corn in raised beds....please help

aimeruni · February 25, 2016

Yes, I realize this part of the forum is container gardening for tomatoes; however since raised beds are kind of a form of container gardening, I figured this would be the best place to post this thread.

I saw a video on you tube (I have posted the link below) where a person grew 52 corn plants in a 4' x 8' raised bed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfkLZ_o2DwA

I was wondering with an 8" spacing between plants, and 6 plants per 'row' if I could grow that many in a 4' x 8' raised bed, or would that be too many plants? It's recommended to use dwarf varieties if growing corn in a raised bed.

The variety of corn I will plant is called blue jade, which is a dwarf type. It only reaches 3'-4' feet in height; I found a place that sells the blue jade corn, and it provides planting instructions. According to the site, it recommends 8" plant spacing. If I were to use this dwarf variety and the plant spacing listed would I be able to get 52 plants in a 4' x 8' bed or would I be overcrowding the bed?

One other thing; corn has shallow roots, so would a 4' x 8' bed with a depth of 12" be deep enough? However if it possible to grow that many plants in a 4 ' x 8' bed should I make the bed deeper (since there will be so many plants), or will it not matter?

joseph · February 25, 2016

I recommend no less than 2 square feet per full sized corn plant. In my own garden, I allow 2.5 square feet per corn plant.

Planting corn on 16" centers gives 1.8 square feet per plant. That is overcrowded, but might be OK for dwarf corn. So at that spacing, 28 plants would fit into that bed.

The thing I see frequently with corn, is that if it is crowded it may not produce cobs. And that if given sufficient space that a plant will produce multiple cobs. I'd be interested in knowing how many cobs were collected from the patch shown in the video... That's the real test, unless the corn was just being grown decoratively, then plant as close as you like.

Worth1 · February 25, 2016

This is a better example of what you need to do.

I saw one guy put 64 plants in a 4X4 bed but as with most of these videos you never see the yield.

https://youtu.be/vgriLjxaVlg

Worth1 · February 25, 2016

Another good video
https://youtu.be/WvGKJ6GVuJQ

dustdevil · February 25, 2016

Overcrowded corn will usually yield runt ears at best. I recommend rows 30" apart with kernels sown 12" apart in each row. Don't plant in one long row. Try to grow in a box-like shape for better pollination.

Cole_Robbie · February 25, 2016

My corn has worms in it every ear if the tassels don't get sprayed with Sevin every week or so while tasseling. I just chop off the last inch or two from the end that the worm ate. But if your ears are small, the worms might get a larger share of each ear.

rockman · February 27, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

My corn has worms in it every ear if the tassels don't get sprayed with Sevin every week or so while tasseling. I just chop off the last inch or two from the end that the worm ate. But if your ears are small, the worms might get a larger share of each ear.

The worms are millers, the ones that hit your windshield. If they are really thick hitting your windshield and your plant has been pollinated you can cover each ear with brown lunch bags to be organic. Usually the millers hatch after the sweet corn is mature and they head to field corn. There are some varieties that the shucks are tighter wrapped than others that helps. rockman

BigVanVader · February 25, 2016

Just fyi Cole, Trichogramma wasp are very effective against corn earworms and if you provide a nectar source. (Zinnias and radish blooms are 2 cheap and effective flowers they like) and a habitat for them they will stay and the population will grow each year. At my old place I built a little bee house thing for them with bamboo and straws and by the 3rd year there were literally thousands of them flying around the garden. Easy,cheap, effective and natural. You will still have a few ears of corn with damage but after you have a sufficient population the damage is reduced around 90% in my experience. Rodger Winn, who throws the annual SPLATT tomato tasting does the same thing and said last year that he hardly ever has any damage from earworms, and he had a crap-ton of corn growing.

Cole_Robbie · February 25, 2016

Interesting. Thanks.

aimeruni · February 25, 2016

Thank you for all the replies to the thread and for all the advice.

I looked at one of the videos given (this one, link posted below):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgri...ature=youtu.be

and it said they did 7" plant spacing in rows per plant; the ears were decent size according to the video.

So, could I do 8" spacing per plant if I did 30" spacing between rows could I do this or would it be overcrowding the bed?

