correction: should read 'huge garden of corn' not 'or corn.'

So none of you guys grows corn?

Sheri,

Sally's right. I'm fifth generation Florida, my grandfather was a farmer, farmed the summer crops in Georgia and the fall/winter crops on what was once the edge of the Everglades, now five miles from what is considered the edge of Everglades :-(

He never grew corn here....

Tom

Thanks for the comments, guys. I know they grow it west of Miami in Homestead. It's not something I MUST grow because it's usually so cheap in the supermarkets. Sheri

It's very high maintenance for very little return to the south Florida home gardener. You have to spray a lot to control the worms, it takes lots of nutrients and depletes the soil, all for 1-2 ears per stalk, if your lucky and can control the worms.

Tom

Right you are, Tom. It's best left to the big-scale farmers. Happy gardening, Sheri

The corn grown near Homestead is prob. field corn, for livestock.... not the tasty sweet corn you are looking for..... sally

I have corn!!!! Well, one ear of corn anyway. This year I planted about 5 seeds just to experiment. I didn't have a lot of hope for the plants. I didn't have the room to plant them in large blocks like you are suppose to do. I did spray spinosad once, but other than that I have had no bug or disease problems yet. When the silk came out I hand pollinated it. Just today I noticed an actual ear of corn. I am so happy. Really I am not growing it for a "crop" but just for fun.

I have corn!! I planted 4 rows with 4 plants on each row. I have about 23 ears of corn on the stalks. Don't let anyone tell you it's not worth it because it definitely is. Just seeing the first ear form is exciting. I just checked one of the ears and it is about 6-7 inches long and has fully developed kernels. I used Sevin to prevent any problems with pests which has worked. However, you must fertilize in order to get decent size ears. Corn likes nitrogen rich soil. I fertilized once when I transplanted my seedling to the garden and another time when the reached about 3 ft tall. If gardening is what you enjoy, then grow what you like and it will be a very rewarding experience. Have fun with it!!

I am not in S. FL, I am in NE FL. This year I planted corn. Early and Often and Indian Corn, and Kandy Korn varieties. So far they all look good. I have about 100 plants all together. All our nieghbors have corn too. I don't know how well mine will do but right now they are all tasseling and so far, so good.
Maybe the early varieties would work for you. I know -people plant corn in square foot gardens and even large deep rubbermaid containers. I saw that on the container garden forum last year. Try a search and see if anyone from your area is growing corn and what varieties or tips/tricks they have tried. Also check your local extension office for kinds that might work.

Corn is a labor intensive plant that requires adequate water and above average fertilizer, especially nitrogen. It also seem to be finicky with regards to location. For example, I grow corn every year and generally have very good yields. However, a neighbor has difficulty with his corn. It may be the soil or it may be the difference in amounts and timing of fertilizer.

In addition to regular 10-10-10, I also apply several applications of 21-0-0. This extra nitrogen really promotes greening and more importantly growth.

Oh, I always grow Silver Queen. And the statement about needing two varieties is not accurate. I plant 100% Silver Queen. What you do need is a significant number of plants to allow pollination. I believe that corn is wind pollinated so the corn needs to be planted in blocks.

I think they really do grow regular corn in or near Homestead because think I recall seeing it on a sign near the ears one time in a grocery store.

Could be it does better in the western, central and northern areas of Florida than the southern. I notice several of you guys that had success are in zone 9. I'm theorizing here, maybe with enough time, attention, space, and proper season of the year, it WILL grow productively in S. Florida.

I was going to plant corn and did a search to see what y'all had to say about it. In reading this thread I've decided not to plant any. However, what I am wondering is this: someone said above that the commercial growers use lots of pesticides to manage the crops. I have been getting bags of corn husks from Walmart produce dept. to put into my compost bin. Have I just tainted my compost with a ton of pesticides then??????

Probably yes, but not more than people get from actually eating the corn right?

Maybe with all the worms in there (BSF?) they are eating all of the corn husks and digesting the pesticides for me!!!!

I grow the Mirai (pronounced ME-RYE) corn, both the yellow and white. It is impossible to find this hybrid corn in stores as it has to be all hand picked. It is an ultra super sweet corn with very delicate hulls that will break with any rough handling. I plant a spring successive(every two weeks for two months)and fall crop the same way. My fall crop's first plantings are tasseling now. The link below is a write up for the Bi-color as all the yellow & white seeds have sold out in the spring. There's no way I can go back to that 'cow corn' they sell in stores once I've tasted this corn.

Lou

Here is a link that might be useful: Mirai Corn -- Park Seed

Good grief, Park Seed now has run out of Mirai seeds, Jung still has Mirai seeds. This corn is well worth trying for your So. Fl. gardens for the fall planting.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mirai Corn -- Jung Seeds

I'm thinking about trying a few 'small' rows this spring. Would Mirai Corn be good for Central Florida? There are a few things I want to get from Park Seed and could add that to the basket!

jwahlton,
I'm in West Central Florida (Citrus County) and Mirai corn grows well here for me. I'm about 20 miles inland from the gulf coast.

