@@HardcoreSustainable one trick that works is the hill method where you plant the corn 5 - 7 seeds in a circle elevated slightly, itll self pollinate cus the corn is close together, the hopi people did this
@@HardcoreSustainable yeah you dont have to worry about the corn bein too close on the hills just space them like an inch apart, theyll naturally space out, further improving this is the 3 sisters method, plant some peas around the corn hills then plant either watermelon or sqaush or maybe lettuce in the middle of the hills, the squash/watermelon/lettuce will shade the ground, the peas will supply nitrogen and the corn will be a trelis for the peas
@@christophergranthem5983 I planted beans with corn several years ago but they made a great ladder for rats to get up to the corn. I've stopped doing that. Maybe peas would be better. I think beans is the traditional 3 sisters climbing crop since they are an American native.
Excellent advice. It might be worth mentioning for any peeps new to gardening that the big rice-sized brown bits that fall onto the newspaper from the tassels are not the corn's pollen; they're the factories that produce it. The actual pollen is an almost invisible 'dust' that blows off them in vast quantities. So don't feel that you need to collect those big seed-like things in order to pollinate the silks. Lightly tapping them over your newspaper will produce (literally) tens of millions of microscopically tiny pollen grains, and puffing these across the young cobs is all that's needed to do the job, even though you may not be able to see any actual pollen as you do it. 🙂
Thank you for your very timely advice I was just posing the question internally about the size of corn pollen and the next thing I read was your information perfect timing thank you very much 👌👍😎
Thank you for this! Hand pollinated this year and was totally wondering when/where the actual pollen was, as I have seen the fine dust before. Wasn't sure if the brown tassels held them within or not and when they would open to show the dust. Again, great info!
I was very much interested in what you were talking about at the end of your video. I grew up farming. I saw the beginning of chemical farming, and suffered the cancer related effects also. I'm retired in florida, but still have an interest in our family farm. I now garden organic . To an extreme. I see the need for every man to contribute to food growth, city or country dweller. While I don't need instructions at my age, education brush ups are important. We need what our forefathers had. A life centered about and around agriculture!
Well said! I think if people had more of a connection to their food they wouldn't waste it so much and they would find a meaning to their lives that has been lost to urbanization. It's definitely happening to some degree with the local foods movement, but as with most things these days, it is an uphill battle against detachment from nature.
... a family that grows together stays together! Think about how uninterested in the garbage that's on TV anymore these days, and mind numbing video games so many more kids would be if they had something like this to be a part of. There's endless life lessons to be learned on a farm of any size, and I think there's a lot to be said about our recent generations losing touch with that experience. I enjoyed this, keep em coming 👍
@@L3TTUC3prey I agree with you about the TV. The important things in life are to be found here on You Tube from people who are like minded share their knowledge with others.
“Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country and wedded to its liberty and interests by the most lasting bonds.” -Thomas Jefferson
I fully agree with you about organic growing. I have long been a proponent of green manure. I was raised Amish and a love for the earth was instilled in me, while I have left that part of my life behind I still believe in being green. I keep trying to convert farmers to adopt the green manure method, as it would build up the soil and allow air and water to reach the roots. I am talking about planting buckwheat and when it reaches about 8 to 10 inches high you deep plow it under and plant plant a second crop of buckwheat. And again when it reaches 8 to 10 inches high you deep plow it under, and plant again only this one you allow to over winter. In the spring you plant your corn, and your harvest will double. The reason being that buckwheat is the best nitrogen fixer known to man, it fixes nitrogen into the soil as it decomposes. At the same time it breaks up the soil allowing water and air to penetrate, it also helps control weeds and pests. If you have clay soil the green manure method will change it over time into productive blackish soil. And if you have Sandy soil this method will add vegetable matter to the soil, allowing it to retain water. This is the best way to double your harvest organically. Thank you
THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR TECHNIQUES WITH HAND POLLINATING CORN!!!😃 I'M A BEGINNER GARDNER AND I PLANTED ABOUT 9-10 🌽 CORN JUST TO SEE IF I REALLY COULD GROW SOME CORN IN A POT🤓🌽🌽🌽SO NOW I CAN HARDLY WAIT TO SEE HOW THEY TURN OUT!!! EITHER WAY, I'M ENJOYING LEARNING SO MUCH ABOUT GARDENING!!!😄🙋🏽♀️🙏🏽👑✝️📖🔥
I played around with gardening off and on and got ok results. But now I want to really learn much about gardening correctly. I believe this video is one of the things that will make harvest time so much more fulfilling. Thanks and Jesus bless.
Six years later and I am just finding out about hand pollination. Now…it’s time to plant some corn finally this year. I hope I remember to do this when the time comes. Cheers and thanks.
Thank you brother for actually posting a real tip to help those of us that desperately want to learn how to improve our gardens. I appreciate you taking the time to make this video and I am about to subscribe to your channel after watching this one tutorial. Thank you.
When the silk turns from white to red that shows that its already pollinated. Its is still a good practice to do when the corn is thin and the first row that the prevailing wind hits 1st. A good shake works good too. It looks like your corn is in need of nitrogen. A good time to side dress is when its knee high and again when the silk 1st shows. After that pray for rain or water if you can. Good video.
I love that method of blowing pollen out of a folded newspaper, great demonstration! You can also gently bend a corn plant over and use it's flower to dust the silks on the plants around it. Or just walk a long tapping the plants so that the pollen falls off onto it's surroundings. I like to hand pollenate cucurbits too, using a q tip or even just a finger.
