Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

I ended up getting "sugar buns"sweet corn,an se hybrid that I believe is a mid-late hybrid (correct me if I'm wrong). I was wondering about any early hybrids that I can plant in another sectionthat won't have cross-pollination problems??

We have had a lot of moisture, and temps still in the mid fifties, so I am going to wait until May/June to plant the "sugar buns". It needs pretty warm soil temps to germinate anyway..but I was wondering if any one had any suggestions on an early hybrid?

As you can see, we have had a lot of moisture. I waiting till things dry up to finish working the soil. I figure I'll just use the roto-tiller and old fashioned row planterfor this spot. I still plan on protecting this one from the deer, so I got some T-posts up before another thunderstorm. Still looking into products that would work well as nettingand not look bad.Any suggestions I'm open to them..





I also plan on protecting some young apple trees until they get established.




I planted 2 new trees yesterday as well. A semi-dwarf yellow delicious and another profusion crabapple to help pollination. Still need to get these protected, and staked down so they grow straight. I always try to keep the root ball about 2 inches above ground level, but the profusion crab apple didn't even have a root ball





Any suggestions/advice is greatly appreciated

RE: Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

Im no expert, but itwould be sweet if you could get a small orchard going in the next 5 years. The deer would pound it.

RE: Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

Bowman, On the sweet corn, I used to grow sugar buns, it is a little finicky with soil temps. It also does not get very tall, making the ears especially vulnerable to 'coons and skunks. But it has won many taste competitions.

One that I prefer now that does tolerate cooler soils and is very hardy all the way around is called Ambrosia (se) it is a bi-color also. Kandy Korn (se) is another tall and very hardy yellow corn. Any of the (su) type will do better planted early than the others, but the taste is not as good IMO.

I see nothing wrong with you apple trees, deer protection is key at that stage. My favorite late maturing apple is called a York, it ripens in october in my area and will stay good and crisp till january.

RE: Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

I have never grown "sugar buns," but I have a lot of experience with SE (sugar enhanced) varieties. The SE varieties are great for us northerners, they take colder soil. They will germinate to soil temps of about 55-60. Sugar buns is a 72 day corn (takes about 72 days from emergence to maturity). That is a mid-early hybrid. Shorter day hybrids usually have smaller ears, and are not as sweet. The 72 day corn is a good compromise on the early maturity and nice cob size trade-off.In earlier maturing varieties, theplant just doesn't have enough time to make big sweet ears. I would make 2-4 plantings of sugar buns, about 1 week apart (if practical). That would stagger the maturity of the sweetcorn, and give you some insurance against early season cold spells. If anything, I would pick a later maturity variety (something in the 80-85 day range). If you do want another variety, any SE hybrid will work just fine. Any garden supply site (Gurney's, Jung, Stokes, etc.) will have their varieties labeled. Their catalogs can really help you decide which varieties may work best for you.

The fence works great for protecting small fruit trees from deer. I have done that myself. You may have rabbit and mouse issues though. Protecting the trunks from chewing critters in winter may be a good idea. Consider a plastic sleeve around the trunk to discourage the little knawing pests.

RE: Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

Haystack--thanks for the info that is helpful. I was looking at Kandy Corn in Gurneys catalog.

Soilman- also good info, I am going to make 3 or 4 planting up until mid June probably.

Thanks guys I am going to save your answers to a word document so I can have this info down the road :D
So if I plant Kandy Korn (I like hearing it is hardy and grows tall), there won;t be any problems with the sugar buns in terms of cross-pollination?
Or does that problem onlt arise with field corn/sweet corn?

RE: Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

No I have grown both together without problems. 2 reasons, they are both (se) and they mature at different times. 72 days for the sugar buns and 85 for the Kandy Korn. Those maturity dates vary also depending on the year. The (sh2) are the most vulnerable for cross pollination. But I would not let any besides the (su) pollinate with field corn.

RE: Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

"Sweet Corn Seed - Kandy Korn Hybrid (se) Sweet Corn" Gurney's says it is an SE, so there will be no cross pollination problems. Cross polination issues can arise between different sweetcorn hybrid types. Sh2 hybrids are especially sensitive to cross polination. Anything other than another sh2 will cause problems. I can vouch for Kandy Korn as well. A client of mine grew it from my crop scouting days, and it is fabulous.

