Topic: Sweetcorn watering / feeding

[elhuerto]

I seem to remember reading here or elsewhere that it's best to stop watering sweetcorn at a certain point. The plants are about a metre tall and the first tassels are showing as the cobs begin to peek out so should we continue to water and feed occasionally until the cobs are fully formed or not?

Cheers!

[daileg]

wouldnt worry too much about watering / feeding sweatcorn as the root system goes so far down wouldnt do much good anyhow takes its nutrients from the deep at least 2-3 foot down they do have a root system closer to the surface give them some chicken pellats once or twice in there season

[davyw1]

Sorry but i have to disagree about watering.
Sweet corn requires frequent watering to produce full, healthy ears. Once the tassels appear, you should be watering at least one inch of water per week. Make sure the soil doesn't dry out between watering's. If your area is experiencing particularly hot and dry weather, make sure to compensate and water more frequently. Corn will not do well when exposed to prolonged drought

[elhuerto]

Thanks, it's pretty warm here 25º to 32º daily so we've been watering thoroughly about once a week and the plants look great. Just wanted to check if we should continue with more of the same.

[daileg]

Sorry but i have to disagree about watering.
Sweet corn requires frequent watering to produce full, healthy ears. Once the tassels appear, you should be watering at least one inch of water per week. Make sure the soil doesn't dry out between watering's. If your area is experiencing particularly hot and dry weather, make sure to compensate and water more frequently. Corn will not do well when exposed to prolonged drought

what i should have also mentined my soil is very heavy clay and has a good water retention so sorry for giving advice without being clear enough

sorry Davyw1

[davyw1]

daileg, no need to be sorry, i think we all tend to forget that our growing conditions are all different.

[Tee Gee]

I work on the rule of thumb;

If a plant has a hollow stem it wants lots of water, hard stems much less.

I prefer to prepare my ground prior to planting with lots of 'humus' this ensures a regular supply of moisture for the plants.

But as davy says it all boils back to soil structure!

And as Arthur Billet used to say.............the secret is in the soil!

[1066]

As it turns out Dailegs info on not watering if growing on clay (as I do) is useful for me, so thanks!
And I wish my soil would tell me its secrets  ;)

[cornykev]

Don't forget plenty of mulching around the plants will keep the soil moist.  ;D ;D ;D

[amphibian]

I've been watering mine, but then I'm trying to grow them in the pile of ragstone that passes for soil round here, soil which is dry five minutes after the rain stops.

[elhuerto]

Temperatures here are expected to be in the mid 30s this weekend so it's tough to stay on top of the watering. The original question was about watering / feeding once the cobs have formed really rather than a general watering issue.

[Digeroo]

I do a great deal of watering and mulching.  Perhaps we need to have our soil type in the post.  I am on very well drained soil.  In my garden in particular it can get bone dry only a foot down and however hard the plant tries to find water there just isn't any to be had.  It would have to go down several feet through solid gravel to find it.  I think the beans may achieve this, but I do not think the sweet corn manages.  I also build up the soil depth with raised beds.  Not for salads but for beans and sweetcorn.

I find it very odd looking round at the allotments and seeing exactly the opposite crops in the raised beds to the ones I would put in them.  

At my allotment things are different from one end to the other.  One end is sloped so drains very well and the other end gathers the water.  

Also I have a squash to ramble underneath to keep the soil cool.  Planted it next to the sweet corn this year, felt thye took too much goodness out of the soil.

I forget you were in spain, could not understand how you managed to get cobs already. 

Have incorporated a good deal of manure amongst my stones, and mulched with it as well.  Corn so far looking good.  One patch was 100% gravel, so I mixed in even more manure.   

[bredmond]

Came to this today as I'm growing S-C for the first time and I'm a bit confussed. Most on my allotment are of the "teach them to swim" persuasion but i have seen different in books. I was also in Mexico a few years back which is sort of  -- dry? and the farmers cant afford fertilisers etc? yet there are loads of them everywhere. Maybe I should dry some variations. Pretty rich soil in East London.

[manicscousers]

Hiya, bredmond, welcome to a4a  ;D
we just mulch our sweetcorn, it's planted in well manured soil but we don't water it  :)

[amphibian]

Came to this today as I'm growing S-C for the first time and I'm a bit confussed. Most on my allotment are of the "teach them to swim" persuasion but i have seen different in books. I was also in Mexico a few years back which is sort of  -- dry? and the farmers cant afford fertilisers etc? yet there are loads of them everywhere. Maybe I should dry some variations. Pretty rich soil in East London.

I have heard that Mexican farmers do not feed their native maize in any way. However, they have found imported commercial maize require feeding. Native Mexican maize can be huge, several metres higher than the F1s many of us grow, I suspect root depth also varies. Additionally most Mexcan corn production is geared towards flour production, entirely different than sweetcorn.

[JOHN WILSON]

I've grown short-season sweetcorn here [lancashire, 54 degrees North] for many years, on heavy  clay soil that has been organically enriched over some 30 years - spent mushroom compost and my own saved compost.  On this soil they need no additional water once established, and we've noted that in Italy fields of commercial maize stand for weeks in the blazing sun, though admittedly that's grown for cattle fodder not juicy cobs.

On the fertiliser front, there is a tradition that native American Indian squaws plant corn with a small fish to each seed.  Our sanitised equivalent is FBB of course! It may also be worth remembering that maize is a grass and so a good supply of nitrogenous fertiliser helps them along.

Having tried many varieties I've settled on Swift after the Which report some years ago suggested that it was best for both yield and flavour, an unusual combination.

[amphibian]

[...]and we've noted that in Italy fields of commercial maize stand for weeks in the blazing sun, though admittedly that's grown for cattle fodder not juicy cobs.

On the other hand I have noted corn fields in Portugal were extensive spray watering is conducted.

Like this.

[Borlotti]

I spent a good hour tonight watering everything on the allotment including the sweet corn.  Dinner will be a bit late tonight as I have just cooked the rhubarb, made gooseberry jam and strawberry, raspberry and redcurrant jam, and shelled the peas, cut up 3 runner beans (first ones), and carrots, also put the sweet peas in vases, and then watched the tennis.  Think I may go to bed and have dinner tomorrow.  Think I will have to go to 'Allotments anonymous' soon.

[boltonlad]

I spent a good hour tonight watering everything on the allotment including the sweet corn.  Dinner will be a bit late tonight as I have just cooked the rhubarb, made gooseberry jam and strawberry, raspberry and redcurrant jam, and shelled the peas, cut up 3 runner beans (first ones), and carrots, also put the sweet peas in vases, and then watched the tennis.  Think I may go to bed and have dinner tomorrow.  Think I will have to go to 'Allotments anonymous' soon.

I was made redundany last year and now have nothing much more to do than go to allotment.  Think I am using it to replace work.  So I know what you mean about allotments anonymous.  To prove my point the committee have entered me into the bolton best new starter competition, when I told them I was not their to compete in any way ???.

[saddad]

Hi DrJohn... have you or BoltonLad tried Ovation... I find it works best here in Derby. Speaking of Mexican Corn I have some Giant White in from Jungle seeds, I'm not expecting it to crop but if it gets over 8' tall I'll be happy (for the september Open Day!)
 :)