You could do those things, but this allows you to maximize the pollen you do get to pollinate the most silk possible. If you just tap the plants some pollen falls on the silks and most on the ground. Bending a stalk over might break the stalk and then you won't get any more pollen from it the next day or the day after. And you can only pollinate the ears within reach of the stalk. With my method you collect all the pollen and direct it onto the silks, so you are sure each kernel is developing in every ear you pollinate. And with pollen from one tassel, I can pollinate several ears throughout the bed of corn.
This Channel just popped up, I watched out of curiosity to the end. Enjoy the no nonsense approach & great info. I also enjoyed reading the comments which had so many helpful tips & advise. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Just subbed, Thank you 👍🇦🇺
My Golden Queen corn is dandy now principally due to the Safer BT spray I have been doing for the last 3 years or so. However...a new fly in the ointment that's been worrying me a bit. My neighbor planted field corn not 100 feet away. I think I escaped last year. My solution was supposed to have been planting to miss his pollination period....but that didn't really work out. His corn was kinda slow and mine was kinda fast so both still tassled at the same time. I guess the prevailing wind saved me. Now, hand pollinating...beating his corn to the punch...that's a neat idea and one I would never have thought of. SUPER thanks HS! GREAT job!! I'll do it! One fellow below suggested the tap with a stick method. I'll have about 7 rows 60 feet long...I think I'll have a go with that. Heck, just shouldering through that stuff when it really gets popping stirs up yellow clouds. (Sneeze!)
Yes, if you can get to the corn early in the day and get all those silks pollinated as soon as they come out, you won't get crossing. You've got a lot of corn though. Glad you found the video useful.
Nice video. I hand pollinate as well. I usually cut off some of the pollen anthers, and simply shake them onto the silks. It's usually the plants on the outside rows that need this the most.
My first time growing corn and No wonder my corn was missing kernel and was wondering what I did wrong. Thank you for the tip! I will do this next year.
Hardcore Sustainable That's what I keep hearing. As much as we love the store-bought stuff, I can't wait to see for myself what the real stuff tastes like! It'll be so fun to be able to start the grill and walk over to the corn patch and just pick what we need right when we need it. I'm also planting a block of Glass Gem on the other end of our yard, because we go through a ton of microwave popcorn, and I'd love to be able to just scoop some beautiful kernels out of a glass jar and pop it on the stove. No more chemical bath "movie theater" junk! And I think the wacky colors and shapes of all the heirlooms should spark more interest in the kids to get involved in the garden. I hope it works!! With this pollination tip, I think it will; It makes perfect sense. How often should I do this per season, and what should I look for to know it's go-time?
Just be careful about the pollen mixing between sweet and popcorn though. Different dates to harvest can help for different varieties. And don't let the raccoons steal it all if they are in your area.
Hardcore Sustainable Oh, they are! Along with opossum, armadillo, rabbit, coyote, and all kinds of birds. I have some panels made of 2x4 and chicken wire, but they'll be worthless against climber and fliers. I'll have to figure out how to guard it. Maybe some kind of netting? I have so much more to learn!
Thank you! I think I have enough room to grow like 20 stalks of corn but I have heard if you dont plant them in blocks, you end up with sparse kernels and such. This is confirmation that I can grow some sweet corn.
I read the other day I needed to grow 10 blocks of 10 to ensure good diversity. I haven't got that kind of room! Im happy to know I don't need to do that :)
You only need that much if you plan to save seed. Just to get a corn ear that's pollinated and filled out you need one plant with tassles and silks. It will be inbred, but it'll produce an ear of corn that is perfectly edible.
Thank you for showing us how to do that, I'm putting in a Three sisters garden and I wanted to make sure I had full ears of corn to harvest. I live in a fairly windy state, but this will ensure that all of it gets pollinated for myself
Great info, used a paintbrush with soft hairs last year, and got already better results as former croppings. I collected the pollen in small white plastic bucket to notice the right pollen harvest. But doubling is not always successful by starting with 1 grain harvest per ear one year & getting 2 on the next one... ;)
On our small homestead we can make about $1,000 from the corn we grow on our 10 acres. We purposefully infect with corn smut. The harvest is a highly desirable organic fungus that tastes like an extraordinary mild English Truffle. We can sell our entire crop form our tiny farm to local restaurants for just under $30,000. This means the difference between feeding our sheep over the Winter or eating them and selling them for meat.
That's great. You must be close to a good market for your product. I used to work at a project that was experimenting with growing huitlacoche for sale to restaurants like you are talking about. Unfortunately we are about 3 hours drive from any market that would value corn smut for a high value.
I'm way up north. It's hard to "corn" in zone 3/4 especially for newbie gardeners like me! I watch these videos and apply the wisdom, my attempt at corn is developing great because I shook my tassels EVERY day until there was no more pollen. We have good wind, but not everyday.
I live in zone 2. Last year I started my seed early in my house. It worked great to transplant the new plants into my garden. Now this year, after watching this manual pollination trick, should be even more successful.
Yep, I'm going to hand pollinate. This is what I understand you to say, please correct me if I'm wrong. Shake all pollen tassels into a paper bag (or whatever). Do not pollinate each corn plant with its own pollen. This in order to get diversity. Then pollinate the silk.
Yep, that's right. I will decide which silks I want to pollinate and then collect pollen from plants that are farther away from them. Then I'll take pollen from those plants I just pollinated and pollinate the ones that were farther away.
@@HardcoreSustainable Very well, Thank you. This is what we will do with our corn this year. Last year we tried to grow corn first time and it was an epic FAIL. First because we planted corn too late, second we planted in a not ideal area, third we tried to hand pollinate but did it wrong. This year we put the corn beds in a better location with more sunlight and we'll try your method so hopefully we'll have a better harvest. Thanks for this video! 🙏
I came to your site because of the headline. I clicked subscribe because of the great opening music. Time and your content will determine if I will stay subscribed. Here's hoping that I do!
