Growing Seeds in Outdoors Conditions

 

Growing Corn Seeds Outdoors:

Sinking your teeth into a perfectly ripened ear of sweet corn is one of the finest pleasures of summer, and early-maturing sweet corn varieties like Sugar Buns will offer a harvest sooner than you might think. You will need to wait 3 weeks longer for Silver Queen, but your reward will be kernels packed with sweetness and rich corn flavor.
Corn needs plenty of space for two reasons: it is a heavy feeder, and it is primarily pollinated by wind. As grains of pollen are shed by the tassels that grow from the plants’ tops, they must find their way to the delicate strands of silk that emerge from newly formed ears. To make sure silks are nicely showered with pollen, grow corn in blocks of short rows rather than in a long, single row. In a small garden, 15 plants set 1 foot apart can be grown in a 3 x 5-foot bed. Growing corn on this tiny scale is a good way to introduce yourself to the crop if you’ve never grown it. After the first year you will probably want to increase the size of the planting to at least 4 rows 10 feet long.
Corn plants are not like tomatoes or most other vegetables, which bear over a long period of time. Instead, they form a few ears per stalk and they are finished. Because of this, gardeners who have the space often make 2 or 3 plantings 2 weeks apart to keep the harvest coming.

• Soil, Planting, and Care

Corn needs a spot with that gets full sun and has fertile, well-drained soil with a pH of 6.0 to 6.8. Seedlings can be set out as soon as the last spring frost has passed. Space plants 8 to 12 inches apart. In case of a surprise late frost, be prepared to cover seedlings with a fabric row cover. In cold climates you can plant in a raised bed covered with black or IRT plastic (infrared transmitting plastic) that will warm the soil. If possible, lay the plastic a week or so before planting.
Plan to fertilize twice because corn is a hungry plant. Before setting out seedlings, amend the soil with compost and mix a balanced organic or timed-release fertilizer into the soil. About a cup of 10-10-10 per 10 feet of row is a good general rate, but be sure to check and follow rates given on the label of any fertilizer you are using. About 6 weeks or so later, when the plants start to produce tassels, fertilize them again. (If you amend the soil with cottonseed meal or other high-nitrogen amendment, it may not be necessary to feed the second time.) Use a hoe or trowel to mix the fertilizer into the top inch of soil between the plants. After this booster feeding, water your corn once or twice weekly if the weather is hot and dry.

• Hopi and Navaho Techniques

Native Americans in arid climates planted corn in basins to catch spring rainwater and help keep the corn roots down where water would be available longer. The basin was about 4 inches deep and 2 to 3 feet wide with a raised ridge made from the excavated soil around it. Plants were arranged so that they formed a spiral from the center to help with support in wind and with pollination. If you live in an arid climate or a hot climate and have poor sandy soil, as in the Coastal Plains, this technique could help ensure a good harvest.

• Troubleshooting

Corn plants that are blown over by gusty storms usually right themselves after a few days of sunny weather. As you shuck and clean your corn, pop off ear tips damaged by corn earworms. The different types of corn should not be allowed to cross-pollinate, so plant them in such a way that pollen from one type does not reach another type. If you or a nearby neighbor grow multiple types, be sure that they are isolated by at least 250 feet or that their timing is such that they are not in bloom at the same time. If not, the pollen from types that are not the same can muddy their characteristics to the point of ruining sweetness and flavor.
Raccoons love corn. The most effective way to keep them out of the patch is to surround it with a fence with 2 strands of electric wire 4 and 12 inches from the ground. Some gardeners have been successful with throwing blackbird netting over and around the plants because some raccoons don’t like it. The methods for keeping raccoons out of corn are as varied as gardeners themselves. We’ve heard of people putting flashing lights in the corn patch, putting a radio on a timer to blare loud music, laying newspaper in rows because the raccoons don’t like to walk on the crinkly paper, spraying animal repellents, and other techniques, but a physical barrier such as an electrified fence seems to be the most reliable.

