Wanna Share Corn Planting Tips

[jaideeguy]

I have a small amount of dent corn that I want to grow for next year's seed and have been having problems. First off, I'm planting in untilled clay soil and have been using a digging bar to make a 2" deep hole, then put in 3 seeds and cover with klab [rice hulls], but after two attempts the best germination I have gotten is 25%. Have had some rains that are slow to drain.....could be drowning??

tested the seed viability on wet paper towels and got 95% germination.

Any tips on growing corn in clay soils would be appreciated.......

[Maizefarmer]

Thats bad - you should be getting 99,8% plus germination - everything about this says bad conditions - clay soil, digging bar (which compacts the soil), rice hulls (no nutrition and whats leaching out?), temperature ....... etc etc...

Dig some of the seeds up - are they germinating and then not come up through the soil, or are they not even germinating?

How large is this area and exactly where in Thailand are you?

No benefit to 3 seeds - 1 seed is fine - you only plant more than one seed if you are woried about the seed quality, which is what I was thinking until you say on wet paper tests you are getting 95% germination.

Yes - saturation is a problem - unlpoughed clay soil is saturated and offers little to no nutrition.

Temperature - and there is every indication we are heading next week towards some very cold wheather, and temp is a big factor on germination which slows it down considrably and even stops it.

Rice hulls - something could be leaching out of the rice hulls(?)

Try this - take a 12 to 24 plastic plastic coke bottles and cut them in half: fill loosely with clay soil from the field/area where you were going to plant outside, plant a single seed in each bottle at just over an 1" depth - say around 3cm - 4cm. Cover half with rice hull and half with soil and place them somewhere where they are going to get as much sunlight as possible. Water? - just keep the soil moist.

We are heading now for a cold period, and thats going to slow germination down big time, but so long as you are getting day time temps of 23 - 25 degrees and above you should see germination within about a week.

If they haven't germinated within a week, dig them all up and check out the condition of the seeds.

Where are these seeds coming from and how old are they?

Edited October 16, 2009 by Maizefarmer

[jaideeguy]

Thanks MF.....I was hoping you would reply.

I'll post my answers in caps....

IT'S BEEN EXACTLY 7 DAYS SINCE i PLANTED

Dig some of the seeds up - are they germinating and then not come up through the soil, or are they not even germinating?

JUST DUG UP ABOUT 10 HOLES AND FOUND A LOT MISSING [CRITTERS EATING?] AND A FEW STRUGLING SPROUTS

How large is this area and exactly where in Thailand are you?

AREA IS 10'X10' BLOCK FOR BETTER GERMINATION. PLANTS ON 1' CENTERS

IN CHIANG MAI

No benefit to 3 seeds - 1 seed is fine - you only plant more than one seed if you are woried about the seed quality, which is what I was thinking until you say on wet paper tests you are getting 95% germination.

WAS DOING IT THE INDIAN WAY OF 'ONE FOR THE BIRDS, ONE FOR THE INSECTS AND ONE FOR ME'

Yes - saturation is a problem - unlpoughed clay soil is saturated and offers little to no nutrition.

WATER SATURATION?....WISH I HAD A TRACTOR!!

Temperature - and there is every indication we are heading next week towards some very cold wheather, and temp is a big factor on germination which slows it down considrably and even stops it.

IT'S BEEN QUITE WARM STILL HERE IN CM

Rice hulls - something could be leaching out of the rice hulls(?)

RICE HULLS ARE NOT FRESH AND HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO THE ELEMENTS FOR A WHILE AND OTHER PLANTS ARE DOING WELL N IT.

Try this - take a 12 to 24 plastic plastic coke bottles and cut them in half: fill loosely with clay soil from the field/area where you were going to plant outside, plant a single seed in each bottle at just over an 1" depth - say around 3cm - 4cm. Cover half with rice hull and half with soil and place them somewhere where they are going to get as much sunlight as possible. Water? - just keep the soil moist.