I've found it easier to just grab a top and touch it to the silks directly and when it looks used up grab another top. I've had great success doing this for 20+ years with sweet corn.
That's another way to do it, but you don't always have tassels producing corn right next to silks that are receptive. With this method you can take pollen from whatever tassels are producing, and transfer them to whichever silks are receptive to pollen.
very experienced sweet corn gardener here...as long as you are block planting 200 seeds plus, hand pollination not needed. 200 seeds is a pretty small plot when you do the planting math and/or actually plant the seeds...always plant in blocks, never rows. If you have to plant in a couple long rows for some reason by all means follow this procedure..
Thanks. Yeah I don't have the space for 200 plants of a single variety. I plant less than 50 of each kind and have a bed system in my garden. Of course, I'm kind of giving up on corn now because I can't figure out a way to keep my corn from the raccoons. I've tried everything.
@@HardcoreSustainable Have you tried to use a "motion detector sprinkler" to deter animals? We have two of the "Orbit Yard Enforcer Motion-Activated Sprinkler with Day & Night Detection" and they seemed to work last season. I hope you can find a solution.
@@cheesekake1841 thanks for the suggestion. I haven't tried that yet. I'm open to anything. I could just see the raccoons bathing happily in the spray when it comes on.
I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, but people may be confused by the anthers (along with the pollen) spreading over the silks. The pollen is a fine yellow dust, the anthers are the larger pieces that are also falling all over the silks. ( the anthers produce the pollen). You might get fewer of them in the mix if you shake a bit less vigorously. Myself, I put a paper bag over the tassels and bend it over and tap it a few times. Thanks for the video, I'm growing corn in containers and this keeps the self pollination requirement fresh in my mind. BTW, your corn looks a bit pale. There's a good corn growing video on UA-cam by an Australian(Self Sufficient Me), and he suggests that the best time to fertilize is when the corn is very young, or even before you plant it...so it will grow thick stalks which in turn will produce more. Did you use much fertilizer on this crop?
I could probably add more manure to my beds to get them more productive. I have been adding well composted humanure and regular garden compost on a regular basis, but probably would benefit from more animal manure. I only garden organically.
@@HardcoreSustainable It's hard to find organic animal manure unless you know the farmers. Most animals are fed hay, corn, soy, and other products that are definitely not grown organically. Even with horse manure from local stables, you need to know which horses are being regularly dosed so you can avoid their manure, not to mention the non-organic hay they are fed. I'm slowly adding compost to my raised bed plots, but also use fertilizers such as Miracle Gro, and Jack's. It really takes a lot of time, effort, and work to grow a crop such as corn without synthetic fertilizers. And speaking of compost, it's also difficult to get enough organic vegetable scraps to sustain a large enough compost pile(s) to provide for a large garden. Most sources are not organic. I've turned down neighbors who wanted to give me their vegetable scraps because I knew their food wasn't organic.
@@jc904040 Yes it's true it's difficult to find organically fed livestock manure. We do have a farmer down the street that has an organic dairy and I've gotten manure from him. USDA standards don't require the manure you spread on an organic field to be from organic animals though. I guess if you are concerned that there could be hormones and other stuff in the manure you would want to try to source organic manure.
Thank you for this trick to increase corn yield. I will definitely try it with my sweet corn. I just ordered glass gem popcorn, so I’ll definitely try your tip with that corn too.
I have planted just a few corn seeds in my garden for the first time this year. I would probably not have had ANYTHING out of it. Now i stand a chance :)
Gracias, amigo, much appreciated. My first crop failed this year, (one cob from twenty plants!) so I'll use this technique on my current crop (40 plants) which are just starting to flower now. JD
Thank you so much for this tip. Definitely going to try this year.I have grown corn about 5 yrs or so. Never get a decent size corn,only couple of seeds in each.
Our third year growing backyard corn.. we have had what I would consider good harvests but once it goes to tassel I think I will give this method a try because I have noticed under pollination in some of our ears. We will be at the Homesteader’s of America Conference come October in VA…hope to see you there🍄🌈😃🤙
@@HardcoreSustainable you can buy tickets online. It is in Frontroyal VA early October. Tickets are reasonably priced but you need to buy them in advance because they sell out.🌈😃🤙
I really like your video because I wondered if you can hand pollinate your corn and now I know I can and I will be doing just that. thank you for the tip, keep up the good work. also have to say like the name
I am growing 2 raised beds of corn and will be trying this method for the 1st time. A couple questions: 1) Can you use the pollen of a plant to fertilize the silks on that same plant or does it have to fertilize another plant? 2) How many times does this need to be done? Thanks! Happy growing...................................AO
That's good question. I would say you probably could, but I think it's better not to. The kernels of corn on the developing ear you have pollinated will express the genes of the pollen that pollinated it and for that reason it could show inbreeding depression if it's pollinated by itself. That being said, much of the corn people plant (like sweet corn) is already a genetically homogenous hybrid and so any plant will have the same genetics as the next. If you are planting open pollinated seed, and especially if you are saving seed, you should not use pollen from the same plant to pollinate the silks.
That's a neat trick. Thanks for sharing. I would love to grow a block of corn as big as the one you have there, but the critters in my area, also love corn! So I can only have a few stalks at a time that I can cover with a net.
The critters have been getting much worse where I live too and they are eating most of my corn. I'd really love to be able to grow more of it because it grows so well here.
