Can you please help me fix my corn plant? When the plant was in a container it was already yellowing and browning. That photo was taken on June 4. The rest of the photos were taken today after I transplanted it to my no dig site. I have 5 other plants, 2 others in the no dig site and 3 left in their containers.
Hello, could you tell us what kind of soil mix you are using, what kind of fertilizer, and the fertilizer frequency and amount? Thanks!
Hi Tom, I think I used a mixture of half of Promix organic vegetable and herb soil (peat based) and half of another soil that retains moisture well (don't remember the name) when it was in the container. The mixture in the no dig site is Bella Terra mushroom manure with peat moss (1 - .5 - 1) --> not sure what the numbers mean; and Vigoro Black Earth, on top of wet cardboard. I used about 2 inches in height of each, alternating between manure and soil. I've only used the fertilizer when the plants were transplanted on June 4. All my other corn plants look healthy. Thanks!
That doesn't sound too bad for a soil mix, but corn plants are notoriously heavy feeders. They also tend to suffer quickly from nutrient deficiencies of even minor elements. Many container soils, usually not containing dirt or compost or other wide-spectrum organic ingredients, can often fall deficient in minor nutrients, or have ph imbalances that can make some of these nutrients unavailable. Since corn is more susceptible to these deficiencies, it really needs good quality, wide-spectrum feeding on a regular basis if you are growing in small containers. BTW, that little pot looks too small for two nitrogen-hungry, fast-growing corn plants, unless maybe you were a skilled waterer and adding all the nutrients they needed on a regular basis. So to me, the problem looks like nutrient deficiency combined with possible low-water stress at some point, combined with too-small of a pot. They should do better in the ground after they recover from transplant shock. To get them all the nutrients they need quickly, you could try a wide-spectrum liquid fertilizer, but I think it would be safer and longer lasting to go organic and perhaps try something like an organic manure tea. Since you probably don't have any of that laying around, you might find be able to buy it buy the gallon at your local hydroponics store. I know many of them down here across the border have it. Good growing!
Do you know if organic garbage enzyme is a wide-spectrum liquid fertilizer? Do you have any recommended brands for organic manure tea? Or how do you make it?
Grass clippings break down a little too slowly to really help the plant much this year, that would be more for next year. I recommend you start researching how to make your own compost, and how to combine more dry, higher-carbon (brown) yard waste with the higher-nitrogen (green) grass clippings, and how to maintain a pile and allow it to raise in temperature so you are killing off weed seeds instead of adding them directly back into your soil. There should be lots of info here using the search feature on "compost". I already mentioned where I would try to get manure tea. The kind I'm thinking of is a premade liquid that is not branded, but just made in large batches locally. You can also try going to any larger nursery and looking at their organic amendments section. They probably have several products you can mix yourself to make various natural, organic fertilizer teas. I would be wary to try garbage enzyme. I would be worried about the amount of heavy metals it contains when using it on food crops.
We don't know, that is the problem. Garbage is not natural. What our average garbage contains is about the farthest thing from "natural". My understanding was that the garbage enzyme products are not from carefully curated vegetable-based waste, but just plain old municipal garbage, with things like dead microwaves, paint cans, pesticide bottles, and every other kind of horror imaginable. These products seem to have no regulation or guaranteed analysis to ensure they're safe. Yes there are some ingredients in there that may show some visual growth results like a fertilizer, but what else is coming with them? Are you sure you want it in your food?
Ah, I see. There are other commercially available versions with questionable ingredients and sources. If you know what goes into it then it should be fine, but old fruit peel juice won't make much of an effect compared to other products like organic fertilizer teas.
