Had to fight the squirrels and army worms to get it though! var. Burpee Bilicious

Christine

1. Spinosad. I buy it as fertilome brand Borer, Bagworm, Tent Caterpillar Spray. This needs to be applied regularly and reapplied if it rains or you run overhead sprinklers. If you don't use it army worms will devastate your plants in no time. Someone on here told me about its use with corn. It is organic. Thanks again to the person that told me about it!

2. Nitrogen. Corn needs extra nitrogen to grow tall. Our so called soil does not hold nutrients well. While I usually use organic fertilizers, for corn I use a bit of 10-10-10 granular fertilizer added to the soil at planting time and Miracle Grow to water once per week.

3. Water. Corn needs plenty of water to grow well. I plant in "hills" of three plants max with hills 3 or 4 feet apart. I water twice per day in morning and evening if it doesn't rain.

4. Pollination. To get those full ears of kernels you need good pollination. While corn is wind pollinated, I shake the stalks in the morning around 8:30 or 9:00 to scatter pollen when tassels and silks appear. You will see tons of pollen come off the tassels in a cloud. Try to make sure it lands on the silks.

Hope that helps. Otherwise there is always Publix ; )

Tom

Carmen

How did you keep the squirrels away?

Darren

Ya, that didn't work even though I moved him around. He did freak out our dog and both of our cats though. Then I tried bird netting surrounding the plants. You would think squirrels would be afraid of getting tangled up in that stuff. Not so. Then I sprayed the ears with powdered dry habanero pepper powder in a little water and dish washing soap. Then I stepped it up and melted some petroleum jelly and mixed tons of habanero powder in that and spread that on the ears. Truly eye watering stuff. I think squirrels may actually like habanero, because that did not stop them from stripping the ears either. Then came the pellet rifle. Remind me to sight that thing in again because I failed to nail a single one. I ended up harvesting before the squirrels got it all. Next time I think I will just break out the electric fence I used in PA. But did I mention Publix?

Publix is for those who can't, such as myself, hahaha! I applaud your resourcefulness! The squirrels have a tough hide and if you hit their hide with that pellet, they'll stay away........for a short time.

I love wildlife but remember as a child they used to hog our bird feeders (up north) and literally sit in them, preventing the birds from getting feed. We'd let them eat a little while and then sting them to get em to leave.

Makes you wonder how farmers ever break even, eh?

Bet that was some sweet tasting corn.

Darren