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Re: SqFt Corn -- questions

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

THANK YOU!! Those are great suggestions. And, as always, Mel somehow makes
me feel like *even I* can do this.  ;-)

PS

>Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html
>
>On 09:31 PM 8/9/99 -0400, Patricia J. Santhuff wrote:
>
>>And now the racoons (we assume) have decimated them. We even put *peace
>>offerings* of dried corn around the perimeter, but those rascally racoons
>>sagely prefer the fresh green stuff, even though not fully ripe.
>>
>>Any thoughts anyone, including dealing with the racoons? I realize that with
>>all the things we DIDN'T do, that we were asking for minimal productivity,
>>but I'd sure appreciate any advice and insight so we can do better next
>year. 
>
>In the 2/96 OG article, Mel talks about a new way to grow a square of corn:
>
><quote>
>
>1. THE 4 BY 4 SWEET CORN BUSHEL!
>
>To reap a true cornucopia of corn (64 ears or more from a 4 by 4 foot
>space!), plant four seeds (or kernels) per square foot (that's four times
>my original recommendation of only one plant per square foot!).
>
>I discovered this highly improved high-yield planting scheme quite by
>accident while filming a segment for my PBS TV series in South Carolina. I
>decided to space some corn closer together than I usually recommend, using
>varieties with very short stalks (like EARLY SUNGLOW and BUTTERFRUIT ), so
>that the growth would look more lush on camera. Later in the season, I
>found out that this planting not only looked lush, it was lush-four times
>as lush as my standard sweet corn planting scheme! I reaped 64 perfect
>juicy sweet ears of corn from just 16 square feet! (You can "up" that
>harvest to an astonishing 128 ears if you choose EARLY SUNGLOW, which bears
>two ears per stalk!)
>
>This extra-close planting offers another benefit besides boosting your
>yields: It also makes it much easier to protect your corn patch from
>critters, thus ensuring that you get to eat each and every possible ear
>from your patch. Simply enclose each 4 by 4 foot corn patch in a chicken
>wire "cage" and you'll keep birds away from the seedlings and raccoons away
>from the mature ears! Use the 4 foot tall chicken wire fencing that has 1
>inch holes (available at hardware stores and garden centers); sink a stake
>into each corner of the bed, and then tie the wire to the stakes. (If your
>bed has a wooden frame, you can staple the bottom of the fencing to the
>frame for extra security.) Wire the ends of the fence together where they
>meet to enclose your patch, then cut a 4 by 4 foot piece of chicken wire to
>fasten over top of the whole works (the edges of this flat piece will rest
>on the top edges of the fence). This way the entire bed will be enclosed,
>and all you have to do is "lift the lid" (that piece of chicken wire on
>top) when it's time to harvest your critter-free corn!
>
></quote>
>
>This is how I plan to plant my corn next year (this year I planted too late
>and didn't work on my soil hard enough and I have a dismal crop).
>
>jc
>
>
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