Picked some of our corn today. The further left you go is where we ran out of compost.
It’s a pretty good example of a few things.
Starting from left.
Ear 1 & 2 lack of fertility early on.
Ear 3 severe pollination issues - no fertility problems.
Ear 4 and 5 - ran out of fertility around tasseling.
Ear 6 moderate pollination issues - looks like the plant germinated late.
Ear 7 is immature
Ear 8 - tip back - either genetic or linked to planting density/light levels.
Ear 9 - on the edge with full light and adequate nutrition.
This reminds me of those cookie diagrams showing too much salt and too little flour
And too much penis
Damn that’s something. I never even got to that point with my corn. Something would chew the stalks and topple them all and not even eat the damn thing and just leave the fallen plants there.
I stopped trying to grow corn in my small backyard as it wasn’t worth the effort for the amount of space it would take up to get good pollination. Once it gets to the middle of summer here in the southern hemisphere, corn becomes really cheap to buy anyway.
Plant it in a small high density block. Say 1m x 2m. You can put a plant every 15-20cm equidistantly in full sunlight.
You’ll need to fertilize them heavily, but it works really well.
I might try again next year. I’m slowly reclaiming the lawn and turning it into growing spaces so should have more room then.
Growing popping corn is so much easier
This is likely N deficiency.
Here’s a guide to corn nutrient requirements https://www.pacificseeds.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Corn-nutrition-guide.pdf
Third one looks inbred
Third one looks like it smoked some crack and now is missing some teeth.
