4/12/2023 – Sowed 10, 60-ft. rows of G-90 corn in the NW corner of the garden. The steps taken were much the same as in past years but differed in that hills were not pulled up over the fertilizer and used the middle buster to create a trench for the fertilizer. Ironically, last year’s corn was also sowed on 4/12.
Bought 1 lb. at Hurley F&F and sowed about 2/3rds of it.
The hills created in past years made it difficult if not impossible to pull soil around the stalks for wind stability. What we did this year was so the young stalks would be growing on level ground and new hilling disks mounted on the cultivator could pull soil up on the stalks to lay them by. The steps today were as follows.
- Disked the garden that had not yet been planted.
- Put the cultivator on Fergie with the middle buster leaving the cultivating plows in place
- Fergie opened up the middle of the row with the middle buster set 3-4 inches deep.
- Spread one quart of 13-13-13 with 1 scant tablespoon of zinc sulfate in each trench per the 2019 Soil Test Report: “For corn in home gardens on sandy soils apply 1 tablespoon zinc sulfate per 100 ft. of row.” Mixed up 11 quarts to be sure there was enough and that worked out just right.
- Removed the middle buster and ran the cultivator deep to throw soil into the fertilizer trench. After the first couple of passes drove back over the row so Fergie’s tracks defined the location of the fertilizer. Used the garden rake upside down to drag over the trench to level it.
- Sowed the seed 1.25 inches deep with the HOSS seeder with the modified No. 6 plate that has larger holes.
Given that the space under the seed had been busted and then re-filled with loose soil, the HOSS’s steel wheels sank into the soft soil. So, it put the seed 1.25 inches deep but that was below the 1-inch deep track made in the soft soil.
Followup Notes
- The predicted rain for tonight did occur with 3.4″ inches that fell from 7 pm until tomorrow morning. The temperature at sunrise was 56°. The predicted low temperature for the mornings of the 17th is to be 52° and on the 18th 50°. But the sunrise temps were in the middle 40s.
- About the 17th (5 days later) no seedlings had appeared and I was concerned for the packed soil. Used the 4-tined hoe dragging over the seed slot breaking up the crust.
- On 4/20 (8 days after sowing) green seedlings began appearing.
