Market Farming

[Pam Twin Oaks <pam AT twinoaks.org>]

Kathryn and others

We transplant some sweet corn - as filler for our first patch of direct seeded corn, where we have gaps. it works very well. here's how we do it:

On the same day as we sow our first corn outside, which is around our last frost date, we sow some speedling flats, 200 cell size, at one seed per cell. (Big seeds small cells, but it works, they won't be there long.) Speedling flats are those styrofoam tapered cell flats. We water and stack the flats till they germinate, then move them outdoors and float them in a tank of water built from plastic lined cinder-blocks. Carpet protects the plastic from getting punctured by the cinder blocks. The water moderates the temperature, but we also have lids we put on the tank if the night is cold. The plants grow with no attention from us - they suck up the water they need. 

After about 12 days, we transplant in any gaps in the field sowing. We use butter knives (table knives) to slide down the sloping side of the cell, and we lift and pull the seedling out. Then we use the knife to wiggle a tapered hole in the ground (could be through plastic, but ours aren't). Make sure the hole is deep enough for the roots. Pop in the seedling, close up the hole, and water.

It doesn't take long to sow the speedling flats, and this is our insurance policy for if the field sown ones come up poorly. If we don't need all the transplants, we give them away to friends to plant their own smaller patches.

My concern about no-till planting, Kathryn, is that the soil will be colder than open, cultivated soil, and this will likely set back the growth rate of the corn. We do no-till planting for paste tomatoes, where there is no urgency to have an early harvest, but I wouldn't do it for crops I wanted early. maybe you are in no hurry for corn?

Pam, Twin Oaks, Louisa, Virginia. zone 7