Lou`

I just came back from Jasper Ala. and have some seeds called Peaches & Cream and also Pencil Cob corn. I want to try to grow it. We live in St. Petersburg, FL.

Any ideas for me.

A couple years back, I planted a 4'x4' block of corn in my raised garden, with squash below it. They did GREAT, until one day I looked out and thought "I planted white corn, not black corn," went out and EVERY kernal had a HUGE black beetle on it. It really looked like corn cobs made out of beetles. :(

I was just sick about it. Tore all the stalks up and threw them in the back corner of the yard under some hedges.

It's best to companion plant in South Florida as well as use the rule of "planting beans, squash and corn" together for pests and nutrients.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/m/#publication?id=IG158

And
http://m.organicgardening.com/organicgardening/#!/entry/companion-planting,5213bbebda27f5d9d00e7cd8

I have planted corn six times in the past couple of years and this is only the second time I've gotten a decent crop. The first time was Mirai and this time an early variety called sweet treat. It is time intensive to constantly already BT for the worms and to fight off the beetles. I recommend it only for people that really love fresh corn - it is not an economic endeavor. I am starting to think more and more that using early varieties for things here in Florida, especially as it heats up, helps out race the bugs and disease. My corn really liked extra potassium in addition to nitrogen - greensand and kelp fertilizer. By the way, I used to buy Mirai from the stand of the place that created it in Harvard, IL. You can order seed directly from the farm, and it is a lot cheaper than Park and those places. However, you can buy it at the store - I got some from Aldi recently. Super sweet varieties actually hold their sugar longer in the fridge.

Yeah, I think it's getting pretty late in S FL. Palm Beach County is the country's leading producer of eating corn anymore, but their peak harvest month is March.

So if they are harvesting in March, when do they plant?

Well, IFAS recommends planting in Aug-Mar in S FL, so I would presume that since it's mostly 60 to 100 days for corn that they planted around the first of the year. It's true enough that you can see miles of corn out around Pahokee most any time of year now, but they use a lot of measures the average home gardener doesn't usually want to mess with.

I was over that way that first week of May and there was a lot of corn not yet quite in tassel yet.

Here is a link that might be useful: IFAS guide for vegetable planting

Maize in general is one of the heaviest-feeding crops, if not the heaviest, and heavy feeders are tough to keep thriving in impoverished florida sand. Sweet corn in particular is a very difficult crop to produce anywhere, let alone florida. That's why it is grown in the muck soil, and even so requires lots of fertilizer and pesticide.

To grow it in sand requires huge inputs and a lot of water. Might be worth it though, even at $5 per ear!

Miami-Dade County ranks #2 in the state in the production of fresh market sweet corn. The state of Florida ranks #1, nationally.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pi034

FWIW, I grew Blue Jade corn last year - it's a small variety bred for container growing. I don't think I gave it enough fertiliser or had a large enough container because ears were not entirely filled out, but it was a fun experiment & pretty cute.

Got mine from Pinetree - but it looks like they're sold out...

http://www.superseeds.com/blue-jade.html

Definitely not planting any if I have to use chemicals to grow it. I'll stick to organic corn, at least for my kids, since most commercial corn is genetically modified as roundup ready and literally has pesticides IN it that you can't wash off. BTW, corn is in most processed / packaged foods. GMO or chemical laden vegetables are killing the soil, the water, the air and the bees that are necessary for many crops, not to mention people. Most fetus's (in the U.S. where Roundup is still legal, unlike many other countries) have gyphosate, the killing chemical in Roundup, in their blood whilst in utero. The future is bleak for our children and grandchildren if people keep using this stuff.

Hi everyone. I'm a first time Corn grower here in Centeral Florida. I remember, as a child, that my mom made a wonderful creamed corn with white field (not sweet) corn. I'v tried to find & buy this corn but it's hopeless, so why not grow it. I ordered seeds, planted in large pots with the recommended soil, fertilizer, etc. it sprung up in 5 days & I was soooooo excited. I sent photos to everyone in the world, well except you of course. I went to bed one night with the beautiful vision of my 2' corn plants in my head. I woke up to chewed up half dead plants. Boy, that really took the wind out of my sails. I found black cutworms & some other smaller critters that I couldn't identify. I spent the next 24 hours applying every planet friendly organic remedy I could find on the Internet. Those monsters ate right through that stuff. Next, I said "screw this, I'm gonna slaughter those little b%#^*€#~". I applied Sevin, but in a couple of hours I could see little critters all over the plants, so I dround them in Sevin. So far so good, but the plants look awful. My question is, should I cut off the chewed up & damaged parts of the plant? Thanks, Lin W