Conventional wisdom

[Ruderunner]

Says grow pole beans with corn. Ugh what a disaster that turned into.

My corn is stunted and getting knocked over from the weight of the beans. At least the beans are happy.

Next time, Bush beans!

 

[oneeye]

I can see that would be a disaster too.

 

[YumYum]

Says grow pole beans with corn. Ugh what a disaster that turned into.

My corn is stunted and getting knocked over from the weight of the beans. At least the beans are happy.

Next time, Bush beans!

That same thing happened to me with "cornfield" beans and corn. They pulled my corn down. I wont do that again either but I still grow pole beans and corn, only separately.

 

[Ruderunner]

Yeah. Like I said, Bush beans next year.

 

[Meadowlark]

I've done this for years and years. Never have a problem. The key is to plant your beans only well after the corn has already come up. Plant them together and the corn doesn't have a chance. Plant the beans later and they are both happy.

 

[Ruderunner]

I'll look into that next year.

Question on Bush vs pole beans, it seems most Bush varieties are determinate, would they still provide nitrogen fixation after harvest? Assuming the plants remain living.

 

[Meadowlark]

The Nitrogen fixation will be less with the removal of the beans. However, according to research at Texas A&M University, the main conduit of Nitrogen to the soil from a legume is through the plant decaying in the soil.

 

[Ruderunner]

Green manure then?

How tall do you let the corn get before planting beans?

 

[Meadowlark]

Yes, green manure is the magic of "No N-P-K required" garden soil.

I usually plant beans in corn when the corn is up about a foot or less.

 

[Ruderunner]

Hmm, I might have to start corn indoors or have a short bean season.

 

[skinyea]

I do this every year. I plant Corn around May 15th and then pole beans around June 20th.

 

[Ruderunner]

Just a follow up. I'm starting corn seedlings indoors this year. Already have a few sprouts. I heard corn doesn't like transplanting though. So, I've got them started in larger biodegradable pots, hopefully this minimizes root disturbance later.

 

[Meadowlark]

I have never had any success with corn that was transplanted. I just shake my head when I see corn transplants on the shelf in the garden centers.

Let us know how those in biodegradable pots works out.

I planted 5 short rows of corn about a week ago. That planting will be followed by another a month later and a third another month after that...succession planting equals continuous supply of fresh corn most all summer.

One of the keys to successful garden corn is uniform germination...i.e. germination at the same time. I try to get that by planting seeds at identical depth and seed direction.

 

[Ruderunner]

I have extra corn to plant later so there's a backup plan. The biodegradable pots get planted with the corn so I'm hoping to avoid root damage from normal transplanting. Pots were cheap and seed is cheap, we'll see what happens. I'm about a month away from planting.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I tried corn again for the first time in years last year. Our climate means I have to start under cover to get in a long enough season, but I had no problems with transplanting them. Maybe it's because I am so gentle and skilful in my handling

As it happens I sowed a bunch today and it was in biodegradable paper cups, so I might just try dropping them in whole when I plant them out. hmmm.