Bendy Sweetcorn!!!

[kernowyon]

went to my plot this afternoon only to discover that some of the local wildlife (with trendy trainers and hoodies, and nothing better to do) have run through my sweetcorn plants, they were only about 18 inches high and some have ended up bent over. i have splinted them with sticks as the stems seemed to be a little crushed rather than broken. should they be ok or do i just pull them up and start over again?

any advice is greatly appreciated.

[terrier]

I should think that the weight of a mature sweet corn plant would not stand up if stem was badly damaged, also it has got to get a lot of water to the cobs. You may find some ready grown young plants at a garden centre to fill in the gaps. I don't think I would give up on your plants though, splint them or tie them to canes and see how they get on.

[Alice]

What a shame Kernowyon. And I mean shame. Why are these people so thoughtless. I wouldn't give up on your corn immediately. Give it a week or two and see if it stands up. I think you might be too late to start corn again (I believe it needs 220 frost free days - dear knows what will happen to mine!) We can give it an early start in the greenhouse but nothing we can do at the end . If you become convinced its doomed then have it out and plant something else. Shame ! Shame! Shame!

[Paulottie]

I'm sorry to hear that. thoughtless, unnecessary and annoying for you...pathetic stuff. Couldn't tell about the maize from here but sadly I'd not give it that much chance. Cutting it fine for resowing now... Plant a butternut underneath?

[rustylady]

Bad luck Kernowyon. Try splinting or tying to a cane for support.

[SarzWix]

What I'd like to say is unprintable, but you have my sympathies.

How far down the stem is the bend/break? If it near the bottom, I would think you could tie it to a cane, and earth up around the bottom of the stem - sweetcorn do throw out 'anchor' roots from further up if given a mound to do it into - the bean bit of a '3 sisters bed' is sown into this mound. My darling dog barged a couple of mine over, and that's what i have done. So far, so good... If they are beyond saving, as Terrier said, you might find some young plants at a garden centre or online? Hope you manage to get some cobs, one way or another.

http://www.dtbrownseeds.co.uk/acatal...le_plants.html
http://www.crocus.co.uk/findplant/se...78&CategoryID=
These both seem to have sweetcorn plants listed. Hope that helps

[running_muttley]

If they're damaged low down why don't you try earthing them up? You're ment to do that anyway and it might make them strong enough. Think it's too late to start again.

[King Carrot]

If they're damaged low down why don't you try earthing them up? You're ment to do that anyway and it might make them strong enough. Think it's too late to start again.

earthing up sweetcorn - never read that anywhere before I started my first ever crop this year in toilet rolls- but that's a completely different thread

please people....tell me more...

[shirlthegirl43]

earthing up sweetcorn - never read that anywhere before I started my first ever crop this year in toilet rolls- but that's a completely different thread

please people....tell me more...

I didn't earth my sweetcorn last year but I have a very sheltered garden. It is recommended to earth them up a bit (pile some more soil round the stalks) as they grow taller, they are quite shallow rooted and this helps them to get a stronger root system to keep them upright if it gets windy.

[g51065]

Sorry to hear about your bad luck, you may as well support them and see what happens, Mine once got dug out by something burying a pigeon..!
Now I allways have a later sown back up crop in pots for planting out if anything goes badly wrong in the first few weeks.

[Paulottie]

Don't they root from the stalk as well? -bit like reason for planting toms deep rather than brussels(just for support)...if you see what I mean. I nearly always raise them in 3" pots and plant them as deep as i can with a bulb planter.

I did have a load blow over 6 or 7 years ago, as I remember, I staked with canes but didn't get very satisfactory cobs. I want to be positive as I hope you can save them and, if you have any seed left, why not try...after all this rain, I'm hoping for an ' Indian summer' too.

[kernowyon]

thanks for all your advice, i will stake and earth up the damaged ones, and i also will try to plant some late ones, hopefully here in the south east we may get a longer summer/autumn than 'up north'. as i've read on numerous other posts " they have two choices "