WILL DO

We are heading now for a cold period, and thats going to slow germination down big time, but so long as you are getting day time temps of 23 - 25 degrees and above you should see germination within about a week.

IT HAS BEEN AN UNNUSUALLY WARM OCTOBER, STARTING TO COOL A LITTLE AT NIGHT, BUT STILL HOT IN THE DAY

If they haven't germinated within a week, dig them all up and check out the condition of the seeds.

Where are these seeds coming from and how old are they?

THE FIRST BATCH WERE GIVEN TO ME AND WERE MOST PROBABLY OVER THE HILL, BUT THE 2ND BATCH, I JUST RECEIVED IN THE MAIL AND AS I SAID TESTED 95% ON PAPER TOWELS

I SEE THE LOCAL FARMERS PLANTING CORN DIRECTLY IN UNPLOUGHED RICE FIELDS.....WHAT'S THEIR TRICK??

[jaideeguy]

Hey......wanna here a great song about dirt farmers??/

http://www.cmt.com/videos/levon-helm/20239...rt-farmer.jhtml

[Maizefarmer]

Thanks MF.....I was hoping you would reply.

I'll post my answers in caps....

IT'S BEEN EXACTLY 7 DAYS SINCE i PLANTED

Dig some of the seeds up - are they germinating and then not come up through the soil, or are they not even germinating?

JUST DUG UP ABOUT 10 HOLES AND FOUND A LOT MISSING [CRITTERS EATING?] AND A FEW STRUGLING SPROUTS

How large is this area and exactly where in Thailand are you?

AREA IS 10'X10' BLOCK FOR BETTER GERMINATION. PLANTS ON 1' CENTERS

IN CHIANG MAI

To little - not for germination but for growth: they will be on top of one another and fighting for nutrition from the soil in the limited soil volume avaliable with that spacing, and to a lesser extent foilage crowding will impact exposure to sunlight and further reduce growth - on the 10' x 10' area you are planting in I'd say you want at least 7" between rows and 4" between plants in each row (I wouldn't go less than that)

No benefit to 3 seeds - 1 seed is fine - you only plant more than one seed if you are woried about the seed quality, which is what I was thinking until you say on wet paper tests you are getting 95% germination.

WAS DOING IT THE INDIAN WAY OF 'ONE FOR THE BIRDS, ONE FOR THE INSECTS AND ONE FOR ME'

Take it down to 2 - that will be plenty plenty .... and of course get rid of the rice hull (yes, birds quickly learn that rice hull spot = corn seed below!)

Yes - saturation is a problem - unlpoughed clay soil is saturated and offers little to no nutrition.

WATER SATURATION?....WISH I HAD A TRACTOR!!

10' x 10' ... pointless using a tractor really, just loosen it all up to about 8" with a garden fork - that should be fine

Temperature - and there is every indication we are heading next week towards some very cold wheather, and temp is a big factor on germination which slows it down considrably and even stops it.

IT'S BEEN QUITE WARM STILL HERE IN CM

Fair enough, that removes temp from the equation (by the way any idea what your nighttime temp is dropping to?)

Rice hulls - something could be leaching out of the rice hulls(?)

RICE HULLS ARE NOT FRESH AND HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO THE ELEMENTS FOR A WHILE AND OTHER PLANTS ARE DOING WELL N IT.

Okay - that takes rice hulls as well out of the equation

Try this take a 12 to 24 plastic plastic coke bottles and cut them in half: fill loosely with clay soil from the field/area where you were going to plant outside, plant a single seed in each bottle at just over an 1" depth - say around 3cm - 4cm. Cover half with rice hull and half with soil and place them somewhere where they are going to get as much sunlight as possible. Water? - just keep the soil moist.

WILL DO

We are heading now for a cold period, and thats going to slow germination down big time, but so long as you are getting day time temps of 23 - 25 degrees and above you should see germination within about a week.

