A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum Vegetable Gardening corn too short and other vegetable questions

my corn plants are supposed to be seven feet tall but they grew to three feet tall and began tasseling.What's wrong?

How often do I water and fertilize corn?

How often do I fertilize and water cukes,squash,and tomatoes?

My corn is doing the same thing. Hubby thinks it's because I didn't thin it enough. Which is entirely possible! LOL Also there are certian sections of my garden that don't get as much water when we water....those that don't get as much water are much smaller too. I don't know how much these things have to do with the stunted growth of the corn as this is my first year with a garden, but I know that I will be changing some things next year to see if something works better!

I found out how often to fertilize my plants.

Corn likes a lot of water and heat. It definitely doesn't get that tall if not watered enough. But if it is tasseling it can't be that ill. Maybe it will make ears even though not as tall.
Most veggies as a rule of thumb want a good fertilizing when planted or just when emerging then a good fertilizing when flowering/tasseling. Corn can take a lot of water but all plants like a deeper soaking every 3 days or so in my opinion. That is what I am doing with my corn. Also I am using a foliar fertilizer spray this year called Sea Rich. It stinks really bad but gives some needed nutrition for the stress times of the plants.

I water my garden every morning very early and fertilize the corn about three times total.

The corn that was too short produced one good ear.Pollination was much better than the year before.

The condition of the soil and how much sunlight can also play a roll. Shaded corn will be stunted and have skinny leaves. Soil that is not aerated and doesn't drain well because of low-lying areas, or is too compacted, will lead to stunted growth. You can mix compost and/or manure to improve water retention and aeration. You need to loosen the soil at least 8" deep before planting. Low lying areas require drainage be put into place.

What are the growing requirements for popcorn? Are they the same as sweet corn?

Yeah, the same- and I would suggest you also give asian mini-corn a try..this is what is in those tins of baby corn you see in the supermarket, or we see in Aussie supermarkets at least. Easy o grow, you get up to 12 or more tiny cobs per plant, and it's great for asian dishes. As for your cukes, squash and tomatoes, I water every second day if there is no rain, and fertilise only twice- when planting, and when the first flowers show.
I'm trying to hunt down seeds for blue corn but it doesn't seem to be available in stores here.
You folk get cutworm on the cobs there in California?

Yup we get them a lot.They can ruin a crop in next to no time.

I grew popcorn a few times as a kid. It was like growing any type of sweet corn. Unlike sweet corn, you let the ears ripen before harvest. There was also some special drying requirements that led to good % pop with few old maids.

They grow commercial popcorn throughout our region. They require that there be no corn of any other form within 1 mile of the popcorn crop to reduce the chance of cross polination.

It has been so long since I grew it that I thought it would be good to get you onto some better info. Here's a search I did: http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=gr...01&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8