Corn troubles

[Dace]

In late April I planted sweet corn, Early Sunglow.

I have watered it regularly, fertilized it twice and it is just not producing decent ears. I have harvested 2 full sized ears, about 10 days ago and last night I pulled off another 5 but the ears were not filled out completely.
When I gently squeeze on the tops of the ears, it feels like nothing is developing in there. I also notice a lot of ants.

Am I doing something wrong?This corn is supposed to be 63 days to harvest so they should be ready. We did have a cooler than usual start to our season but this is an early variety and I would not expect our mild temps ( mid 60's-mid 70's) to have that big of an impact. I would like to start another planting, a later season variety, but I am a bit worried that I am not taking care of this crop sufficiently!

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Hi Dace. It has been a cooler season lately, hasn't it? I can't believe that it's mid-July and it's actually drizzly today! Where are you in So. Cal? I'm assuming you're near the coast like I am. Depending on where you are in So. Cal, it's probable that you'll be able to plant another round since we don't begin our cooling season until later in October. Just stick to a variety that has a shorter time from planting to harvest.

How did you plant your corn? Did you plant them in rows or in blocks? Corn prefers to be planted in blocks to provide the best pollination of the ears. If you are seeing corn where the ears are not fully formed (looks like missing teeth) then the most likely cause is failure to fully pollinate. It is possible to do this by hand. You can either go out there and shake the plants to distribute the pollen, or you can clip off a couple of tassels from a variety of the plants and brush the silks with them.

Ants can be an indication that you've got an aphid infestation. The two like to hang out together. Insecticidal soap is supposed to help with that. I'm not the pro on this stuff, so I'll leave it to someone else to explain further.

 

[Dace]

Thanks for the input...yes it has been an odd summer so far! I am about 20 minutes form the beach so we do get some of that coastal influence. Our highs are typically in the low 90's and on the occasional heat wave we push up closer to 100.

The lack of development doesn't look like missing teeth...it is the upper 1/3 of the ear is undeveloped. Maybe that is just me picking it too soon before it had a chance to fill out.

For insecticidal soap, can I use a little dish soap, water and a splash of oil? or do I need to buy a commercial product?

 

[Backyard Buddies]

No, you don't have to buy one. If Oakland wanders by, he has one that he recommended to me. It involves onions, peppers, garlic, and soap. I used Dr. Bronners for mine.

 

[bearzhere]

I too have corn woes. I planted the early sunglow and also a silver king 90 day. Looked beautiful coming up then it stopped growing and went to tassle. I am thinking of trying a late crop of the early sunglow again. Anyone ever try to do corn this late?

 

[adeledamate]

In late April I planted sweet corn, Early Sunglow.

I have watered it regularly, fertilized it twice and it is just not producing decent ears. I have harvested 2 full sized ears, about 10 days ago and last night I pulled off another 5 but the ears were not filled out completely.
When I gently squeeze on the tops of the ears, it feels like nothing is developing in there. I also notice a lot of ants.

Am I doing something wrong?This corn is supposed to be 63 days to harvest so they should be ready. We did have a cooler than usual start to our season but this is an early variety and I would not expect our mild temps ( mid 60's-mid 70's) to have that big of an impact. I would like to start another planting, a later season variety, but I am a bit worried that I am not taking care of this crop sufficiently!

I live in Los Feliz and had exactly the same experience as you did but I just used a different variety of corn. I had a couple of full sized ears and smaller ears with the tops undeveloped but nice kernels on the bottom. They tasted great but a were a little diappointing. I'm going to try planting corn next year using the block method like Bkyrd Buddies suggested. Hopefully that will make a difference. Good luck if you decide to plant again.

 

[Dace]

Thanks for the feed back everyone.
I did use the block method and also wanted to mention that the flavor of the corn was not great...it was pretty starchy. Wondering if that means anything or if it is just the variety?

 

[OaklandCityFarmer]

Thanks for the feed back everyone.
I did use the block method and also wanted to mention that the flavor of the corn was not great...it was pretty starchy. Wondering if that means anything or if it is just the variety?

What happens is the sugars in corn very quickly begin to develop into starches. Ideally corn is picked at about 18 to 22 days after the silk first appear, IME. This is the best window of opportunity for the sweetest corn.

I'm guessing the problem could be weather fluctuations. This usually can have a big impact of ear development. Consistent watering can also cause poor ear development.

 

[Dace]

Thanks for the feed back everyone.
I did use the block method and also wanted to mention that the flavor of the corn was not great...it was pretty starchy. Wondering if that means anything or if it is just the variety?

What happens is the sugars in corn very quickly begin to develop into starches. Ideally corn is picked at about 18 to 22 days after the silk first appear, IME. This is the best window of opportunity for the sweetest corn.

I'm guessing the problem could be weather fluctuations. This usually can have a big impact of ear development. Consistent watering can also cause poor ear development.

18-22 after the silk appears? Oh my...I have clearly waited too long! So should I have picked them even though they did not feel filled out? I guess they would have been small but tasty.

I did water them by hand and I thought I was pretty consistent but perhaps I wasn't.
I do want to put in a 2nd crop...should I pull all of this, amend the soil and plant again?

 

[OaklandCityFarmer]

18-22 after the silk appears? Oh my...I have clearly waited too long! So should I have picked them even though they did not feel filled out? I guess they would have been small but tasty.

I did water them by hand and I thought I was pretty consistent but perhaps I wasn't.
I do want to put in a 2nd crop...should I pull all of this, amend the soil and plant again?

This is usually the case, some varieties take longer than others. The silks will usually dry out when they are ready as well.

Corn does tend to dry out the soil a bit and deep watering is best. Yes, amend and plant again. No harm done.