If I did 30" spacing between rows with an 8" spacing between plants in the rows, how many ears would this be total for a 4' x 8' bed? Sorry I'm really bad at math.

Worth1 · February 28, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by aimeruni

Thank you for all the replies to the thread and for all the advice.

I looked at one of the videos given (this one, link posted below):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgri...ature=youtu.be

and it said they did 7" plant spacing in rows per plant; the ears were decent size according to the video.

So, could I do 8" spacing per plant if I did 30" spacing between rows could I do this or would it be overcrowding the bed?

If I did 30" spacing between rows with an 8" spacing between plants in the rows, how many ears would this be total for a 4' x 8' bed? Sorry I'm really bad at math.

Some of the stuff the guy was talking about was the ability to harvest the corn mechanically with combines and also running tractors in the field and available equipment.
This you dont have to worry about nor do you have to walk between the rows as was stated before.

In all honesty I would go with more of a square foot approach to it in the raised bed with more or less 2 plants per square foot.

By doing this I would space the plants 6 inches apart in rows 12 inches apart.

This will give you 60 plants in a 4X8 bed with the plants 6 inches from the edge and ends.

Depending on what variety of corn you grow will determine how many ears you get per plant.
At the least it will be 60 ears and on average it would be 120 ears.
The other ting you can do they dont have the option to do in a big field is to shake the stalks when they are potting out pollen.

Also if you haven't looked at the other video play close attention to how deep to plant the seeds.
I have seen them planted to shallow before and the plants fall over.

Feldon stated about the fertilizer.
Corn is a grass and it needs to be treated as such with a high nitrogen fertilizer and lots of it.
Bagging the ears is also a good idea after they have pollinated.
Each silk on an ear of corn goes to an individual grain inside the corn.
This is why you sometimes see a dead spot or row on a ear of corn.
Those silks didn't pollinate.
Last but not least here is a pictuer of you raised bed with the corn layout in it.
Worth
Corn spacingr.jpg

rhines81 · February 28, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

Attachment 56720

Yes, this will work fine, I just like to separate the distance a little more. Ilike tight double rows with a little more space in between the row (about double what you show).
It would probably also help more to plant the back row(s) earlier so that it matures slightly faster (assuming the rows are is east-west).

But then again I did go 5' wide with my bed, instead of 4', to give the additional space and do not need to bother to reach toward the center because it is empty.

Worth1 · February 28, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhines81

Yes, this will work fine, I just like to separate the distance a little more. Ilike tight double rows with a little more space in between the row (about double what you show).
It would probably also help more to plant the back row(s) earlier so that it matures slightly faster (assuming the rows are is east-west).

But then again I did go 5' wide with my bed, instead of 4', to give the additional space and do not need to bother to reach toward the center because it is empty.

Mine are 5 feet wide also and way up high.
I am going to leave one foot right down the middle with a board there to walk on.

Now this thread has got me wanting to plant corn some place.

But not the beds they are for Okra.

Worth.

rhines81 · February 25, 2016

For raised beds you should 'double row'. Each row would be 2 plants spaced 8" apart to form the 'double row'. For a 4' wide bed, that would be two 'double rows' planted 8" from the sides. The two 'double rows' would be 16" apart. Space plants within the row 10" apart and 8" from the side of the bed. Each 'double row' would contain 20 plants total. So your 4x8 raised bed would support 40 corn plants.

feldon30 · February 27, 2016

Really surprised at the advice of increased distance between rows. Corn ears will not fill out unless they are properly pollinated from adjoining plants. I also found that corn does not favor loose soil and I had very low germination until I planted them in heavier soil.

I planted three rows a foot apart, with plants 8" apart. I fertilized with 45-0-0 at 12" high and 36" high. Got plenty of corn.

