When is it to late to plant corn?

[Spike]

We have had more than our share of rain and then there has bee some very bad not good things happen here so I still don't have the corn planted They always say "knee high by the Fourth of July" but how late is to late?

[wykvlvr]

Chuckling you mean how early can you plant corn right? Mine is still sitting in the seed box...

[worth1]

Not for sure where the knee high orientated.
Far south or up north.
Regardless you would need to plant a variety that has a short growing period.
The hughe tall corn they grow in south America takes something Ike 9 to 10 months i think.
They don't have a winter.

[karstopography]

https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn ... s-consider

Looks like before May 25th is ideal. What are you three weeks after that?

[Spike]

Yeah, between the rains and getting husband out of the hospital, I am so behind on everything.

[karstopography]

https://north40.com/blog/growing-corn-s ... ern-season

Here’s an article from someone from Ohio that grew short days to harvest sweet corn.

[pondgardener]

The corn should germinate quickly with warmer temperatures but whether you get a crop could depend on the variety and how early your frost date is.

[ddsack]

Go ahead and plant it now, with these hot summers it will mature just fine, just be a couple weeks later than if you planted earlier. Nothing wrong with getting corn in August or early September. Many growers have successive plantings of 10-14 day blocks to extend the fresh pick season.

[bower]

I am not a corn grower, but my friend has been growing corn on her farm for some years. She starts them indoors and we transplant them when they're about six inches tall, middle of July. And she has corn in September. Yes it may depend of course on your variety, if it's a long season type it might be too late, but ... I say go for it!
And good luck with the other things, hope your summer goes smoothly from here with rest and recreation for all concerned.

[GoDawgs]

https://north40.com/blog/growing-corn-s ... ern-season

Here’s an article from someone from Ohio that grew short days to harvest sweet corn.

That's interesting about their Silver Queen taking 92 days in Montana. Here in Georgia with the ability to get it in the ground early to avoid the worst heat of summer, mine regularly finishes in 68-70 days. Geography is everything when it comes to growing stuff! Insect pressure too. I've tried to grow a second later crop of SQ and it just doesn't work for me here. The heat beats on it, the funk gets it and the bugs get into it so I quit trying.

@Spike, I'd go ahead and try it. Nothing to lose but a pack of seeds! And I hope DH is recovering quickly.

[Spike]

You guys/gals all ROCK! Thanks and you are right. Can't hurt to give it a shot! <3

[slugworth]

after the japanese beetle days of the 1980's I gave up and pledged my allegiance to tomatoes.
One time I ran out of the jap beetle trap bags and used a bread bag instead.
Filled the bag in 1 day.Silver queen takes forever and you would never see it for roadside sale before sept. here.
I did the platinum lady and saved the seeds,which was interesting.
It went from white to white and yellow kernels to a light yellow kernel.
I did have it up to 5 ears per stalk in it's heyday.Earwigs would nest in the ends,which made it yucky.

[JRinPA]

I don't think it is too late for you to get it in now. I have planted mid-July and still got a decent harvest. I have planted end of July and gotten some in October, but light is running out by then for good ear formation, and there was unaccounted for tree shade due to the low sun.

My first set of corn is around 8-10 leaves by now, past knee high for sure. They say that around here, too, but it means nothing to me. I always thought it was for horse corn. My first sweet corn is generally knee high by the 4th of June. I have red beets in the rows as well, and am going to stick in sweet potato slips in between the rows, hopefully tomorrow. It is getting almost too high to get in to do that.

When I try seed in the ground the germination is always spotty - it never rains for me. So I do soil blocks for most all my corn, not just early.

I just started my second set of soil blocks a few hours ago. Should have started one or two weeks ago. That will be block#2, here at home. Doing sweet potatoes under that too. I will start my third set of trays for block#3 in two weeks to put at the comm garden. I'm not decided yet whether it will replace the garlic rows or the pea rows, peas I think. That will be seedlings around July 4th plant-out and should be good corn around mid-September. First frost here is usually mid October, but the light is waning before that. This is an 80 or 85 day corn but transplanted and growing in the heat of August, it will come fast and be fine as long as there is enough water. We get a lot of 80F days in September. Bug pressure is usually heavier for the last crop.

[Danny]

For bugs like earwigs or corn ear worms, a couple of drops of mineral oil stops that.

[JRinPA]

As follow up, I did get a solid harvest for both block 2 that was seeded into trays on Jun 14th and transplanted in the backyard, and the block 3 that was seeded into trays somewhere around 2 weeks later and transplanted into the comm garden (that was the premier sock block). The only real problem with block 3 planted at that late a time was a bold July groundhog used the tall tomato rows as concealment to mow down about 1/8th of the block, within a couple weeks of transplanting.

[Spike]

@JRinPA Thank you for that update!! Due to my husbands medical issues I was never able to actually get the corn planted. I have high hopes for this season!