Sweet corn growing tip

[sixdogs]

Here's a growing tip for sweet corn I discovered by accident. Note that sweet corn gets some fertilizer at planting and more a few weeks later as it's demand for nitrogen (N) increases.

This year, I didn't have any of that high N second dose so I put down what was leftover from the lawn, It was 21-2-5 and 90% delayed release. I put down a heavy dose. So, rather than getting a once-and-done typical second dose of N, the delayed release 21-2-5 let the N out over the whole growth cycle of the corn rather than all at once and the corn must have loved it. Look at the the size and quality of this sweet corn.



It's Delectable variety, home garden, 84 days, 6' plants and 9" ears. But, this year with the delayed release fertilizer, I had 7 ft+ plants and mostly 11"+ to 12" ears. The ears were huge and by far the biggest I've grown in the 15 ? or so years I've been planting this variety. Lots of variables over the years but only one year with slow release N fertilizer and that was this year. So, that's my plan going forward.

Normal starter fertilizer at planting followed up by a heavy dose of delayed release N a few weeks later. Also, that slow release I put down also had 2% sulfur since it's use was for my lawn. Bon appetito.

FYI

 

[RalphVa]

Corn and okra and rhubarb and asparagus are some of the vegetables that need fertilizer. Others are better without it, as they'll just make a lot of foliage and be too happy to bear fruit.

Dried chicken manure works great.

I never had to fertilize at all when growing corn and okra in the big garden down below. It had 2 or 3 feet of top soil.