RE: Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

Thats the plan..More of a long term goal..


haystack and soilman.. ThanksI will be planting both of them then..

RE: Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

You know it must work if a guy that works for the government agrees with a farmer! :D

RE: Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

I hear ya Soilman, but something tells me you are not the average G-man

RE: Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

Ha, good stuff.

I'm looking into the York apple trees..They sound awesome, ripening right around the start of bow season. My buddy has two that hold fruit throughout winter but I'm not sure what kind they are, I'll find out. This is all long term thinking obviously, but I really would like to get a little orchard going

RE: Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

It takes time for apple trees especially, but once they start producing NOTHING draws deer better. Plus most apple trees are very long lived. I know of some that has lived for over 50 years! So some of those you are planting could be around when you are an old man ;)

RE: Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

Haha thats what Im hoping.. Anything I can do to bring in more wildlife I wanna do, even if it takes years.

RE: Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

Bowman, I found a few pictures of both of the sweet corn varieties we mentioned, I had to take a picture of a picture and its not as clear as I would have liked. The first one is Kandy Korn, its got a purple stalk, shuck and tassel and gets 6 to 7 ft tall.



This is the "sugar buns" its a very healthy variety but it is short..4 to 5 ft, this is right at pollination time.



One other thing I should mention on the fruit trees, I dont know if you have considered Pear trees, but one variety that ripens late is called a KIEFFER, in my area it ripens mid-Oct- Nov and is the lowest maintenance fruit tree that I know of. It will do good without spray and is very disease resistant, not much if any pruning, and lives a very long time, well over 50 yrs. And deer love them. I will get some pictures of some very old apple and pear trees later on.

RE: Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

Haystack, awesome pictures thanks for posting them. Also, thanks for the info on pear trees, I was looking at some they had at home depot, but I will look for "kieffer" pear trees. That is some very nice looking corn, I hopesome day I have little gardens that look like that. That Kandy Korn sure does get tall.

Also guys, another question, sorry..Howdoes sweet corn do for wildlife if left standing??All the farmers around here grow soy beans, different types of bush beans,and corn. I have no idea what kind of corn it is, but only small patches are left standing, not much...
I'm planning on leaving a little of the Kandy Korn (that i decided i'll plantalonsgside wherethe clover)standing throughout the fall and winter for wildlife. Howwould it fare left standing? Would the coons leave any for the deer?

I should also note that I'm protectingall the little corn plots throughout the growing season, and plan on taking down the "deer nets" inearly october. The corn we'll eat willbe harvested at the correct day to harvest,72 for the sugar buns and around 85-89 for Kandy Korn (i'm confused about this harvest date, I've read 3 different things, but I'll go with what you all said)......But I guess my question is will the standing sweet corn be a contender against the farmers corn ? ? The bean farmers are close, at the bottom of my ridge, butthe closest corn is down in the bottoms about 1.5-2 miles away. Sorry for the long-winded question but i thought I should explain some context.

I really appreciate allyou guys taking time to share your knowledge.. I'm just really blessed my family got our own littleproperty last yearand I'm excited to make it as best as possible for wildlife. You guys sure do know your stuff.

RE: Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

On those maturity dates, it is influenced by many factors. Soilman can probably explain it better than I can, but I will give you an example. I grow Ambrosia it is a 75 day corn, last year I planted on Apr 21 and it was Jul 15 when it was ready, a total of 86 days. Day length, soil temp, heat units, cloudy days all effect maturity. The Stokes seed catalog or web site is a good place to learn about that subject also.

As far as sweet corn for food plots, yes, deer will definitely use it but it does not produce nearly as much as field corn. One other major disadvantage is will not stand as long/good as field corn, just does not have stalk strength as field corn. 'coons could be a real problem, but I have noticed if there are lots of acorns they will not demolish as bad later in the fall.