This is a very good video simple straight to the point I enjoyed it because it wasn't a whole bunch of fancy words and Technical terms. Mike on when I shake it the stock it's a powder I was thinking about the same thing it's like a greenish powder?
That’s fascinating you said gmo cattle corn can cross pollinate with sweet corn. For twenty years and several farms we’ve picked sweet corn next to field corn. Every farmer here plants a field of corn and then does a few rows maybe one in the middle or outside of sweet corn. I’ve never even thought about it. This fall I’ll have to see if I can notice a difference between that and maybe something from Walmart.
Thanks very much for the tips, I’m gonna try it. It’s only my second year planting corn so I’ve got a lot to learn, last year very poor cobs this year good strong plant growth so I’ll try this method and see what happens, regards from Matt in New Zealand 🙏
This is really a great video. I wished I had watched this about a month ago and try hand pollination. First video I have seen from Harcordcore Sustainable. However, I have subscribed and will watch more. This was the perfect length of time and no extra hoopla! Thanks for the video!
Great trick to ensure that all of your kernals get polinated and develop. Though I am doubtful of your cross polination from other fields. This is why you need to plant corn packed together and more than just a couple of rows thick. They are wind polinated and the pollin will fall down onto the corn tassells. I am hesitatnt to say that you would get enough pollin from other fields around you to make a difference in your corn development. And if I understand genetics of plans correctly, what you pollinate with will not change the kernal that is developed taste wise. You will always get hte fruit of the parent plant. But if you use the kernals for seed then your new plant will be a cross result of what it was pollinated with.
If you check out one of the comments here below, I address the expression of parental phenotypes in the kernel of the corn. Corn is unique from other plants in expressing the parental characteristics in the seed of the current generation. Every once in a while I see field corn genes in a kernel or two. There is also the option of planting so that your silks are receptive before or after other varieties have released their pollen.
Absolutely a problem with corn. Due to the spacing recommendation of 250 yards (or more) most home gardeners will not be able to plant two varieties--unless they pollinate at different times. Do NOT plant your sweet corn patch next to the neighboring farm's field corn adjoining your property!
That's very smart of you. When I lived in Murfreesboro, TN, a farmer in Illinois told me about your idea. It's definitely good to know. Good luck if you're planting again this year. The weather has been killing my sprouts this year.😢
Thanks. I watched this video last year and used this technique. It works great for a smaller sized garden. I got every corn fully pollinated
That's great to know that people are using it and it's working for them. Thanks for coming back to let us know it worked for you.
@@HardcoreSustainable one trick that works is the hill method where you plant the corn 5 - 7 seeds in a circle elevated slightly, itll self pollinate cus the corn is close together, the hopi people did this
@@christophergranthem5983 I've planted corn that way in the past as well. It would be more likely to get pollinated I think.
@@HardcoreSustainable yeah you dont have to worry about the corn bein too close on the hills just space them like an inch apart, theyll naturally space out, further improving this is the 3 sisters method, plant some peas around the corn hills then plant either watermelon or sqaush or maybe lettuce in the middle of the hills, the squash/watermelon/lettuce will shade the ground, the peas will supply nitrogen and the corn will be a trelis for the peas
@@christophergranthem5983 I planted beans with corn several years ago but they made a great ladder for rats to get up to the corn. I've stopped doing that. Maybe peas would be better. I think beans is the traditional 3 sisters climbing crop since they are an American native.
Finally -- a video that advertises "one neat trick" that actually matters.
Best comment yet
Excellent advice. It might be worth mentioning for any peeps new to gardening that the big rice-sized brown bits that fall onto the newspaper from the tassels are not the corn's pollen; they're the factories that produce it. The actual pollen is an almost invisible 'dust' that blows off them in vast quantities.
So don't feel that you need to collect those big seed-like things in order to pollinate the silks. Lightly tapping them over your newspaper will produce (literally) tens of millions of microscopically tiny pollen grains, and puffing these across the young cobs is all that's needed to do the job, even though you may not be able to see any actual pollen as you do it. 🙂
Thank you for your very timely advice I was just posing the question internally about the size of corn pollen and the next thing I read was your information perfect timing thank you very much 👌👍😎
Thank you for this! Hand pollinated this year and was totally wondering when/where the actual pollen was, as I have seen the fine dust before. Wasn't sure if the brown tassels held them within or not and when they would open to show the dust. Again, great info!
Thank you for clarifying that!! I was wondering why the pollen was so huge! LOL!
I was very much interested in what you were talking about at the end of your video. I grew up farming. I saw the beginning of chemical farming, and suffered the cancer related effects also. I'm retired in florida, but still have an interest in our family farm. I now garden organic . To an extreme. I see the need for every man to contribute to food growth, city or country dweller. While I don't need instructions at my age, education brush ups are important. We need what our forefathers had. A life centered about and around agriculture!
Well said! I think if people had more of a connection to their food they wouldn't waste it so much and they would find a meaning to their lives that has been lost to urbanization. It's definitely happening to some degree with the local foods movement, but as with most things these days, it is an uphill battle against detachment from nature.
... a family that grows together stays together! Think about how uninterested in the garbage that's on TV anymore these days, and mind numbing video games so many more kids would be if they had something like this to be a part of. There's endless life lessons to be learned on a farm of any size, and I think there's a lot to be said about our recent generations losing touch with that experience.
I enjoyed this, keep em coming 👍
@@L3TTUC3prey I agree with you about the TV. The important things in life are to be found here on You Tube from people who are like minded share their knowledge with others.
“Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country and wedded to its liberty and interests by the most lasting bonds.”
