Sideways Corn

I wonder if anything of value is accomplished without adversity? Have all the really easy jobs been taken?

Is my corn ‘Leaning in?”

Sideways corn at this size is pretty resilient. It will regain its feet and has a powerful urge to stand erect. The sun will play its part and the now leaning corn will stand up on its own.

I wish the Johnson grass would suffer too. But it likes the garden and is obviously thriving. Just last year this field was 7 feet of Johnson grass. It looked like a mono-culture. It shut out almost everything else. There was a small hide in the grass. Some average sized animal had scrapped a small bed 5 feet by 3 feet and was resting there completely hidden.

You must kill Johnson grass before its stem swells. When this happens the plant is producing an underground root that can survive decapitation. The root will just send up a stalk from buds along it’s length. Tilling spraying and tilling again didn’t kill the seeds. If we can just stop these two propagation methods this plant uses (underground roots and seeds) we will have a much cleaner garden next year.

Corn standing up 1 1/2 days later.

Quick update on the corn. This picture was taken a day and a half later. Our new roto-tiller has already been put to very good use too.