You're not stupid, you're ignorant. There's a difference! 8^)
Actually, you're just learning like everyone else.
Don't pull anything out with tweezers, there's no need and you might pull the wrong thing.
Small "suckers" forming at the upper leaf axils are usually the beginnings of an ear of corn growing. Some may form ears and others may not. Silks will come out where an ear is being produced, and should come out before your tassels are spent. Sometimes the silks don't come out until after the tassels are finished, which means no corn for you. It's a hazard when you have such a small planting. However, sometimes suckers growing from the base of the plant will produce more tassels that you can use. When you do get silks out, find whatever tassels you can and shake them on top of the silks. Not usually necessary but such a small planting may require it.

Okay, thanks much for the info.

On the tweezers, I was actually asking about whether I needed to remove the earwigs which seem to have taken up residence in the "tillers/ears". :-) Wasn't sure if they were just hanging out or if they might do damage to any developing ears/silks.

I know 12 stalks is a pretty small planting, but I was limited for this year by garden space, plus it's just hubby and I, so I didn't need much. I figured 12 should give me around 12-15 ears (hopefully, anyway), and that would be enough for the 2 of us.

I'll keep an eye out for silks in the new growths. And fortunately, if the tassels on the tallest stalks are spent by then, it seems that 3 of the first-planted stalks are a bit ahead of the other 3, so maybe I can hand-pollinate using the neighboring stalks' tassels.

Thanks again! I had done searches and just wasn't finding the specific information I sought... so I really appreciate your reply.

Happy gardening!

Jodi - i'm glad you asked these questions...this is my first year growing corn also, and it sounds like our corn is in the same growing stage. Anyway, I learned alot from this.

TC - thanks for providing the answers.
Here are my 70 plants (peaches and cream) last sunday....

{{gwi:85206}}

EG

Looking good, EG! Glad this helped you as well. I love this forum and the nice folks on it!

You know what's funny... after reading TC's response, I went out and carefully looked again... and one of those "tiller" looking things now does indeed have a few little silks forming in it! Should I go ahead now and try tapping a frond from the tassel over it? I'm not seeing any build-up of tiny pollen on the tassels so far, just the little purple things that are dropping. The pollen will be like a yellow dust, I'm assuming? Will I be able to see it when it's there?

Thanks again!

Okay, I just did more searching and found this site, which I thought was tremendously helpful with quenching my ignorance with great information and photos! :-)

Sex in the Corn Field, Purdue

Very good, jodi - thanks for the link. I didn't know that corn could be so sophisticated. That was very valuable reading.

EG

I've got another corn newbie question....The silks are starting to show, and I was concerned about the worms that attack corn. I read somewhere that you can apply some mineral oil ( I think ) to the silks, and it's supposed to help deter the worms from doing any damage. What would happen, if I were to apply BT to the silks, and/or entire ear while the ears are maturing? Would this prevent them from damaging my crop?

EG

EG, just wanted to show you what you have to look forward to...

Shot

Peaches & Cream
{{gwi:66710}}

Man, shot - you sure know how to hurt a guy's feelings. That is some fine looking ears right there! I hope to be able to return the favor in the near future, by showing you a photo of mine. âº

EG

If someone isn't sur yet what the pollen looks like....it is the very fine dust that you may see when you shake the tassels. The flakey chaff that falls too is not the pollen.