ok, so my strip of garden gets sun for 6 hours or more but not the entire garden. It starts at the top and moves down from there. By the time it gets to the end, the top is in the shade. So my question is, should I put the corn at the top where the most afternoon sun gets? Would the lettuce be ok with less sun (late-afternoon)? Last year the pumpkins and squash went wild at the sunny hot end, would they do ok with less sun? I guess what I need to know is what veggies are ok with less sun and what really needs alot? Thanks, Erin
Those all prefer full sun. There's not many vegetables that prefer shade; some soft fruit does, like raspberries, though.
I would say that the best idea would be to arrange your veggies so that the tall ones are don't end up shading the smaller plants. This way all the veggies can take the best advantage of what sun is available. That said, the corn should go at the 'back'
thanks for your help. Yah, I think I will have to do one thin line of corn along the back and then the smaller stuff in front. Last year the corn didn't even grow big enough to eat so we used it as thanksgiving decoration :) cross my fingers for this year. Happy Spring!
Salad greens, like spinach and lettuce, and some brassicas can do with less sun than corn or squash, especially midsummer.
If you don't have room to plant 2 or 3 rows of corn you might have to consider going out and hand pollinating to get good kernel production in your cobs. Corn is wind pollinated and if the wind blows the wrong way with a single row it could miss the tassles altogether :o(
Once the tassle froms on the top of the plants and the little flowers hang down from it, you can go out with a clear plastic bag, gently slide the bag over the 'arms' of the tassle (generally it is too large to fit the bag over the full tassle). Tap gently and the pollen will fall into the bag. Now you can use your hand in the bag. Place your hand over some of the pollen, it will stick to your hand, then gently pat the silks that come out of the cobs and that will transfer the pollen. Remember to do the underside of the silks or you will get kernels only on one side of your cobs. It's a tedious job but does ensure you get corn kernels in your cobs.