-Thomas Jefferson
I fully agree with you about organic growing. I have long been a proponent of green manure. I was raised Amish and a love for the earth was instilled in me, while I have left that part of my life behind I still believe in being green. I keep trying to convert farmers to adopt the green manure method, as it would build up the soil and allow air and water to reach the roots. I am talking about planting buckwheat and when it reaches about 8 to 10 inches high you deep plow it under and plant plant a second crop of buckwheat. And again when it reaches 8 to 10 inches high you deep plow it under, and plant again only this one you allow to over winter. In the spring you plant your corn, and your harvest will double. The reason being that buckwheat is the best nitrogen fixer known to man, it fixes nitrogen into the soil as it decomposes. At the same time it breaks up the soil allowing water and air to penetrate, it also helps control weeds and pests. If you have clay soil the green manure method will change it over time into productive blackish soil. And if you have Sandy soil this method will add vegetable matter to the soil, allowing it to retain water. This is the best way to double your harvest organically. Thank you
THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR TECHNIQUES WITH HAND POLLINATING CORN!!!😃 I'M A BEGINNER GARDNER AND I PLANTED ABOUT 9-10 🌽 CORN JUST TO SEE IF I REALLY COULD GROW SOME CORN IN A POT🤓🌽🌽🌽SO NOW I CAN HARDLY WAIT TO SEE HOW THEY TURN OUT!!! EITHER WAY, I'M ENJOYING LEARNING SO MUCH ABOUT GARDENING!!!😄🙋🏽♀️🙏🏽👑✝️📖🔥
What the hell? This guy actually just gets to the point?? That's refreshing. Subbed!
I played around with gardening off and on and got ok results. But now I want to really learn much about gardening correctly. I believe this video is one of the things that will make harvest time so much more fulfilling. Thanks and Jesus bless.
Six years later and I am just finding out about hand pollination. Now…it’s time to plant some corn finally this year. I hope I remember to do this when the time comes. Cheers and thanks.
I have watched alot of the corn pollination videos but this is one is my favorite way of doing it thank you for the show
Glad it was helpful!
Love how a corn video starts with a garlic montage
You are so hilarious 😂😂😂 Lol 😂😂😂...
Thank you brother for actually posting a real tip to help those of us that desperately want to learn how to improve our gardens. I appreciate you taking the time to make this video and I am about to subscribe to your channel after watching this one tutorial. Thank you.
When the silk turns from white to red that shows that its already pollinated. Its is still a good practice to do when the corn is thin and the first row that the prevailing wind hits 1st. A good shake works good too. It looks like your corn is in need of nitrogen. A good time to side dress is when its knee high and again when the silk 1st shows. After that pray for rain or water if you can. Good video.
Estel, Thank you!
Mom the neighbor is showing his corn the morning newspaper again
I love that method of blowing pollen out of a folded newspaper, great demonstration! You can also gently bend a corn plant over and use it's flower to dust the silks on the plants around it. Or just walk a long tapping the plants so that the pollen falls off onto it's surroundings.
I like to hand pollenate cucurbits too, using a q tip or even just a finger.
You could do those things, but this allows you to maximize the pollen you do get to pollinate the most silk possible. If you just tap the plants some pollen falls on the silks and most on the ground. Bending a stalk over might break the stalk and then you won't get any more pollen from it the next day or the day after. And you can only pollinate the ears within reach of the stalk. With my method you collect all the pollen and direct it onto the silks, so you are sure each kernel is developing in every ear you pollinate. And with pollen from one tassel, I can pollinate several ears throughout the bed of corn.
I always wondered why I never had success with corn! Thank you very much
This Channel just popped up, I watched out of curiosity to the end.
Enjoy the no nonsense approach & great info.
I also enjoyed reading the comments which had so many helpful tips & advise. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Just subbed, Thank you 👍🇦🇺
Glad you enjoyed it and got some useful info. Welcome!
My Golden Queen corn is dandy now principally due to the Safer BT spray I have been doing for the last 3 years or so. However...a new fly in the ointment that's been worrying me a bit. My neighbor planted field corn not 100 feet away. I think I escaped last year. My solution was supposed to have been planting to miss his pollination period....but that didn't really work out. His corn was kinda slow and mine was kinda fast so both still tassled at the same time. I guess the prevailing wind saved me. Now, hand pollinating...beating his corn to the punch...that's a neat idea and one I would never have thought of. SUPER thanks HS! GREAT job!! I'll do it! One fellow below suggested the tap with a stick method. I'll have about 7 rows 60 feet long...I think I'll have a go with that. Heck, just shouldering through that stuff when it really gets popping stirs up yellow clouds. (Sneeze!)
Yes, if you can get to the corn early in the day and get all those silks pollinated as soon as they come out, you won't get crossing. You've got a lot of corn though. Glad you found the video useful.
Nice video. I hand pollinate as well. I usually cut off some of the pollen anthers, and simply shake them onto the silks. It's usually the plants on the outside rows that need this the most.
This is how I do it also.
My first time growing corn and No wonder my corn was missing kernel and was wondering what I did wrong. Thank you for the tip! I will do this next year.
Thank you for the information. We are adding sweet corn for the 1st time this coming spring so this will be handy. You are an expert to me 😉
I love how much effort you put into each step of the process.
I'm definitely gonna try that..my corn ended up with some kennels..some none at all..thankyou..have a blessed day✝️🙏
Oh wow, this really makes my upcoming first attempt at corn so much less intimidating! Thank you so much for sharing this!
Good luck with it! Sweet corn is delicious when you pick it fresh from the garden.