February 25, 2016	#1
aimeruni Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Brooksville FL, zone 9a Posts: 67	corn in raised beds....please help Yes, I realize this part of the forum is container gardening for tomatoes; however since raised beds are kind of a form of container gardening, I figured this would be the best place to post this thread. I saw a video on you tube (I have posted the link below) where a person grew 52 corn plants in a 4' x 8' raised bed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfkLZ_o2DwA I was wondering with an 8" spacing between plants, and 6 plants per 'row' if I could grow that many in a 4' x 8' raised bed, or would that be too many plants? It's recommended to use dwarf varieties if growing corn in a raised bed. The variety of corn I will plant is called blue jade, which is a dwarf type. It only reaches 3'-4' feet in height; I found a place that sells the blue jade corn, and it provides planting instructions. According to the site, it recommends 8" plant spacing. If I were to use this dwarf variety and the plant spacing listed would I be able to get 52 plants in a 4' x 8' bed or would I be overcrowding the bed? One other thing; corn has shallow roots, so would a 4' x 8' bed with a depth of 12" be deep enough? However if it possible to grow that many plants in a 4 ' x 8' bed should I make the bed deeper (since there will be so many plants), or will it not matter? Last edited by aimeruni; February 25, 2016 at 04:28 AM.

February 27, 2016	#15
feldon30 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 5,346	Really surprised at the advice of increased distance between rows. Corn ears will not fill out unless they are properly pollinated from adjoining plants. I also found that corn does not favor loose soil and I had very low germination until I planted them in heavier soil. I planted three rows a foot apart, with plants 8" apart. I fertilized with 45-0-0 at 12" high and 36" high. Got plenty of corn. __________________ [SIZE="3"]I've relaunched my gardening website -- [B]TheUnconventionalTomato.com[/B][/SIZE] * [I][SIZE="1"]*I'm not allowed to post weblinks so you'll have to copy-paste it manually.[/SIZE][/I]

February 25, 2016	#2
joseph Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: Cache Valley, N/E of The Great Salt Lake Posts: 1,244	I recommend no less than 2 square feet per full sized corn plant. In my own garden, I allow 2.5 square feet per corn plant. Planting corn on 16" centers gives 1.8 square feet per plant. That is overcrowded, but might be OK for dwarf corn. So at that spacing, 28 plants would fit into that bed. The thing I see frequently with corn, is that if it is crowded it may not produce cobs. And that if given sufficient space that a plant will produce multiple cobs. I'd be interested in knowing how many cobs were collected from the patch shown in the video... That's the real test, unless the corn was just being grown decoratively, then plant as close as you like.

February 25, 2016	#3
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	This is a better example of what you need to do. I saw one guy put 64 plants in a 4X4 bed but as with most of these videos you never see the yield. https://youtu.be/vgriLjxaVlg

February 25, 2016	#5
dustdevil Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: WI, USA Zone4 Posts: 1,887	Overcrowded corn will usually yield runt ears at best. I recommend rows 30" apart with kernels sown 12" apart in each row. Don't plant in one long row. Try to grow in a box-like shape for better pollination.

February 25, 2016	#6
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	My corn has worms in it every ear if the tassels don't get sprayed with Sevin every week or so while tasseling. I just chop off the last inch or two from the end that the worm ate. But if your ears are small, the worms might get a larger share of each ear.

February 25, 2016	#8
BigVanVader Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Greenville, South Carolina Posts: 3,099	Just fyi Cole, Trichogramma wasp are very effective against corn earworms and if you provide a nectar source. (Zinnias and radish blooms are 2 cheap and effective flowers they like) and a habitat for them they will stay and the population will grow each year. At my old place I built a little bee house thing for them with bamboo and straws and by the 3rd year there were literally thousands of them flying around the garden. Easy,cheap, effective and natural. You will still have a few ears of corn with damage but after you have a sufficient population the damage is reduced around 90% in my experience. Rodger Winn, who throws the annual SPLATT tomato tasting does the same thing and said last year that he hardly ever has any damage from earworms, and he had a crap-ton of corn growing.

February 25, 2016	#14
rhines81 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Zone 5A, Poconos Posts: 959	For raised beds you should 'double row'. Each row would be 2 plants spaced 8" apart to form the 'double row'. For a 4' wide bed, that would be two 'double rows' planted 8" from the sides. The two 'double rows' would be 16" apart. Space plants within the row 10" apart and 8" from the side of the bed. Each 'double row' would contain 20 plants total. So your 4x8 raised bed would support 40 corn plants.