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Post by Valerie on Mar 30, 2013 11:28:59 GMT -5
OK, last year y'all told me all about corn. Thank you very much. My neighbor also told me that I planted my corn too close together. It's a heavy feeder so there was too much competition for nutrients. Getting washed out in a flood didn't help. Soooooo, this year, I want to plant my pole beans mixed in with my corn. I know there is a technique to doing it successfully, I just don't know what that is. So, please tell me everything I need to know about planting pole beans between the corn stalks. Ready, set, go! (And Thanks in advance)  |
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Post by Cyngbaeld on Mar 30, 2013 14:53:36 GMT -5
Wait till the corn is up at least a foot before planting the beans. Beans are 4 inch spacing. Corn is at least 12 inches. You should hill the corn several times before planting the beans. That is pretty much it.
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Post by Granny Smith on Mar 30, 2013 14:58:11 GMT -5
Hilling the corn is important, even if you don't plant beans. It gives it a bigger root system and helps keep it from blowing over in storms (and, if it does blow over, helps it stand back up) I hill mine at least twice a month, until it starts producing.
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Post by Valerie on Mar 30, 2013 19:22:02 GMT -5
So, to hill the corn, should I start out with it at ground level instead of on top of a row, and then keep pulling the dirt up around it? Keep in mind we usually have drought, so I don't think I want it too far off the ground.
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Post by Granny Smith on Mar 30, 2013 20:32:42 GMT -5
I start with mine in a shallow trench then, as it grows, I rake dirt up around the base of each plant. That leaves a trench along each side of the plants, between the rows. By the time you get to that point, the roots have spread enough to get to water that far from the base of the plant.
Do you know, in a drought, it helps to keep the dirt loose around your plants? It doesn't dry out the roots, like you might think. Instead, it allows dew and any rain you might get to get to the roots easier.
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Post by Valerie on Mar 30, 2013 20:53:27 GMT -5
Yeah, that makes sense. Our sand gets a crust on it if we don't keep it loosened up, and all the moisture just runs right off.
OK, I'll do that with the trench; just a shallow one.
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Post by Granny Smith on Mar 30, 2013 21:29:34 GMT -5
I'm glad you didn't ask how to keep racoons out of the corn. I haven't figured that one out yet.
Do you know you can grow squash with the corn and beans, too?
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Post by Valerie on Mar 31, 2013 13:38:04 GMT -5
Yeah, I read that with the three sisters thing. I'm afraid to try too much new at once, though. Figured I better take it one step at a time. I do plan to put the pumpkins at the ends of the outside row of corn, though, so if they run around in the rows it won't hurt anything. |
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Post by Cyngbaeld on Mar 31, 2013 13:49:05 GMT -5
I read that the squash vines confuse the coons so they don't take the corn. Don't know how true it is. Pyrs will keep coons out of the corn if they can patrol around the outside of the garden.
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Post by Cyngbaeld on Mar 31, 2013 13:56:48 GMT -5
The sandier your soil, the deeper the trench should be. Sand doesn't hill up very well or hold roots very well.
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Post by Valerie on Mar 31, 2013 16:01:18 GMT -5
I heard that! When I tried to hill potatoes last time I tried them, those hills lasted until the next time they got wet! OK, so how deep do you think I should start this corn? Like maybe 6"? We're talking gray sand like they have in Florida. Hopefully, the corn will be done before hurricane season kicks in, just in case we get flooded out again.
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Post by Valerie on Mar 31, 2013 16:02:30 GMT -5
Oh yeah, re: coons. We still have the electric fence going around what is now the garden (was formerly the chicken pasture) to keep the chickens out. It keeps bunnies and squirrels out, too, so I imagine it would keep out coons, too. They're not much of a problem here in town, though.
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Post by Cyngbaeld on Mar 31, 2013 16:24:12 GMT -5
Val start with a good 8 to 10 inches and put the corn seed on top of the soil. Then cover it about 2 inches and tamp the soil over the seed. In sand it really needs to be planted a little deeper. Soak the ground, plant the seed and put a 'little' mulch over the top but don't water again till it is up.
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Post by Valerie on Mar 31, 2013 20:56:56 GMT -5
Then just keep backfilling the trench as the corn grows?
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Post by Cyngbaeld on Mar 31, 2013 21:14:22 GMT -5
Yes, keep filling the trench. I fill it a little at a time when I hoe the weeds.
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