The Neighbors
This crop was grown on a parcel of land, that according to the tax records, is, 0.07 acre. Large enough to accommodate a three-bedroom home, detached garage, and patio. There are about 250 other homes in our development, and we are nearly in the middle. Most residents garden. I was a bit apprehensive about how this was going to work. The east side of the corn crop is bound by a five-foot fence. Directly on the other side of this fence is a mature 6-foot honeysuckle bush. After the spikes set, and just before pollination started, we removed a hanging basket of petunias, lobelia, verbena, and dusty miller that was hanging over our corn. The crop also shared space with tomato and bell pepper plants, calibrachoa, diascia, rosemary, dill, bacopa, penstemon, zinnias, and a sweet gum tree.
The cobs had no skips, except on the end. There did not seem to be a cross-pollination problem. Essentially no bees visited, which may have been a factor in our success. In the morning, when the sun was still low, I could tap the base of a corn tassel, and see pollen that floated out more fine than any face powder. It could be that the pollen of the surrounding plants was too large to travel down the corn silk.
When the plants were about 5-feet tall, spiders took up residence. There did not appear to be anything for them to eat, but most disappeared when the spike started to set. I found this interesting, and wonder if their webs might have perhaps interfered with pollination. Did the corn plants do something to divest the spiders at this time? Immediately, upon the arachnid’s exodus, ladybugs (Coccinellidae) appeared. It was not until the cobs were well formed, I figured out why each plant had several ladybugs. My watering of the entire plant was the perfect environment for aphids. Fortunately, the husks were tight enough to block the aphids from getting on to the corncobs, a good reason for watering only the roots.
The cobs were not visited by any opportunistic insects. About May, I noted long straight 1/8”X 4-6” wide gaps along the perimeter of the leaves. At first, the sight of something chewing, but these void spaces were symmetrical along the leaf’s axis, and apparently part of normal foliage development.
At the end of the summer, I saw a grasshopper on one leaf, but never found any sign of side boring.
Squirrels densely populate our neighborhood. They did chew on some pots, as noted in the above photo. Long after pollination, one squirrel ate most of the tassels.
Raccoons are a problem for some gardners in out community, but did not bother with the corn.
The cobs had no skips, except on the end. There did not seem to be a cross-pollination problem. Essentially no bees visited, which may have been a factor in our success. In the morning, when the sun was still low, I could tap the base of a corn tassel, and see pollen that floated out more fine than any face powder. It could be that the pollen of the surrounding plants was too large to travel down the corn silk.
When the plants were about 5-feet tall, spiders took up residence. There did not appear to be anything for them to eat, but most disappeared when the spike started to set. I found this interesting, and wonder if their webs might have perhaps interfered with pollination. Did the corn plants do something to divest the spiders at this time? Immediately, upon the arachnid’s exodus, ladybugs (Coccinellidae) appeared. It was not until the cobs were well formed, I figured out why each plant had several ladybugs. My watering of the entire plant was the perfect environment for aphids. Fortunately, the husks were tight enough to block the aphids from getting on to the corncobs, a good reason for watering only the roots.
The cobs were not visited by any opportunistic insects. About May, I noted long straight 1/8”X 4-6” wide gaps along the perimeter of the leaves. At first, the sight of something chewing, but these void spaces were symmetrical along the leaf’s axis, and apparently part of normal foliage development.
At the end of the summer, I saw a grasshopper on one leaf, but never found any sign of side boring.
Squirrels densely populate our neighborhood. They did chew on some pots, as noted in the above photo. Long after pollination, one squirrel ate most of the tassels.
Raccoons are a problem for some gardners in out community, but did not bother with the corn.
posted by connie | 11:16 AM
