BYC gardening thread!!

[lazy gardener]

Question: do you cut/pull the sucker plants/sprouts on corn or leave them?

"they say" that you should. But I never do. "They say" that allowing suckers draws strength from the main stalk, affecting ear size/set. I leave them, thinking that the extra foliage produces more nutrition, not less. It would be interesting to do a side by side study, with one group suckered, and the other group not, and compare harvest. Same with tomatoes. I am more likely to sucker my tomatoes. We have a short growing season, and keeping the plant more open hastens ripening IMO.

 

[jerryse]

I cut 6 suckers from tomato plants for rooting in water . These will be my insurance for late season tomatoes up to frost time .

I planted a couple of potted Boyne raspberries next to 2 different blackberries for crossing next year . I will remove pollen parts on the Boyne next year and let the bees do the rest . These tame thornless blackberries they sell are iffy in zone 5 . So going to try making my own hardy ones .

 

[GardenNut]

Thanks LG! I think my mother used to pull out the sucker plants, but I've also seen arguments to leave them. Maybe I'll do some of each, as you suggested. I've always pulled the little tomato sucker branches or whatever they're called.

 

[dan26552]

"they say" that you should. But I never do. "They say" that allowing suckers draws strength from the main stalk, affecting ear size/set. I leave them, thinking that the extra foliage produces more nutrition, not less. It would be interesting to do a side by side study, with one group suckered, and the other group not, and compare harvest. Same with tomatoes. I am more likely to sucker my tomatoes. We have a short growing season, and keeping the plant more open hastens ripening IMO.

Some of my corn suckered and some didn't

The corn that had suckers got over 7' tall, the corn that didn't only got about 6'

 

[lazy gardener]

Some of my corn suckered and some didn't

The corn that had suckers got over 7' tall, the corn that didn't only got about 6'

Makes sense to me. Those extra leaves feed the plant more.

 

[dan26552]

Makes sense to me. Those extra leaves feed the plant more.

Yeah, and my dad told me sweet corn doesn't get much taller than 6' ha! I have corn that's nearly 9' feet tall

(Maybe it's because I have an heirloom variety?)

 

[Ardj]

Dan everyone now that you are growing mutant plants. 9' tall corn is nothing new in your garden i suppose. .

 

[chickadoodles]

Today I stopped at a nursery on the way home from a Dr.'s appt. I have wanted to stop there for a long time but it never looked like there was a place to call it a nursery. Just ton's of trees around a fence. lol
So we stopped and found a lady that showed us around and I bought a Mars blue grape and a Windsor and Tiffblue blueberry bushes. I need to get a Climax blueberry to cross pollinate with these two she said.
Jerry how can I get this grape to give me more plants off of it? Would that be root cutting method?

Here is the Mars seedless blue grape vine. She said they sprayed it last week.

Here are the blueberries

I know I over paid for these.

 

[chickadoodles]

I cut 6 suckers from tomato plants for rooting in water . These will be my insurance for late season tomatoes up to frost time .

I planted a couple of potted Boyne raspberries next to 2 different blackberries for crossing next year . I will remove pollen parts on the Boyne next year and let the bees do the rest . These tame thornless blackberries they sell are iffy in zone 5 . So going to try making my own hardy ones .

Jerry I bought a satin thornless blackberry and it has no flavor to the berries. Is there something I should be doing to it to help the flavor?
This year I put some fish meal and a mixture of pork bone and blood meal on it with some organic fertilizer. I have wild blackberries all over the place but the thorns hurt so I bought a thornless.

 

[jerryse]

Jerry I bought a satin thornless blackberry and it has no flavor to the berries. Is there something I should be doing to it to help the flavor?
This year I put some fish meal and a mixture of pork bone and blood meal on it with some organic fertilizer. I have wild blackberries all over the place but the thorns hurt so I bought a thornless.

Jerry how can I get this grape to give me more plants off of it? Would that be root cutting method?

Easiest method for the grape is layering . Just put a clump of dirt on a vine to hold it down on the ground . It will root . Cut it free next year and move it to a new spot .

Many things can affect flavor on blackberry . Lots of rain gives berries with less flavor . Dry conditions can increase flavor . Genetics also .

You are blessed with mild winters and can grow the newer releases .They perform poorly in zone 5 no matter what they claim . Lots of winter injury . The breeding work is done for commercial growers on the west coast and Ar .

I tried black satin years ago . The canes froze every year .