New gardener ? About corn planting

[beci24]

We planted our first garden this yr and it's doing well except the corn. Our ground is soo hard that we can only til down about 2-3in. So my question is can we plant our corn or is it going to fall over as it growsdue to not being deep enough?
So glad I stumbled on this board, I didn't know it existed.
Thanks

[brookglen]

Corn has a very short rooting system. You can even grow it in 5 gallon pots. I'm not sure 3 inches is enough for much to grow though. Most things i have read reccommend tilling down at least 6 inches. Have you considered adding a raised bed?

[3lilbubs]

I agree, a raised bed system would be better. I even saw a way you can do temporary raised beds with STRAW!!! So cool!

[beci24]

The only problem is we have a 5 acre farm and are trying to till up farm field. A raised bed really wouldn't work for the amount of corn we are trying to plant. I think we re going to try to water the ground and see if it softens the ground enough to til it better. I also noticed today the something is munchin on my broccoli plants- what can I put on my veggies that's safe if my little ones pick something up and touch it or eat it?
Thank soo much

[brookglen]

Originally Posted by beci24 The only problem is we have a 5 acre farm and are trying to till up farm field. A raised bed really wouldn't work for the amount of corn we are trying to plant. I think we re going to try to water the ground and see if it softens the ground enough to til it better. I also noticed today the something is munchin on my broccoli plants- what can I put on my veggies that's safe if my little ones pick something up and touch it or eat it? Thank soo much

Can you post a picture of the bug damage? It's hard to determine what kind of treatment you need with out knowing what kind of pests you're dealing with.

[3lilbubs]

You can do that, but corn doesn't like clay if that's what you're fighting. You'll probably wind up amending the soil with mulch to make it work-able. Another thing to consider is, if you don't absolutely NEED corn this year, plant a legume cover crop and till the plants into the soil at season's end to add nitrogen and plant material to the soil. This will prime the soil for a good crop of corn the following cycle.

[vjbakke]

I agree, corn like looser well worked soil. Can you amend it with some composted manure or something something similar . What part of the country are your from? You may be a bit late on the corn. Here corn has been planted for over a month or more. ( we're in MN) Our Dakota Black popcorn is over a ft tall already. We're fighting having the wind blow it over all the time.

Bugs attacking your plants maybe a sign of stressed plants not getting the nutrients they need. Maybe some insecticidal soap spray, but you kneed to know what your fighting first.

[vjbakke]

double post

[beci24]

Thanks everyone, we finally did get the corn planted about 1/4 of our seeds anyway and it's growing ok I guess BBUT I'm in Illinois and we are in a terrible drought. We are watering the garden & corn every couple days and praying they will all survive. Most of the farmers are already talking about mowing down the corn because it's dead from no rain
The broccoli is doing well so I'm not going to do anything to it but watch like I have been.