Hardcore Sustainable That's what I keep hearing. As much as we love the store-bought stuff, I can't wait to see for myself what the real stuff tastes like! It'll be so fun to be able to start the grill and walk over to the corn patch and just pick what we need right when we need it.
I'm also planting a block of Glass Gem on the other end of our yard, because we go through a ton of microwave popcorn, and I'd love to be able to just scoop some beautiful kernels out of a glass jar and pop it on the stove. No more chemical bath "movie theater" junk! And I think the wacky colors and shapes of all the heirlooms should spark more interest in the kids to get involved in the garden.
I hope it works!! With this pollination tip, I think it will; It makes perfect sense.
How often should I do this per season, and what should I look for to know it's go-time?
Just be careful about the pollen mixing between sweet and popcorn though. Different dates to harvest can help for different varieties. And don't let the raccoons steal it all if they are in your area.
Hardcore Sustainable Oh, they are! Along with opossum, armadillo, rabbit, coyote, and all kinds of birds. I have some panels made of 2x4 and chicken wire, but they'll be worthless against climber and fliers. I'll have to figure out how to guard it. Maybe some kind of netting? I have so much more to learn!
My first year as well.
So glad I found this.
Thank you! I think I have enough room to grow like 20 stalks of corn but I have heard if you dont plant them in blocks, you end up with sparse kernels and such. This is confirmation that I can grow some sweet corn.
I read the other day I needed to grow 10 blocks of 10 to ensure good diversity. I haven't got that kind of room! Im happy to know I don't need to do that :)
You only need that much if you plan to save seed. Just to get a corn ear that's pollinated and filled out you need one plant with tassles and silks. It will be inbred, but it'll produce an ear of corn that is perfectly edible.
Thank you for showing us how to do that, I'm putting in a Three sisters garden and I wanted to make sure I had full ears of corn to harvest. I live in a fairly windy state, but this will ensure that all of it gets pollinated for myself
Great info, used a paintbrush with soft hairs last year, and got already better results as former croppings. I collected the pollen in small white plastic bucket to notice the right pollen harvest. But doubling is not always successful by starting with 1 grain harvest per ear one year & getting 2 on the next one... ;)
On our small homestead we can make about $1,000 from the corn we grow on our 10 acres. We purposefully infect with corn smut. The harvest is a highly desirable organic fungus that tastes like an extraordinary mild English Truffle. We can sell our entire crop form our tiny farm to local restaurants for just under $30,000. This means the difference between feeding our sheep over the Winter or eating them and selling them for meat.
That's great. You must be close to a good market for your product. I used to work at a project that was experimenting with growing huitlacoche for sale to restaurants like you are talking about. Unfortunately we are about 3 hours drive from any market that would value corn smut for a high value.
good info, I'll try it this year. A great big thank you for keeping the video short! Seems everyone wants to talk on and on for at least 12 minutes.
I'm way up north. It's hard to "corn" in zone 3/4 especially for newbie gardeners like me! I watch these videos and apply the wisdom, my attempt at corn is developing great because I shook my tassels EVERY day until there was no more pollen. We have good wind, but not everyday.
I live in zone 2. Last year I started my seed early in my house. It worked great to transplant the new plants into my garden. Now this year, after watching this manual pollination trick, should be even more successful.
It worked out BTW. A great crop, I saved a bunch❤
Thank you so much. Out of all the you tube gardening channels your is the first I've seen regarding corn. Gonna try this tomorrow morning!!😊
I’ve done this in my small garden and it was a fun as well as hopefully useful activity
Thank you so much for sharing this. I'm growing corn for the first time this year and I had heard of this but had no idea how to do it. Thanks!
Yep, I'm going to hand pollinate.
This is what I understand you to say, please correct me if I'm wrong.
Shake all pollen tassels into a paper bag (or whatever).
Do not pollinate each corn plant with its own pollen.
This in order to get diversity.
Then pollinate the silk.
Yep, that's right. I will decide which silks I want to pollinate and then collect pollen from plants that are farther away from them. Then I'll take pollen from those plants I just pollinated and pollinate the ones that were farther away.
@@HardcoreSustainable Right on, thank you.
@@HardcoreSustainable Very well, Thank you. This is what we will do with our corn this year. Last year we tried to grow corn first time and it was an epic FAIL. First because we planted corn too late, second we planted in a not ideal area, third we tried to hand pollinate but did it wrong. This year we put the corn beds in a better location with more sunlight and we'll try your method so hopefully we'll have a better harvest. Thanks for this video! 🙏
@@cheesekake1841 Good luck!
I came to your site because of the headline. I clicked subscribe because of the great opening music. Time and your content will determine if I will stay subscribed. Here's hoping that I do!
I liked the milkweed at the start of the video. Some nice buildings on your lot also.
Thanks Adler Farms! Hope your day goes smoothly. 💕from Ky.
Thanks so much for this simple instruction, now I know why the ears are never filled out in my corn, this year I hope and pray will be different!!
I've found it easier to just grab a top and touch it to the silks directly and when it looks used up grab another top. I've had great success doing this for 20+ years with sweet corn.
That's another way to do it, but you don't always have tassels producing corn right next to silks that are receptive. With this method you can take pollen from whatever tassels are producing, and transfer them to whichever silks are receptive to pollen.
very experienced sweet corn gardener here...as long as you are block planting 200 seeds plus, hand pollination not needed. 200 seeds is a pretty small plot when you do the planting math and/or actually plant the seeds...always plant in blocks, never rows. If you have to plant in a couple long rows for some reason by all means follow this procedure..
