Commercially, corn is grown mainly for livestock feed, but it is found everywhere in gardens and summer cottages. Of course, varieties for people are distinguished by more delicate grains.
- Cultivated in our time, corn is not capable of self-seeding and growth in the wild.
- It is monoecious and has dioecious inflorescences, cross-pollinated.
- The root system of maize is powerful, goes to a depth of 1.5 m. In addition, support roots are formed on the stem under the ground, which firmly fix the plant, and also help to absorb and retain water and minerals.
- Corn stalks are erect, from 60 cm to 6 m tall.
- The corn inflorescence is a complex spike, male inflorescences in the form of a panicle on the top of the stem, and female in the axils of the leaves.
Planting corn
For me, planting any plant comes down to digging up the ground, breaking it with a rake, sowing, watering, weeding and that’s it. But still, to get a higher order of harvest, you need to adhere to some rules, and talk about them.
Not once she noticed that the fields of corn alternated with fields of wheat. So it was in the village of the grandmother at the “live” collective farm. Therefore, I can safely say that corn, tilled, leguminous, even spring wheat can be the precursors of maize. On the garden plot, tomatoes, gourds and root crops can be precursors.
To grow corn in the garden, you need to choose a sunny, warm place for it. Corn grows on various soils, but prefers well-warmed lungs with good water content. Heavy lowland soils with poor water outflow do not tolerate.
In order to get good yields, the soil must be fertile. To do this, in the autumn digging make organic (rotted manure) and phosphate-potassium fertilizers in accordance with the proportions on the package for the number of meters expected for planting. In the spring, the landing area is usually raked to break the crust and clumps of earth.
Planting corn immediately in the ground
- Corn is planted in the soil warmed to +12 ° C, a day before planting, nitrogen fertilizers can be applied at the rate of 200 g per 10 sq. M. m. Immediately before planting, the soil is loosened to a depth of about 10 cm.
- To accelerate the germination of seeds, they must be heated for about 5 days at a temperature of about +35 ° C, after which you can soak them in warm water.
- Sowing of maize begins at the end of April at a depth of about 7 cm. In field conditions, the seedlings of maize will appear already on the 12th day.
- On garden plots, corn is best sown in rows. Take about 60 cm between rows, about 40 cm between plants in a row.
Square nesting method, in this case I put 3 seeds into each spilled well. After sprinkling with slightly damp earth and mulch the earth dry. After the shoots have appeared, of them I leave the strongest seedling, the rest I break through.
For corn, the conveyor method is also acceptable, when varieties with different ripening periods are planted at intervals of 15 days. In this case, the harvest will be continuous throughout the summer.
Many hybrids and varieties of corn germinate when the temperature is about +10 ° C. Some familiar amateur gardeners plant seedlings so as to get a crop in less time without worrying about frosts.
Planting corn for seedlings
Planting usually takes about 30 days of seedlings.
- In early May, seeds are sown. It is best to use humus-land bags or peat-earthen. Because the seedlings will be immediately isolated, and during transplantation the risk of damage to the root system will be maximized. It is because of damage to the roots of the corn does not like transplant. When planting corn seedlings in containers, the root system needs to fill the container.
- Already on June 15, it is possible to plant seedlings of corn in open ground, the germ should have no more than 3 true leaves.
Plant corn to a depth a little more than a coma of earth in which seedlings were grown. After planting, pour and grind the soil.
Corn care
Corn responds well to compost and humus, but mullein as well as corn fowl is an excellent diet. I had a hand at hand (chicken manure), I can say that the harvest was very good. Top dressing is done when corn seedlings already have 6 full leaves. In addition to organic matter, it is possible to add ammonium nitrate, potash fertilizers and superphosphate between the rows in liquid form.
- The first time after planting, the corn grows slowly, so weeding and loosening will benefit her. It is necessary to loosen between rows about 3 times during the growing season. The higher the plant, the smaller the depth of loosening, so as not to damage the adventitious roots.
- Many times I saw how gardeners doed corn planting, for this they tear off male flowers (sultans at the top of the stem) and shake them over flowering cobs (female flowers).
- Corn formed side shoots stepchildren. They need to be removed so as not to delay the formation of young cobs and plant growth.
- I am also pleased with corn and watering, especially it is necessary during the period of laying and maturing of the cobs, but excessive watering is undesirable.
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