With the nearest corn fields that far away, it would definitely do you some good. But unless you have the equipment, it will be very hard to plant a field big enough to last the deer and other wildlife on in to fall. Plus it has gotten very expensive to plant corn, This year it is going to cost 400.00 bucks an acre in my area. I'm not trying to discourage you, just letting you know what to expect. You may be able to do it cheaper with some research also. Now this is getting long winded, but its what I like talking about (LOL) :D

RE: Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

In 2003, my elderly neighbor sold part of his farm to couple from a big city, I nearly fainted when they came to visit and ask if I would be willing to help if they put in a orchard. My answer was yes,yes,yes. Since then over 5000 fruit trees of all kinds have been planted and the deer population has tripled. I got extremely lucky, considering most farm land in my area gets developed 9 times out of 10. These pictures was taken last year about this time, we have been much cooler this year and the trees are just starting get buds.

RE: Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

Wow, that is quite an orchard.. Very impressive

About the sweet corn, that makes sense. I figured with such small plots it would not do much good, but I figure if I leave4-5 rows standingon thearea by the clover, it would create some sort of a "wall" that would make the deer feel more comfortable coming off the ridge. Especially with how tallKandy Korn gets.That might not make sense unless you saw the actual lay of the land.

Either way, I've learned a lot thanks again.
I'm already thinking of things I wanna do next year based on what I've seen. And spring just got here:D

RE: Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

The"days to maturity" is the approximate number of days after emergence that the crop will mature. Warm spells (close to 86 degrees with adequate moisture) will shorten the number of days to maturity. It is best to check your corn frequently, and peel open a couple cobs when the silks are drying. Once you put a seed in the ground, you are at the mercy of the weather. All you can do is pray (or irrigate if you have that ability).Weeds can be controlled without divine intervention.

That is a nice looking orchard Haystack. Glad the land wasn't covered in concrete.

RE: Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

Thanks for the info on checking the corn frequently. I basically live at the farm in the summer so I will be there a lot to make sure they get water.
I have a water source on the property that lets me reach almost anywhere in the field and pasture with 2, 90 foot sections of hose and lawn sprinklers. Thats the best I can do during dry spells, but it helped a lotlast year. After doing landscaping for the last seven years, I hate weeds[:@]. I'm hoping mowing the clover and using a handheld cultivator for the cornwill be enough.The only kind of herbicide I was planning on using was Preenspecifically forVegetable gardens, putting it down after the corn is established. Is this a good idea? I know I'll have to clear all the weeds first because it only stops germination and won't kill existing weeds. Is it worth it? I've heard mixed things

RE: Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

Up here in Wi. I just plant it (corn) what grows grows, I get seed from Pheasants forever about $15 a bag, Turkey foundation could have seed also.
Deer use corn when it starts growing and then again after it freezes. Crap apple trees are great and tough, don't let the mice girdle them tho[:'(]
RC

RE: Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

Preen works great on small areas. My mom loves it in her garden.

RE: Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

Bowman, I dont use chemicals in my sweet corn patch, but its not real large either. If you can till it once every 7 to 10 days until the corn gets waist high, the weeds wont have as much affect on the yield. The corn will shade the ground and deprive the weeds of sunlight.

If I decided to grow a large sweet corn patch, especially for a food plot I would use them. And of course I would try to find the cheapest/generic forms I could find. The chemical in preen is called trifluralin, not sure it comes in generic form, but its a good possibility. Two more that is basically the same thing is surflan and treflan.

RE: Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

Alright thanks.. while at the store today getting fertilizer, I noticed they have some of those "Keifer" pear trees you were talking about. I'm thinking about picking a few up tomorrow. They looked healthy but Idont know, I've heardthat sometimes it can be harder to plant older fruit trees, as they are harder to establish compared to younger ones. Is this true with pears as well? These were definitely a few years old.

RE: Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

I'm assuming they was in a pot. If they are extremely root bound, yes that could give you some trouble. All of the fruit trees that I have planted have been "bare root", so I dont have much experience to draw from. It could be an opportunity to "haggle" them down on price though [8D];) If you could get a good deal, it might be worth trying a tree are two, I have planted shrubs that were extremely root bound and they eventually done good. I used a knife to "tease" the roots apart. Not sure about it bowman.

RE: Sweet corn and Apple Trees
 

Yea, they are in pots. The only trees I've ever planted were root ball, not potted. I may try one or two out,but most likelyjust look for some younger ones.