• Harvest and Storage

Most corn plants will yield at least 2 ears per stalk. Hybrids may yield more. To see if an ear is ready for harvest, look at the silks. They should be brown and dry with just a little fresh green at the base. Squeeze the husk to see if the ear inside feels plump, not skinny. If you’re still not sure if the ear seems ripe, check by peeling just enough of the husk back to expose a couple of inches of the ear. Poke a kernel with your fingernail. The corn is ready to pick if it bleeds a light milky sap like skim milk. If the liquid is clear, the ear is not ready. Ears that are too ripe will look too milky, like cream versus skim milk; they often taste starchy. Remove them right away.
Perfectly ripened ears also taste sugary-sweet when sampled raw. When possible, harvest sweet corn in the morning, when the ears are cool. To remove the ear, use one hand to hold the corn stalk and the other to pull the ear down and away from the stalk, twisting a little until it breaks off.
Place harvested ears in the refrigerator right away. When kept chilled, they should hold much of their sweet flavor for up to a week, though they’ll taste best if eaten as close to harvesting as possible. Corn can be blanched and frozen, on or off the cob.

Growing Cannabis Seeds Outdoors:

Many growers prefer to sow their marijuana seeds outdoors because it’s supposed to provide a better smoke and there is certainly nothing more natural than growing your plants outside. More over there are many companies providing a huge variety in cannabis strains there have never been a better time to try your own grow (if legal in your area). Most of the environmental factors outlined above will be provided to the plant via natural resources that you won’t have to provide yourself. While indoor growing gives you a lot of control, outdoor growing allows to the plants to flourish to their fullest capacity. The main problem with outdoor growing, however, is that the plants are visible to anyone who happens to have prying eyes. If you live in a residential neighborhood, you might be able to get away with growing your plants in your backyard, but you’ll likely need to be rather paranoid about keeping the operation under wraps. Even then, you could still be caught and the penalties for that are potentially very serious.

• Soil

Regardless of where you’re growing outside, a good soil is imperative. But, not every kind of dirt will be ideal for growing your marijuana. It’s always a good idea to test the ground soil that you’re planning to grow in prior to actually using it. This is to ensure that it won’t be too alkaline or acidic when the plants start extending their roots even farther into the ground. If the pH test shifts too far in either direction, then you might want to consider a new location, or infuse the soil with some nutrients and fertilizers.

• Sowing the Seeds

Many growers like to start out their seeds with rows that are fashioned into the soil. You don’t really need to bury the seeds that deep into the soil. In fact, some growers have been known to just scatter their seeds on top of the soil to get them to germinate. This random seeding is called broadcast seeding. Maybe a more effective way to get the plants sown is by using hills or mounds. You essentially sow the seeds on the tops of small mounds in the soil. This certainly gives you the freedom to plant outdoors even when the soil is somewhat wet. This is because the water is naturally going to drain off the mound so that the seed (and, later, the plant) won’t be inundated. In either the hill or row option, try to ensurethat the seeds have some adequate soil coverage so that they can stay moist.

• Germination

Just like with indoor germination, outdoor seeds require moisture to germinate properly. Adding too much water can be detrimental, but as long as the seeds are relatively encompassed by some slight moisture, they should start to germinate. Of course, this is easier if you built mounds or rows for the seeds to really maintain moisture.

• Weeding

As your plants start to germinate, it’s important to keep the area free from weeds. Avoid using any weed killers like Round-Up that might also affect your marijuana plants. It should be noted that weeds will end up taking a lot of the water and nutrients meant for your plants if you don’t stamp them out quickly. But, the best way to get rid of weeds is simply by pulling them by hand. Trying to kill them with any chemicals will only be bad for the plants that you want to grow to be nice and strong. Obviously, before planting in an area, you should pull out any weeds that happen to be there.

• Light

The benefit of being in the great outdoors is that you don’t really need to worry about light too much. The sun will provide all the light a plant could need and much more. There is no way to duplicate the sun’s intensity and it’s just a better light source than anything you could produce artificially. alternatively for artificial lighting why not refer o here https://www.growweedeasy.com/light-schedules/

• Pests, Predators, and other Problems

You might expect plants that are grown outdoors to fare much worse than plants grown indoors when it comes to pests. That’s true but because the ecosystem is often self-regulating, there are many tricks to get rid of unwelcome visitors. For instance, even if a few bugs start munching on the leaves of your cannabis plants, it’s likely that they will be held in check by any of their natural predators. Spider mites, aphids, whiteflies, and mealy bugs are all common pests that many growers have to deal with both inside and out. The plants are in the most danger when they are young and not well-developed. A single meal for a group of mites when the plant is a seedling could cause some irreparable damage to the plant.

REFERENCES:

The Marijuana grow bible a book by : ROBERT BERGMAN

https://bonnieplants.com/growing/growing-corn/