So, I don't have a huge area to garden, the area behind my house is about 20x30. With 6 kids plus my wife and I, we could do the whole garden in corn and probably not have much left to freeze. I wanted to do some corn though, just because I love to eat it. Last year this is what I did, took about two feet right off the back of my house (faces south and gets full sun all day) and planted about 16 short rows of corn. They were fairly close, but since you didn't need to walk between rows I didn't think it would be a problem. Here is the one pic I have of this area. I figured 16 rows of corn, 4 plants per row, 2 ears per plant, I could get 128 ears of corn, (best case scenario) and that's not bad for an area that's hard to do much else with right?
I think my main mistake was I planted two seeds per hole, in case one didn't sprout. Well, most of them sprouted, and they were so tight that I was afraid to thin them out. I know corn has to pollinate by wind, hence why square areas work better, my logic here was that having the house behind them, the wind would swirl or bounce off the house, and the corn would pollinate ok. I also tried to pollinate some by hand, since it's a fairly small area.
I did get a decent amount of corn, no where near the 100+ I was hoping for, but we got some, and boy was it good! I used a Kandy Korn hybrid, and it was very sweet, I ate more raw than cooked I think. My dad has suggested I try Bodacious Sweet corn, he said he often gets 3 ears per stalk.
Anyone else try to do corn in small areas? what success have you had? any tips for what I am trying?
I think my main mistake was I planted two seeds per hole, in case one didn't sprout. Well, most of them sprouted, and they were so tight that I was afraid to thin them out. I know corn has to pollinate by wind, hence why square areas work better, my logic here was that having the house behind them, the wind would swirl or bounce off the house, and the corn would pollinate ok. I also tried to pollinate some by hand, since it's a fairly small area.
I did get a decent amount of corn, no where near the 100+ I was hoping for, but we got some, and boy was it good! I used a Kandy Korn hybrid, and it was very sweet, I ate more raw than cooked I think. My dad has suggested I try Bodacious Sweet corn, he said he often gets 3 ears per stalk.
Anyone else try to do corn in small areas? what success have you had? any tips for what I am trying?
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