IT HAS BEEN AN UNNUSUALLY WARM OCTOBER, STARTING TO COOL A LITTLE AT NIGHT, BUT STILL HOT IN THE DAY

If they haven't germinated within a week, dig them all up and check out the condition of the seeds.

Where are these seeds coming from and how old are they?

THE FIRST BATCH WERE GIVEN TO ME AND WERE MOST PROBABLY OVER THE HILL, BUT THE 2ND BATCH, I JUST RECEIVED IN THE MAIL AND AS I SAID TESTED 95% ON PAPER TOWELS

In the mail....!! Go round to your local ag supply store and purchase a 250gram or 500gram box of treated sweet corn seed ... yes, it'll cost a couple hundred Baht, but you will be starting off then with a known quality of inoculated seed stock

I SEE THE LOCAL FARMERS PLANTING CORN DIRECTLY IN UNPLOUGHED RICE FIELDS.....WHAT'S THEIR TRICK??

No trick - but they are probably using inoculated seed as a start, probably covering with soil and not tamping down - as said I think you are planting a little on the deep side - try shallower and just cover with loose soil - don't tamp down to hard.

You may wish to add some nitrogen fertilser - do this when loosenign up tthe soil with your garden fork - half a dozen hand fills cast over the 10' x 10' should be plenty sufficient.

That all said - its a small area so you may care to try this (not practical if you are growing fields of corn, but for a garden sized crop, its practical): purchase a couple seed trays from the local hardware shop. Go find some soil from the forest or anywhere where there is dense bush growth - you want to get under the bush and fill up a sack with your spade, of soil from underneatth the bush - it will be full of decomposed organic matter and excellent media for germination. Plant your seeds in the trays - they will all be at the same depth and have the same soil compaction above - place the trays on a couple of stones (so they can drain from the holes in the base) and water 2 times a day - morning & evening - drench them out with water, the excess will drain out the base. Put the trays somewhere where they will get max sunlight. Garuntee you have 90% - 100% germination. let them grow to around 4" and then transplant - dont pull the plant out, push it out of the seed tray form the base and plant the whole root ball with the soil that was in the seed tray. water thouroughly every couple days and you will get good a bunch of good healthy plants.

If this doesn't work (i.e. the plants subsequently die in the ground) then it has to be a soil issue.

Edited October 16, 2009 by Maizefarmer

[jaideeguy]

Good tips MF....since I'm only doing a small plot, i will do the next in cel pots and transplant. At this point, I'm just trying to make seed. Also may try some other media such as coco coir to lighten up the clay soil. Basically what i'm trying to do is 'no till farming' for economic and bad back reasons. Have picked up a few tips on 'no till' from google and will try to apply them for my next planting. They're harvesting rice now and will have access to lots of free straw for mulch.

How can I inoculate my uninoculated seed??

Thanks again for your feedback....

[Pond Life]

JaiDee,

Presuming you are talking about the Green coloured corn you gave me,

Today the first shoots emerged from our planting. about 5 days ago.

only maybe 5-10% at the moment, but will let you know in a few days.

We have had heavy rain for 3 nights in a row, I was worried about them drowning also.

We dug 6 inch holes, filled with compost, planted into it & covered with soybean waste.

MF,

In your previous post you mentioned the plant spacing.

I think if you double check you will find that JD has planted at 1 foot spacing, not 1 inch !

Good luck !

[Maizefarmer]

Good tips MF....since I'm only doing a small plot, i will do the next in cel pots and transplant. At this point, I'm just trying to make seed. Also may try some other media such as coco coir to lighten up the clay soil. Basically what i'm trying to do is 'no till farming' for economic and bad back reasons. Have picked up a few tips on 'no till' from google and will try to apply them for my next planting. They're harvesting rice now and will have access to lots of free straw for mulch.

How can I inoculate my uninoculated seed??

Thanks again for your feedback....

I don't think you can buy inoculum in small enough quantities for it to be cost effective on a DIY basis, for such a small quantity - you'd be better off buying a packect of sweetcorn seed that had already been treated.