches of loamy soil, then a sandy type soil. A foot or so down it turns to clay. I tilled the first 10 inches or so for the corn, then added manure/bedding compost. the bedding has not yet all decomposed so you can see bits of wood shavings mixed in. I am hoping the manure was decomposed enough and is not causing issues.

My own opinion is to steer clear of wood stuff. I have been of the understanding that the wood decomposition process requires a lot of nitrogen and your goal is more nitrogen, not less. Get someone with a tractor driven rototiller to till in your corn stalks ASAP after the ears are gone. That is terrific for the soil. If you spaced on a 30" or so center, they can till two rows at a time and it takes two passes or so to chop it up. Tilling is hard on earthworms so if you could moldboard plow the stalks in that would be better. Rotate ground next year.

Research your corn for next year and you should plant a bi-color with maybe a 70 or so day maturity. Names like Butter and Sugar or Sugar and Gold come to mind. Research it. Find one with good cold soil emergence and get treated seed for your cold and damp conditions. If you want Silver Queen, do a small amount and plant in June after the soil has warmed. I think SQ is a 93 day maturity and requires warm soil to germinate properly. You'll be eating that around Labor Day or later. Maybe earlier because of the coast.