Thanks. Yeah I don't have the space for 200 plants of a single variety. I plant less than 50 of each kind and have a bed system in my garden. Of course, I'm kind of giving up on corn now because I can't figure out a way to keep my corn from the raccoons. I've tried everything.
@@HardcoreSustainable Have you tried to use a "motion detector sprinkler" to deter animals? We have two of the "Orbit Yard Enforcer Motion-Activated Sprinkler with Day & Night Detection" and they seemed to work last season. I hope you can find a solution.
@@cheesekake1841 thanks for the suggestion. I haven't tried that yet. I'm open to anything. I could just see the raccoons bathing happily in the spray when it comes on.
@@HardcoreSustainable 🤣
Right to the point and great visual of how to to do it.
Thank you so very much! I had no idea that’s why my few corns didn’t produce much. I look forward to trying this method.
Thank you! Will try this method this year. Last year we had spotty pollination because of a small planting
I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, but people may be confused by the anthers (along with the pollen) spreading over the silks. The pollen is a fine yellow dust, the anthers are the larger pieces that are also falling all over the silks. ( the anthers produce the pollen). You might get fewer of them in the mix if you shake a bit less vigorously. Myself, I put a paper bag over the tassels and bend it over and tap it a few times. Thanks for the video, I'm growing corn in containers and this keeps the self pollination requirement fresh in my mind.
BTW, your corn looks a bit pale. There's a good corn growing video on UA-cam by an Australian(Self Sufficient Me), and he suggests that the best time to fertilize is when the corn is very young, or even before you plant it...so it will grow thick stalks which in turn will produce more. Did you use much fertilizer on this crop?
I could probably add more manure to my beds to get them more productive. I have been adding well composted humanure and regular garden compost on a regular basis, but probably would benefit from more animal manure. I only garden organically.
@@HardcoreSustainable It's hard to find organic animal manure unless you know the farmers. Most animals are fed hay, corn, soy, and other products that are definitely not grown organically. Even with horse manure from local stables, you need to know which horses are being regularly dosed so you can avoid their manure, not to mention the non-organic hay they are fed. I'm slowly adding compost to my raised bed plots, but also use fertilizers such as Miracle Gro, and Jack's. It really takes a lot of time, effort, and work to grow a crop such as corn without synthetic fertilizers. And speaking of compost, it's also difficult to get enough organic vegetable scraps to sustain a large enough compost pile(s) to provide for a large garden. Most sources are not organic. I've turned down neighbors who wanted to give me their vegetable scraps because I knew their food wasn't organic.
@@jc904040 Yes it's true it's difficult to find organically fed livestock manure. We do have a farmer down the street that has an organic dairy and I've gotten manure from him. USDA standards don't require the manure you spread on an organic field to be from organic animals though. I guess if you are concerned that there could be hormones and other stuff in the manure you would want to try to source organic manure.
Thanks for this info. Very clear and concise. Your land and garden is beautiful.
I learned that I can do the same with a rooster’s feather. It yields the polen. Nice video, short and directs, as it should be.
Thank you for this trick to increase corn yield. I will definitely try it with my sweet corn. I just ordered glass gem popcorn, so I’ll definitely try your tip with that corn too.
Awesome home setup and thanks for the tip!
I have planted just a few corn seeds in my garden for the first time this year. I would probably not have had ANYTHING out of it. Now i stand a chance :)
Gracias, amigo, much appreciated. My first crop failed this year, (one cob from twenty plants!) so I'll use this technique on my current crop (40 plants) which are just starting to flower now.
JD
Thank you so much for this tip. Definitely going to try this year.I have grown corn about 5 yrs or so. Never get a decent size corn,only couple of seeds in each.
This should make the difference. Pollination is likely the problem.
July 4th, 2021 -- just getting silks on my sweet corn, this was exactly the video i was looking for!
Lol. You say small and have a patch of field. I say small and I have 12 plants. THAT is small lol. Appreciate the tip!!
Our third year growing backyard corn.. we have had what I would consider good harvests but once it goes to tassel I think I will give this method a try because I have noticed under pollination in some of our ears. We will be at the Homesteader’s of America Conference come October in VA…hope to see you there🍄🌈😃🤙
That sounds like a really fun event. I'll look into it.
@@HardcoreSustainable you can buy tickets online. It is in Frontroyal VA early October. Tickets are reasonably priced but you need to buy them in advance because they sell out.🌈😃🤙
@@thomasreto2997 Thanks for the info!
Great, thanks from the Florida Keys.
Very cool trick. Thanks for the tip.
Great video. I'm starting my first corn plot here this year.
GREAT INFO!! Thanks for sharing. Will be nice to see what the difference is this year.
Your end speech made me subscribe to you on this one video. Well, and how well you explain what you’re doing.
Me too!
Genius!! Thanks for sharing your tips 😉
I really like your video because I wondered if you can hand pollinate your corn and now I know I can and I will be doing just that. thank you for the tip, keep up the good work. also have to say like the name
Thanks so much for this video. I am starting my first patch of corn this year, I think I will hand pollinate to get maximum sized ears of corn
Glad you liked it. You must be in the southern hemisphere then? Good luck!
@@HardcoreSustainable Yes I'm in south-east Australia, the weather is just starting to warm now.
Putting paper bags on over night and then flicking the bag in the morning will help get alot more pollen, works really well
yes you could do that and you wouldn't lose any pollen. smacking the bag before taking it off would help.
Thats the way research companies do it, but timing is critical.
