Comments on: How to Grow Corn in a Container

By: Fern

Fern — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 03:47:33 +0000

It’s hard to say without knowing what kind of fertilzer was in your soil. But you will need to replenish the fertilizer eventually, and then you should use a balanced fert.

By: esrunurse

esrunurse — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 21:19:07 +0000

I planted corn for the first time this year……Iwent on vacation 10 days ago and it was about 3 feet hight now the corn stalk is over my head. i am so excited. I am a bit concerned though. You mentioned fertiilzer, I used a good vegetable garden soil that had fertilizer in it. should i get the 10-10-10 fertilizer u suggested and continue.. Im now afraid I wont get any corn cobs although i have the flowers up top. Also, where on the stalk does the corn actually grow from? Thank you, your post help and answered a lot of questions.

By: Fabian

Fabian — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 22:59:24 +0000

thanks i got everything for my project.
)))

By: Wendy

Wendy — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 17:25:35 +0000

@ Walt- Florida is a great time to grow any time of the year, you lucky dog. Also, I would recommend, if you are into container gardening, to get the book by McGee & Stuckey, “The Bountiful Container.” I got it at the library and am going to buy a copy. It’s a great resource. It tells you what varieties are good for growing in containers, depth of container to use for each plant, spacing, and then tidbits about the plant’s fertilizing and other needs.

I like the Epsoma brand of Plant Tone, it is a fertilizer with all the micronutrients in it. I made my own potting soil with 1/3 bagged organic compost (didn’t have a pile yet – it was at a home center, called Nature something); 1/3 vermiculite and 1/3 peat moss. You must water the vermiculite and peat moss very well prior to placing in your container or they won’t take water later. I put everything on an old shower curtain, mixed up, watered, and left overnight, covered. About a month in, I started using the epsoma, worm castings, and sea kelp. I put worm castings and kelp directly into the soil and also make a spray of both and spray on the leaves. My homemade pesticide of onion/garlic head/cayenne pepper with 4 cups of boiled water, steeped overnight, strained and put in a sprayer seems to work adequately too.

I get all my open pollinated, organic, heirloom seeds from http://www.sustainableseedco.com.

The kelp I noticed made a big difference overnight. Bone, blood meal and fish emulsion also work. I also used Flanders cut to fit recycled plastic furnace filter as a rock substitute at the bottom for drainage. It was cheaper than the Better Than Rocks brand and I have noticed that it works great as a drainage product and the roots love to root around in it.

Just thought I would share my experience as this is the first year I’ve done such extensive container gardening: 45 containers! Some are re-purposed 2 liter soda bottles and milk jugs. Work just fine, ain’t fancy, but with proper drainage it is perfect for my greens.

By: Fern

Fern — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 17:33:21 +0000

Kim–I think it depends on the variety and how densely you plant them, but most sweet corn varieties produce 1 or 2 ears of corn per plant. Although when plants produce more than 1 ear, the secondary ears are smaller than the first.

By: Kim

Kim — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:57:49 +0000

Love this post! Am already planning my corn containers for 2011! Quick Question: Do sweet corn varieties only produce one ear of corn per plant or multiple? If multiple, about how many? Thanks, Kim

By: Fern

Fern — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:04:43 +0000

Walt--Seeds of Change, High Mowing Seeds, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Botanical Interests, and Johnny's Select Seeds are all good places to find organic corn seed. As far as when to sow your seeds, you are a little late, (ideally you would have sown them 2 months ago) but you might still have the chance to grow corn this year because Central Florida's growing season is so long. It's worth a try!

By: Walt

Walt — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 20:16:25 +0000

I am getting ready to start my first container garden so I’ve been doing a lot of searching on what can and can not be grown in containers. I was very excited when I saw your post about corn. However, being a beginner at the whole garden thing, I have two questions. I live in central FL, so when would be the best time to start my corn garden. The second is more of a general question about organic gardening. Do you recommend a place to get seeds at?

Thanks for your time,
WaltDjr

By: Fern

Fern — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:03:17 +0000

Mike–Yep! most legumes put nitrogen back into the soil, which helps corn, which needs a lot of nitrogen.

By: mike

mike — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:04:52 +0000

when you mention beans does thet include green beans ? thx