Farmall Cub

My first planting of corn is up and I just topped off a 35 x 100 foot section with a bucket of composted horse manure ( more like soil- very old stuff) on the entire section. Hundreds of buckets and well more than 50 yards. I harrowed that to level it out and it was probably a good 5 inches. Then I plowed it again and turned up some of the heavy soil. I let it dry for a few hour and broadcast some pelletized lime (soil test recommendation) and then harrowed it again. I think I will used my planter up here for sunflowers and SQ corn.

Is it still too early to plant Silver Queen in New England? Ed?

We usually can't set tomatoes until May 30th and that is usually too early for eggplant too as one cold night stunts them for the season.

mine's about waist high, Bob. What's the holdup?

brichter wrote:mine's about waist high, Bob. What's the holdup?

You a little late planting this year B Ray

brichter wrote:mine's about waist high, Bob. What's the holdup?

Uhhh, you are about a month ahead of us? I read about Sonny's garden and get serious garden envy except for his voles. We had a hard freeze just a week or so ago that probably wiped out a lot of my fruit. We had an early Spring here and that is always risky.

My biggest problem in getting in early is usually the wet conditions. Remember my tractor in the muck?

Bob,
We lost half our strawberry crop due to that freeze. The blossoms that were already opened and forming fruit are now black. Anything that blossomed after the frost is OK.

Last year it was squirrels that got the strawberries.

Peter

In south Louisiana we have been eating potatoes and snap beans for about a week and a half and will be eating sweet corn the first of next week. There is nothing like the first fresh vegetables of the season.
Take care,
Buddy

Bob in CT wrote:My first planting of corn is up and I just topped off a 35 x 100 foot section with a bucket of composted horse manure ( more like soil- very old stuff) on the entire section. Hundreds of buckets and well more than 50 yards. I harrowed that to level it out and it was probably a good 5 inches. Then I plowed it again and turned up some of the heavy soil. I let it dry for a few hour and broadcast some pelletized lime (soil test recommendation) and then harrowed it again. I think I will used my planter up here for sunflowers and SQ corn.

Is it still too early to plant Silver Queen in New England? Ed?

We usually can't set tomatoes until May 30th and that is usually too early for eggplant too as one cold night stunts them for the season.

Mineisn't going in for 2 weeks. It requires a soil temperature of 60 degrees. The near freeze nights are cooling off the days gains, now. I got near zero germination on my early corn, planted a month ago. the later plantings are doing well. Ed

grandpa said to plant your corn when red oak leaves were the size of a squirrel ear.

hurleyjd wrote:grandpa said to plant your corn when red oak leaves were the size of a squirrel ear.

Ed told me that too. Silver Queen requires much warmer soil temperatures. I thought it was 55 degrees but 60 is probably safer. I had great SQ 2 years ago and I planted on the 21st of June.

I think the oak leaf is closer to 50 degrees soil temperature. The other one I heard is for planting grass seed. Between the forsythia and lilac blooms. I think that is in the 50 degree soil temp range too.

Peter Person wrote:Bob,
We lost half our strawberry crop due to that freeze. The blossoms that were already opened and forming fruit are now black. Anything that blossomed after the frost is OK.

Last year it was squirrels that got the strawberries.

Peter

I'll bet you were in the low 20's in Stafford. My hollow is several degrees colder than 3 houses up the street. It was nice to get that warm weather early but my pawpaws, persimmons and Carpathian walnut all lost their leaves. The walnuts and peaches are really susceptible to a late frost.

Hi Bob, I would think you would be fine planting your SQ now, it will take a few days to germinate and by then it will be close to the end of May, corn can withstand a pretty good frost and recover well as long as it isn't over 4 leaves high. Good luck. Chuck

Clorice hasn't even plowed his gardens yet.. and neither have I. Plan on doing it in the next few days. Victoria Day is this weekend, so it is about the right time to get ready to plant. Supposed to be a good chance of frost tonight... figures.. apples are blossoming and so are the Bartlett's and the Cherries. Hopefully it won't be too hard and they will make it through. Looking forward to plowing - gotta dig up the leek from last fall -- yup it survived the winter after almost not surviving the broken water mains and the excessive rains last season.

Here in Jersey I was always told corn should be Knee high by the fourth of July.

Vegetable Planting Calendar, Dept Horticulture, Univ MO. Sweet corn all varieties, dates to plant.

Central Missouri 4/25 thru 8/1
North Missouri 5/1 thru 7/20