I am growing 2 raised beds of corn and will be trying this method for the 1st time. A couple questions: 1) Can you use the pollen of a plant to fertilize the silks on that same plant or does it have to fertilize another plant? 2) How many times does this need to be done? Thanks! Happy growing...................................AO
That's good question. I would say you probably could, but I think it's better not to. The kernels of corn on the developing ear you have pollinated will express the genes of the pollen that pollinated it and for that reason it could show inbreeding depression if it's pollinated by itself. That being said, much of the corn people plant (like sweet corn) is already a genetically homogenous hybrid and so any plant will have the same genetics as the next. If you are planting open pollinated seed, and especially if you are saving seed, you should not use pollen from the same plant to pollinate the silks.
Pretty cool trick. We’re only planting 100 plants so this could easily be done. Thanks for the tip.
Beautiful!
That's a neat trick. Thanks for sharing. I would love to grow a block of corn as big as the one you have there, but the critters in my area, also love corn!
So I can only have a few stalks at a time that I can cover with a net.
The critters have been getting much worse where I live too and they are eating most of my corn. I'd really love to be able to grow more of it because it grows so well here.
Thankyou for this video. I look forward to trying this when I next plant corn 😊
Cool! I had no idea that's how it worked. Thanks for a great video!
i like useing the pollen in the coffie bean grinder then useing a straw and blowing it on the silks.
I just planted some corn today! I hope they grow well! 😄
Great tip !! Very nice garden, hope that you have a great harvest !
Thanks, I'm glad it was helpful to you!
Awesome trick, I am growing corn for the first time this year looking for tips! Thank you
Good luck!
Wow!!! Never even thought of that! Thank you!
Thank you for the information I always get little corns now I,know why.👍😺🐶🌱🌻
I always got underdeveloped ears when I was growing corn as a kid and I never knew why.
This is a very good video simple straight to the point I enjoyed it because it wasn't a whole bunch of fancy words and Technical terms. Mike on when I shake it the stock it's a powder I was thinking about the same thing it's like a greenish powder?
Usually the pollen is a yellow powder. Glad you liked the video.
That’s fascinating you said gmo cattle corn can cross pollinate with sweet corn. For twenty years and several farms we’ve picked sweet corn next to field corn. Every farmer here plants a field of corn and then does a few rows maybe one in the middle or outside of sweet corn. I’ve never even thought about it. This fall I’ll have to see if I can notice a difference between that and maybe something from Walmart.
If it tassels and silks at the same time, it will cross. The sweet corn would taste much starchier.
Good to know. Thanks you for sharing mate!
First timer here thanks for the video
Thanks very much for this. I have a very small patch for the corn. This tip really helps. Thanks.
Thanks for the tip. I looking forward to see how my crop does
a blower also works, maybe not as good, but if you have a lot of corn or tomatoes
Great tip, I really appreciate you sharing.
Thanks very much for the tips, I’m gonna try it. It’s only my second year planting corn so I’ve got a lot to learn, last year very poor cobs this year good strong plant growth so I’ll try this method and see what happens, regards from Matt in New Zealand 🙏
WOW!! YOU REALLY BLESSED ME!! THANKS !!
Thanks for the tip
I saw your video and even if it was not exactly what I was looking for which is to grow sweetcorn indoors. I did learn how to hand pollinate the corn.
Thanks for the info! I didn't know this yet.
Will try next season on my sweetcorn :)
This is really a great video. I wished I had watched this about a month ago and try hand pollination. First video I have seen from Harcordcore Sustainable. However, I have subscribed and will watch more. This was the perfect length of time and no extra hoopla! Thanks for the video!
I'm glad you liked it, and welcome to the channel!
Great trick to ensure that all of your kernals get polinated and develop. Though I am doubtful of your cross polination from other fields. This is why you need to plant corn packed together and more than just a couple of rows thick. They are wind polinated and the pollin will fall down onto the corn tassells. I am hesitatnt to say that you would get enough pollin from other fields around you to make a difference in your corn development.
And if I understand genetics of plans correctly, what you pollinate with will not change the kernal that is developed taste wise. You will always get hte fruit of the parent plant. But if you use the kernals for seed then your new plant will be a cross result of what it was pollinated with.
If you check out one of the comments here below, I address the expression of parental phenotypes in the kernel of the corn. Corn is unique from other plants in expressing the parental characteristics in the seed of the current generation.
Every once in a while I see field corn genes in a kernel or two. There is also the option of planting so that your silks are receptive before or after other varieties have released their pollen.
Absolutely a problem with corn. Due to the spacing recommendation of 250 yards (or more) most home gardeners will not be able to plant two varieties--unless they pollinate at different times. Do NOT plant your sweet corn patch next to the neighboring farm's field corn adjoining your property!
Wow! Thank you for this tip!
The best corn pollination I’ve seen ty
Cool! Thanks for sharing! We'll be trying this out next month 😎🙌
Thank you....and Well done
First year growing corn and I missed the window to do this. Will give it a try next year. Thanks
I appreciate the tip, thank you
Just came across this, really helpful!!
I brush the hair on my ears with mineral to keep worms out works great and helps with pollination too
Mineral oil
Made me laugh until I realized youea t ears of corn
I really appreciate the input, this is vital advice you got here
I'm glad you found it useful. It does make a difference.
I used to go out about 9 AM and shake the stalks, pollen would fall, it is a timing thing, temp, humidity, and never had pollination issues.
I walk around and tap each stalk with a stick so the pollen falls onto the silk.
That's very smart of you. When I lived in Murfreesboro, TN, a farmer in Illinois told me about your idea. It's definitely good to know. Good luck if you're planting again this year. The weather has been killing my sprouts this year.😢
@@justasplash380 im planting 30 red corns and theyre growing the heat in phillipines changes everytime
I shake the tassels 😅