Save or Replant?

June 19, 2009 11:50 AM

Can I save corn that was beaten down by yesterday's storm?

I've got a small section of corn growing in my garden. The plants are all between 2 and 3 feet tall. Yesterday's thunderstorm did a number on 2/3 of them. They are beaten down. It was dark when I was out in the garden to look at the fireflies, so I'm not sure if the stalks are broken or not. However, if the stalks are not broken, is there any way to help the plants recover? Or, do I just need to pull them and replant? Is it too late in the season to replant?

If it makes any difference, they're in a raised bed which has a mix of top soil and compost with a healthy crop of earth worms. None of the other plants were damaged. It is almost like I have a mini crop circle in just the corn section.

posted by onhazier to Home & Garden (5 answers total)

I half-severed one of my stalks with a hose a couple weeks ago. Propped it up, staked it, and it's still alive. Provided that more than 50% of the stalk is still in tact, you have a decent chance. Just give them some support. Stake and tie, if necessary, and then water really deeply.
posted by mudpuppie at 11:55 AM on June 19, 2009

Oh, and to answer your other question, it's not too late to replant. But if you decide to go that route, you should look for an early variety (i.e., ~65 days to maturity, instead of 80 or 90).

(And you know corn needs to be planted in blocks, not rows, right? Otherwise it doesn't get pollinated.)
posted by mudpuppie at 11:58 AM on June 19, 2009

Best answer: If the stalks aren't broken, they will most likely right themselves over the next few days. I've seen whole fields of four-foot-tall corn that were pretty well flattened looking 90% OK after a few days.
posted by bricoleur at 12:06 PM on June 19, 2009

Response by poster: Thanks for the tips. I should be able to get a good look at them tonight.

The corn is in a tidy square. It is not a lot, only about 40 stalks. I'm not sure if it is an early variety. I'll check my seed pack.

I've done minimal backyard vegi gardening before and didn't find any advice on what to do in this situation. Thanks again. Here's to hoping for some homegrown corn later this summer.
posted by onhazier at 1:11 PM on June 19, 2009

Response by poster: bricoleur was right. The corn stood back up over the weekend with no intervention from us. Two stalks are still looking kind of lazy. However, the whole patch seems to be strong and healthy.
posted by onhazier at 7:26 AM on June 22, 2009