Everyone passing by my garden has told me they had trouble growing corn here, and I am no exception! Though, I naively thought I might be. As I was out shaking the tassels (someone said they did that to promote pollination), I discovered my second corn plant has been attacked.
I did not notice this yesterday when I was out working to shore up the tomatoes.
Super nasty. In fact, most of the plant is covered. So, I’m wondering, since it’s right beside strawberries, a cucumber, bean, basil and herbs, if I should just chop it down. If I hose it off, all those eggs and larvae go into the soil.
As I’ve discovered on the corn plant that I planted at the same time across the sidewalk (no aphids detected), there are very few kernels, which I heard results from poor pollination.
Brooke thought it tasted good anyway. And on another ear, this critter was happily munching. She was eating on the cob, however.
Moving on to a little garden success. I harvested my 7th (of 8 total) red cabbages, and will eat tonight.
Even the backside is beautiful in the sun with the silvery green leaves.
And this is how the Amaranth seed plumes look today. Absolutely everyone passing by my garden asks me about the Amaranth.
Please let me know what I should do with the corn. Thanks for reading! – Kaye
Eeewww! Maybe dowse that whole corn plant with an organic pesticide to kill the aphids & larvae and then maybe remove that stalk, and hit your surrounding plants with neem oil or something to make sure you get any stragglers? Just guessing….
The only things that comes to mind is buying a HUGE supply of ladybugs. They are notorious for consuming large amounts of aphids. Can you jet spray them facing outward (away) from the rest of the plants and soil?
I think what I should do is remove one ear, blast it, peel it and see if it’s worth the trouble.
That corn plant is long gone, I removed it. Lisa Putnam from Wild Farm in Woodside, CA (next week’s Late Bloomer episode) said it’s good to keep a clean garden. So it went out in the green bin yesterday(: