Re: [gardeners] Corn
Liz Albrook (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Wed, 11 Mar 1998 23:52:08 +0000
> I would like to plant several different varieties of corn this year.
> How far apart do i need to place them to prevent cross-pollination?
Oh, about 10 - 14 days. You probably wanted an answer in feet,
right? It's a whole lot of feet but I don't remember how many.
I'm fond of separating different varieties by flowering date. I've
used days to maturity and found that if I plant varieties so that
they should mature approximately 2 weeks apart then everything is
fine. That means that I might plant two varieties on the same day if
there's a big difference in days to maturity or I might plant a
second variety a week later if there's little difference in how long
it takes each variety to mature.
Sometimes this method is a tad tricky, particularly in years such as
last year when we have flushes of hot then cold weather. Usually
there's no problem at all -- that the corn doesn't all come in at the
same time is a bonus, too.
Liz