Is Growing Corn possible in these conditions?

[ctrygirlatheart]

Hi there,

My husband and I took a trip across the Southwest two falls ago and we saw corn planted at the bottom of canyons on a couple of reservations. The remoteness and quantity of plants suggested that they weren't irrigated or at least not on a regular basis. They were short but they did have ears on them. We currently live at a house were the soil is mostly sand and we do have/will have some raised beds but I don't want to use that precious space for something that doesn't produce a ton of food. I was thinking about just planting the corn in the sand that we call dirt around here and watering it on occasion. We have long, warm, dry summers so if it matured late that would be okay and it would be flour corn. Has anyone ever done something similar with or without success?

[Erinz]

I'm just a wee bit south of you in the Salinas area (with a mix of sand and clay as our "dirt" ) and I didn't grow a decent crop of corn until I did a whole lot of ammendment to the soil. Corn is a super heavy feeder. I wonder what type of corn they had planted? that would make a huge difference too I would think. And it may have been a type that was both good for the area genetically and the seed came from generations of the same conditions which is pretty huge too. You can always try it and see what happens!

If you can find access to any kind of manure or something to even toss over the area for now and then dig in a bit before you plant (since it's still a good couple months before I try planting, if the ground is too cold the seed just rots so I think you have time for the manure to break down a bit depending what type it is).

Every time I go for a hike in one of the state parks that borders cow grazing or has horses on it I always think I should have brought a garbage bag to pick up the droppings all over the trail! haha!

[ctrygirlatheart]

I think I will try it and maybe start the corn in some type of biodiegradable pot so I won't have to be so vigilant with the watering. My father-in-law who grew grown flour (dent) corn for many years told me that the Native Americans would put a fish in the planting hole with the seeds so I think I will dump some compost in when I plant them out too to give them something to feed off. We live in Ben Lomond against the sandhills and according to our landlords any amending they do to the soil just washes out the following winter unless it is in a raised bed. I will also try to find a variety that comes from the Southwest.