Your 2026 Garden

[pollipazzi]

This very agile cat runs the top of our 6' wood fence, jumps down, does business, jumps back up & runs the fence line again. I guess the big raised bed looks like the perfect litter box.

you can put sticks or those bar b q skewers (point side down so you don't hurt yourself!) in the empty spaces between the plants. every couple of inches. the cats won't jump in there so they won't get hurt either. it has definitely helped me in that situation. my neighbour thought i was being mean to the cats, but they really will just avoid it like they wouldn't go where big plants are growing.

 

[fuzzi]

you can put sticks or those bar b q skewers (point side down so you don't hurt yourself!) in the empty spaces between the plants. every couple of inches. the cats won't jump in there so they won't get hurt either. it has definitely helped me in that situation. my neighbour thought i was being mean to the cats, but they really will just avoid it like they wouldn't go where big plants are growing.

A friend of mine planted plastic forks around her gardens, points up. She said it worked well to discourage cats.

 

[jxp]

Corn is pollinated by wind, so plant the corn close. Use short rows, and interplant with pole beans, so they climb the stalks. Some people plant squash around the corn as well.

This is known as the three sisters method. From experience I can tell you to not use it for sweet corn and don't plant either the beans or squash until after the corn stalks are at least 10 inches or 25 cm tall. The squash will shade the corn and your germination will be diminished. The beans will look for something to climb soon after sprouting and need those stalks to be available. They will wind their way very tightly around whatever they're climbing and it becomes almost impossible to harvest the corn at a fresh eating stage. This is why the planting method is best reserved for corn that is meant to be left on the plant and made into cornmeal, masa, or hominy.

Bit of wisdom that my Grandpa taught me is that you should choose a squash or pumpkin with prickly stems so as to deter raccoons and squirrels from entering your patch and trying to climb the cornstalks.

 

[jxp]

I tried to grow corn last year here. Not again. Stalks grew, but as the ears were forming they developed bugs that ate almost all the kernels. I threw them towards the chickens. I figured they could eat the bugs. Betty really likes bugs & pulling earthworms out of the ground.

Betty sounds like a keeper! Good girl, Betty.

 

[dirkandlorie]

This is known as the three sisters method. From experience I can tell you to not use it for sweet corn and don't plant either the beans or squash until after the corn stalks are at least 10 inches or 25 cm tall. The squash will shade the corn and your germination will be diminished. The beans will look for something to climb soon after sprouting and need those stalks to be available. They will wind their way very tightly around whatever they're climbing and it becomes almost impossible to harvest the corn at a fresh eating stage. This is why the planting method is best reserved for corn that is meant to be left on the plant and made into cornmeal, masa, or hominy.

Bit of wisdom that my Grandpa taught me is that you should choose a squash or pumpkin with prickly stems so as to deter raccoons and squirrels from entering your patch and trying to climb the cornstalks.

Thank you, and its the super sweet corn that I'm after.

 

[jxp]

Thank you, and its the super sweet corn that I'm after.

After it's up and shooting for the sky, you'll be okay interplanting with a squash or pumpkin but I'd strongly advise against the beans.

Better than a vining type of squash, if you've got a relatively small corn patch, you might consider ringing your corn with a bush type such as zucchini or crookneck summer squash. That way you can step inside to harvest your corn without damaging the plants by stepping on them while still providing somewhat of a slowdown to hungry critters.

 

[dirkandlorie]

After it's up and shooting for the sky, you'll be okay interplanting with a squash or pumpkin but I'd strongly advise against the beans.

Better than a vining type of squash, if you've got a relatively small corn patch, you might consider ringing your corn with a bush type such as zucchini or crookneck summer squash. That way you can step inside to harvest your corn without damaging the plants by stepping on them while still providing somewhat of a slowdown to hungry critters.

This! This is exactly what I meant when I said advice from experienced gardens is pure gold. Can't get anything like that from googling. Thank you so much!!!!

 

[Debbie292d]

Corn is a air pollinator so plant it in a square instead of a row. 3x3 or something like that, instead of 1x9

We have about 12 rows of it, so it winds up being pretty square I guess, but never thought of it that way.

 

[jxp]

We have about 12 rows of it, so it winds up being pretty square I guess, but never thought of it that way.

This is basically the set up Grandpa had for his sweet corn, +/- a dozen 20' (~6m) long rows. He grew pumpkins and zucchini between every second row and let the leaves sprawl and cover the base of the corn stalks but leaving a narrow path to walk down between every other row.