Growing your own sweet corn in containers

 Ok,Now most of the people who grown veggies,herbs or fruits in containers may think its almost impossible to grown sweet corns in tiny containers.

I was also thinking so.But i decided that lets give it a try as I had heard from my few gardener friends that sweet corns can be easily grown in containers as they have shallow roots.

Now let me tell you that growing your own corn is quiet fun and exciting.

Here's step by step process you can follow to grow corn.My first attempt was quiet successful and surprising and end result was extremely satisfying.

1.When to grow.

Sweet corns can be grown all year round but spring and summer(march & aug) are the best months to sow seeds.Never grown corns during frost.Plants won't sustain.

2.Choosing good quality seeds.

You can buy any good quality seeds from local nursery or agri shop.Just make sure they are not very old.

3.Pot size.

14" or 16" pot is more than enough to grown corn successfully.Growbags are even better.And best part is you can easily grown atleast 3 corn plants in single 16" growbag or pot.Reason being they have shallow roots and it also helps in cross pollination(more on that later).

4.Water,Sunlight and fertilizer

Corn requires regular watering and sunlight.Keep soil always moist.Corn is basically a grass and it grows really fast.So it grows well with nitrogen based fertilizer.Feed compost every 20 days and dig top layer of soil for best results.Water immediately.

 5.Pollination

 As you know most garden plants depend on insects/bees and vibration for pollination but corn totally depends on wind for pollination.

As you can see above corn develops Tassel at top(male part) and silk(female part).

These Tassels contain tiny white pollens which fall on the sticky silk hair when there is wind and pollination process starts.Even if you shake the plant slightly you will clearly see white dust falling from tassels on the silk hair.As i had mentioned earlier plants 2 to 3 plants together helps in cross pollination.

 

Above picture shows my plant after 10 days.

 

 

After 1 month.Corn grows really fast.

 

 

Tassels start to form after about a month.

Corn ear with Silk strands visible

 

 

Result after 2 months.Satisfied with result in 1st attempt.Remember when the silky hair turns brown corn is ready to harvest.

Corn plant will turn completely brown after harvest as seen below.

So start to grow your corn now.



 

Best pot type for plant

Now let me clear one thing...The type of pot you select for your plants depends on various factors like Individual preferences,Plants moisture and water requirements to name a few.

Each pot type has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Plastic pots

Pros

• Plastic pots are relatively cheaper, flexible,lightweight and available in all possible colours.
• Beinglightweight they are easy to shift and also reduce load on balcony(if you have number of them)

Cons

• Soil tends to dry out quickly and cannot retain moisture for long.
• Colour may fade due to heat.
• As plastic pots are thin they cannot provide insulation during extreme heat to plants thus damaging roots.

So plastic pots are suitable for moisture loving plants and those who water infrequently.

Clay pots

Pros

• Clay pots being porus provides good air flow and also helps in removing excess moisture which can help if one overwaters.
• Due to there thickness they provide insulation and protects roots from sudden change in temperature.
• They don't heat up in summers.

Cons

• These are relatively costly and can easily break or get cracked.
• They tend to get stained with moss in monsoons and also can form white layer due to mineral salts in soil.
• These may look ugly and spoil the look of your garden.

Concrete pots

They are a strict no for balcony gardeners irrespective of their advantages or disadvantages

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Top Four tips for beginner gardeners

Soil

Always make sure that you use a well drained soil and not not loamy soil.Also add some amount of cocopeat ,which is nothing but coconut husk growing medium.cocopeat heps improve texture of soil and prevents it from getting hard.cocopeat also helps retain more moisture and makes soil light weight.

Add some amount of compost or cowdung manure.

Ideally it should be a combination of garden soil 50% + 25% cocopeat +25% compost.

Watering

Different plants have different watering requirements.Overwatering is the biggest mistake new gardeners make.

Low water

Low water requirement plants are those that need water only once a week.

Generally succulents and cactus fall under these category.

Medium water

Medium water requirement plants are generally indoor plants like moneyplant,areca palm,snake plant.

Most of the vegetable and outdoor plants require water every alternate day.

One basic rule while watering plants is that the top layer of soil should dry out completely before next watering.

Also ensure that you water the plants till excess water drains out.This ensures that water reaches all roots.

Sunlight

Low sunlight 

These are the plants are those that can survive even in dark rooms  or very low lit rooms like moneyplant and snake plant.

Medium Sunlight

Indoor plants are those that require medium sunlight.These should be placed in bright spots or well lit rooms.These are also referred as partial shade plants.

Direct sunlight

Outdoor plants generally require direct sunlight for atleast 4 to 5 hours.

Fertilizers

Fertilizers are available in solid ,liquid and granular forms.

Organic fertilizers like compost,vermicompost,cowdung are best for all plants over chemical fertilizers.

Liquid fertilizers are generally slow release fertilizers and are suitable for hanging plants.

Happy Gardening.