This is the hardest corn to grow, but well worth the effort if you can, this year I had to plant it 3 times-the first 1 1/2 plantings would not even germinate. I thought I planted too deep,(2nd knuckle depth) planted some shallow and some nighttime rodents dug up the kernels and feasted, it seems to like hot soil for germination. what little bit I did get I just tried today, 8/22/09. Almost as good as last years crop, but was partially cross pollinated with another Gurney sh2 called Early extra sweet? Pretty sure that was the name if I remember correctly, of which,now get this! gave me a near 100 percent! germination in the same soil that the Gotta have would not grow in. Being an sh2 type one could only imagine the anticipation with the spectacular ease of growth it was showing. I thought I found the ultimate corn, but I didn't, The downside to the Early Extra was the lack of flavor compared to the "Gotta", also did not develop flavor until fully mature-still retained most of its tenderness but no where near as sweet-had much more of a traditional sweet corn flavor, hard to believe it is a sh2 varietal. Just can't figure out the secret to the Gotta have it yet. Germination has been my biggest problem. my plants are around 6-7 feet tall and have 2 ears each, but the poor germination has hurt proper pollination, the ears seem a little too slender, most plants are 2-3 feet apart loosely germinated/dispersed in a 20 foot square. They were originally planted at 2 inch spacing and were to be thinned, but like I stated, only about 5% ever even broke through the soil. I easily planted around 750 seeds and only have about 35 plants to show for it. I waited till around June 2nd for the best results, as my mid May crop was a 99% failure. As too the 3rd mid June planting was poor, but suffered mice/vole attacks as was planted shallower out of frustration on how to get it too grow. (1 knuckle deep) lack of rainfall did not help much either-was very dry here, tried to water 3 times a week. I did have similar trouble in 2008, 2 plantings with a little better germination. All I can say is Gotta Have It becomes an obsession if you can get it to grow, Its so sweet we only brag about it to other gardeners, but hoard what little we can grow to ourselves. My garden is 20 miles SW of Pittsburgh Pa. Any help on this Varietal would be greatly appreciated.

'the only thing that pisses me off more.. is when they spit it out .. but no!!!!! .. not stop with one untasty bite...but continue to girdle the plant.. and spit it all out .' I am sorry that got me to laughing out loud, Ken. The very same thoughts have occurred to me many times. Two springs ago, I had started numerous Montauk Daisy to plant in those beds where nothing else does well, and a few weeks later there were a dozen or two of them, severed at the soil line and laying on their side with some gnawed stem. Ditto mass plantings of spreading petunias. Puts me in mind of the sign over the line at Mess Halls. Take ALL YOU WANT............but eat all you take. At least the devastation serves some purpose. Sorry about your Dawn redwood. Shame, but YOU KNOW BETTER. ;-)

I doubt that most groundhogs are willing to dig their dwelling that close to people. Horses and groundhogs don't mix well- sometimes causes broken legs. As for your visitor, maybe a coon ... or a skunk? Our cousin lived on a lightly travelled rural road and their young dog used to love to chase cars. They kept an air rifle by the milk-house door, between the house and the barn and right beside the driveway, which the dog usually travelled to go after the cars. If someone was handy when they heard a car coming, they ran to grab the air rifle, to give the dog a ping in the rump (his eyes being turned the other way). I'm not sure whether he was a short-haired or a long-haired dog, but it didn't take too many such experiences to lead Mr. Dog to conclude that there were better ways of having fun than chasing cars. Good wishes for finding a useful solution to that part of your problem, alisande. As for the neighbour's wandering Roties ... how would your neighbours react to the suggestion that you were considering getting an animal trap, then turning the dogs over to the Animal Control people ... which, in this area, would cost them substantial money (fine for allowing dogs to run at large, price of annual dog licence, if they hadn't got one, plus boarding costs for a couple of days), plus questions regarding whether shots were up to date. Good wishes for finding a permanent solution to that problem, as well. ole joyful

I just looked up Oxalis stricta and chickweed, and I think you are might be right about both. Is it crazy that I think the chickweed doesn't actually look too terrible as a ground cover in my garden bed?