Planting Corn and Squash

 My corn and squash bed is a modest affair.  I’ve been using the same black plastic bed cover for 30 years.  The three inch long diamond shaped holes were cut at 16 inch square centres.  That’s three rows down the bed with 16 inches between each corn plant.

Pollination is always a concern with small blocks of corn since they are wind pollinated.  Growing a single row of corn looks cute but doesn’t pollinate properly unless you do it by hand and get the timing just right.  And multiple varieties cross pollinating leaves a tasteless mess.  Growing corn in triple row blocks works well for me.  I can grow more than one variety as long as each variety tassels at a different time. 

When we had kids at home I grew more corn: blocks of 9 or 12 per variety with three ripening dates.  Usually an earlier variety and later variety seeded at the same time and then the later variety seeded a couple of weeks later for a third planting.

Now it’s usually just the two of us so I only seed a dozen Golden Jubilee for easy eating.  I prefer full corn flavour and creamy texture rather than just sugary sweetness.  Corn for freezing hasn't been a priority for me with just a backyard garden.  Corn takes up a lot of space and nitrogen and can wear out / deplete a soil quickly of many other nutrients.  Corn for drying and grinding is recommended by Eliot Coleman for a “Hard Times Garden” but we’ve just never been into corn meal recipes.  However, we might get into dry corn and dry bean production if the economy falters or…. 

The three squash plants are transplanted into the south end of the corn bed with the corn at the north end.  The squashes were seeded indoors under lights on April 12^th and then grown in their pots in the greenhouse after a couple of weeks.  Judging by the root ball in the pots, I think I’ll delay my starting of my outdoor squashes by one week next year.  Set out time should be closer to the end of the month when it’s warmer.  

I prefer only vining squashes over bush varieties so that the squash vines can spread throughout the base of the corn stalks. I also choose winter squashes that store a good long time in my garage.  Currently my choice is a variety of Delicata.  But this year I’m also trying some Butternut.  The goal is to get five squashes per plant yielding me about 15 from my corn bed.  These two types keep at least until the end of February.  

I also have a Zucchini plant in some extra space at the south end of my Cabbage bed and another Butternut in 20 square feet of a newly decommissioned asparagus bed.  The three squashes in the corn bed are also free to wander across the path and surround the Zucchini.

The 50 square foot corn bed is in a spot where the chickens had been for a few months in the spring so there’s no need for extra nitrogen.  I added 1.5 lbs of lime and 1.75 lbs of Rock Phosphate then tilled it all in making sure the last bits of the mostly decomposed dump of fall leaves that the chickens had worked on was stirred in as well.

The bed is raked flat after which my row marker is used to mark the three lines 16 inches apart, down the length of the bed.  Then with the flat back of the bow rake I gently rake a bit of soil away from the three lines in both directions, creating three gentle troughs and rises down the length of the bed.  This will direct the water to arrive evenly at each plant.  

The black plastic bed cover goes over that with the planting holes lined up in the troughs.  Down each row, between each diamond shaped planting hole I place a large egg sized stone.  The plastic under each stone has a slit cut in it for more even watering.  Lastly, I use my coathanger wire staples to hold the edges of the bed cover in place near the paths.  This bed cover will leave the bed weed free all summer.  It also warms the soil nicely for better early germination of the corn.

The diamond holes stop nearer the south end and are replaced with cross slits.  This is where the squashes are planted.  Like my cabbages, I like to use a thin stick slid diagonally across the squash leaves and stem into the soil to help hold the young plant steady against any wind stress.  The final item is adding a four-foot stake just north of each squash plant to help identify exactly where each plant sits when the profusion of tall leaves hides its location since I need to know where to focus the most water.

Last year’s corn germination was good so this year I still only planted two seeds per diamond opening.  Once I’ve recorded the current germination rate I’ll thin them to one plant per hole.  If the rate is mediocre and leaves me with empty spots or weak plants, I’ll either go to three seeds per spot next year or replace the seed.  Multiple seeds guarantees a plant in each spot -- a full block is important for pollination and more productive.

With my extra space in my modestly expanded garden and my two chickens for extra nitrogen, I might consider growing some extra corn for freezing next year.  I haven't seen fresh Organic Corn advertised anywhere here in the Fraser Valley and a regular non organic dozen is getting more and more expensive.

Happy Gardening.