Planting Corn and Growing Tips

Corn is quite easy to grow, but it does need some extra attention throughout its growing season to get the best crop possible.

Here are a couple of tips for planting corn and how to properly care for it, so you have the most success.

Temperatures: Corn germinates poorly in cool soil, it likes warmer temperatures. Optimum growth occurs in 65° to 75° F (18° to 24° C) weather, and does well up to 90° F (32° C), but it does very poorly at temperatures of 100° F (38° C) or above.

Spacing: Corn rows should be at least 3 feet (1 m) apart, and each plant should be a minimum of 9 inches (23 cm) apart. Plant in blocks so the wind can pollinate the corn properly.

Planting: When planting, put down a balanced fertilizer like 15-15-15 or 5-5-5. If the weather is warm, sow seeds 1 inch (2.5 cm) deep. If planting in the middle of hot summer weather, sow up to 4 inches (10 cm) deep.

Side-Dressing: Corn is a heavy feeder and needs to have fertilizer put along the root zone on one side of each row (side-dressing) a few times throughout its growing cycle. Side-dress once when the corn is around 6 inches (15 cm) tall. Side-dress on the other side of the row when you see tassels forming on the plants.

Watering: Water corn as needed. Corn needs at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water per week. If you have no rain, give the soil a good soaking and then allow the soil to dry between waterings. Have some care though and don't water corn from above, because that can wash the pollen off the tassels and you won't get any corn!

Avoid Cross Pollination: Keep different corn cultivars at least 400 yards (365 m) apart, or plant so they tassel two weeks apart to avoid any possibility of cross pollination.

Harvesting: Three weeks after corn silks appear on the ears, carefully pull back part of the husk and pierce a kernel with your thumbnail. If the liquid that comes out is milky white, the sweet corn is ripe and ready to eat.

For more Gardening Tips and Gardening Advice visit our main gardening website at Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine - www.weekendgardener.net

Have good week!

Container Gardening In The Heat

DOUBLE POTTING BEATS THE HEAT!

Hot summer days are on the way, and if you have outdoor plants in containers, you know how they can take a beating.

Here's a simple way to help your plants survive the heat, and retain moisture.

By using two pots, also known as double potting, you can prevent the roots of sun-baked containers from overheating.

All you do is place the plant, pot and all, into a bigger pot.

After you have done that, fill the space between the two containers with damp peat moss. The layer of damp peat moss will keep the inner pot and plant roots cool and moist during the summer heat.

Your plants will do much better.

For more Gardening Tips and Gardening Advice visit our main gardening website at Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine - www.weekendgardener.net

Have good week!

Sod Laying Tips

This is the perfect time of year to be seeding or sodding a lawn. While seeding is the most cost effective, using sod is nice too, because you can have an instant lawn.

If, however, you have never put sod down before, dont' worry. It's not hard, and to help you out, here a couple of tips.

Laying the blocks:

Stagger the blocks of sod so they lay in a checkerboard fashion. The turf will knit together more neatly and quickly. The most natural way to do this is to start your second row with a half-block of sod.

Sodding on a slope:

On a slope, always lay the rows of sod across the slope, not up and down.

Patching up bare spots:

Try to do any patching on the inside of the lawn area. Pieces along the peripery should be whole, otherwise they can dry out and die.

Also, if you are patching as part of a renovation, like to cover an area where a tree was, you should use whole blocks of sod, even if the spot in need is smaller than that.

The smaller the piece, the harder it is to keep it alive. So try to cut out a spot big enough for an entire block of sod to be put down.

Having a healthy, green lawn is always a nice sight. So if you want one, now is a good time to do it!

For more Gardening Tips and Gardening Advice visit our main gardening website at Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine - www.weekendgardener.net

Have good week!