[rangerone314]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('davep', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('rangerone314', 'T')his sound realistic:
Potatoes yield of Calories per acre (about 9.2 million) is higher than that of maize (7.5 million), rice (7.4 million), wheat (3 million), or soybean (2.8 million)

[frankthetank]

Corn is grass. Its loves N... lots of N... You will have to fertilize if you want a decent yield.

I've grown sweet corn in the past. I grew Bantam? i think is an heirloom type corn. It was good, but when i can buy it 5/$1.00 from a pickup truck outside of town, why take up all my limited space? Corn is not very efficient in my home garden for how much space it takes up (lets compare it to tomatoes!). You basically get this giant stalk, big leaves and maybe 2 good ears.

I have seen people grow it in large containers, and found that interesting. I should try that in my driveway some year. I say this because you could start extra early and have sweet corn by the 4th.

Once again, stock pile nitrogen fertilizer if you plan on growing corn on corn year after year.

[rangerone314]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('frankthetank', 'C')orn is grass. Its loves N... lots of N... You will have to fertilize if you want a decent yield.

I've grown sweet corn in the past. I grew Bantam? i think is an heirloom type corn. It was good, but when i can buy it 5/$1.00 from a pickup truck outside of town, why take up all my limited space? Corn is not very efficient in my home garden for how much space it takes up (lets compare it to tomatoes!). You basically get this giant stalk, big leaves and maybe 2 good ears.

I have seen people grow it in large containers, and found that interesting. I should try that in my driveway some year. I say this because you could start extra early and have sweet corn by the 4th.

Once again, stock pile nitrogen fertilizer if you plan on growing corn on corn year after year.

[hillsidedigger]

Corn alone does not provide complete human nutrition although fairly adequate human (adult humans anyhow even if it's called meager subsistence by some) nutrition can be obtained from eating a variety of produce foods that can be easily grown in a garden. Throw in some soybeans, properly prepared, and the nutrition becomes nearly fully adequate.

Calcium, certain other minerals, possibly a B vitamin and the numerous amino acids are difficult to get in full from a garden alone. Peanuts can provide all the amino acids but almost no calcium. Soybeans have all the amino acids plus are high in calcium and phosphorous. Some leafy greens like spinach have calcium but it would be difficult to grow and eat enough spinach for a person's calcium needs.

Peanuts, soybeans and sunflower seed are ideal for squeezing the essential cooking oils from although it's very laborious and takes a good bit of land to grow enough product to squeeze much oil from.

To grow your own high quality nitrogen rich fertilizer, get chickens for the litter. Of course, enough chickens to produce enough litter to fertilizer a large garden will need another large planted area to grow chicken feed and that planted area will require fertilizing also. During good weather, chickens can be allowed to run free the last hour before sunset each day and they will find much of their own day's worth of food in the way of plants, seeds, worms and insects.

Chicken eggs provide complete proteins and are high in calcium and phosphorous but without the currently available commercial 'laying feeds' it's difficult to get a hen to lay more than a few eggs and then only sporadically thruout a year.

[davep]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('hillsidedigger', 'C')orn alone does not provide complete human nutrition although fairly adequate human (adult humans anyhow even if it's called meager subsistence by some) nutrition can be obtained from eating a variety of produce foods that can be easily grown in a garden. Throw in some soybeans, properly prepared, and the nutrition becomes nearly fully adequat.

[rangerone314]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('davep', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('hillsidedigger', 'C')orn alone does not provide complete human nutrition although fairly adequate human (adult humans anyhow even if it's called meager subsistence by some) nutrition can be obtained from eating a variety of produce foods that can be easily grown in a garden. Throw in some soybeans, properly prepared, and the nutrition becomes nearly fully adequat.

[Pops]

I dont know much about human manure but cows only use a tiny fraction of the P and k they consume so they pass it along but the bigger problem is a large percentage of N in manure volatilizes as ammonia and I'd think the same would be true for people.

This is the reason N is many times the limiting factor and why a rotation with legumes is vital if you hope to use less outside inputs. Your beans not only round out your diet by contributing the amino acid your corn lacks (lysine?) but also fix N from the air – but I'm not sure they contribute enough over time.

If I understand your mound idea, the bigger problem may be planting the same thing in the same place year after year. Basically that's what's wrong with modern industrial ag, not only does monocropping quickly deplete whatever nutrient is most limiting but maybe worse, it quickly establishes soil pests and disease.

In my opinion a rotational plan for your acre would be better – legumes - corn - roots - legumes – brassicas, or whatever. You could even include small animals like rabbits or chickens as part of your rotation to recycle waste, grass clippings, etc.

I can't figure out why more people don't incorporate animals into their small garden rotation. Especially chickens are great bug-getters, weed seed eaters, soil tillers, fertilizer wagons and oh yea, they lay eggs and are great flavoring for dumplins!
Move the cages off the plot long enough before the next growing season to let the sun do the work of killing bad stuff and plant a heavy feeder like corn in the spring.

[Pops]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('hillsidedigger', 'p')ossibly a B vitamin

[rattleshirt]

Alkali treatment liberates nicotinamide, an amino acid. It reduces the over all food value but prevents pellagra. Best to include enough beans, meat, etc. to not need to use this method if possible and keep it in reserve for crises

[nocar]

I grow things in a very small scale in my 1000 sq meters (about 10000 square feet) lot with a house on it and limited sunshine. I am in Stockholm, Sweden, at the 59th parallel, similar to Anchorage, Alaska and a hill which cuts off all sunshine from nov-feb. Only small patches can be used for growing edible stuff.

Well, last year I managed to grow enough calories to feed one person for 4 weeks. (I keep track of my harvests). I am sure I used more than 4 weeks of effort to achieve this, but no matter, I love playing around with plants. Potatoes as usual was the biggest calorie provider, green beans and tomatoes the second and third - far down, and then a long list of minor crops.

This summer Hubby is working on a hen house to house 4-5 hens. My plan is to let the hens have the small greenhouse (8 sq meters) to roam in winter (Nov-March). I figure this will be good for both the greenhouse (getting fertilized) and the hens (being able to scratch around in leaves that we put in there, rather than on wet, frozen or snow-covered ground outside)

I guess I just want to report that I am a good girl who is planning to incorporate chickens into my gardening, and what an extra advantage a green house can be in Northern climates.

But Pops - what sort of 'bad stuff' do you figure the sun should kill before you plant things after the chickens have done their work? The sun will not reach directly into my green house very well, only through the plastic panes.

[rangerone314]

Abstract:
Legume cover crops can supply all or most of the N required by a subsequent crop if legume biomass is of sufficient quantity and N mineralization is approximately synchronous with crop demand.

http://agron.scijournals.org/cgi/content/full/92/1/144

[dinopello]

Not sure what forum to put this in as corn is energy, economics and etc.

US Corn Crop at Risk: Next 2 weeks critical.

What are you farmers (especially the consumers) planning for? Sounds like the guidance at the beginning of the season was for a good crop but drought and heat have changed that.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'C')orn is facing the worst crop conditions in two decades and the next two weeks will be critical in determining the size and quality of the U.S. crop.

The outlook is particularly difficult since expectations just a few weeks ago were for an early, bumper crop that would provide a record number of bushels and high level of corn in stock.

[Lore]

As mentioned, food security will be one of the greatest problems we'll face in the coming years. Long before sea rise dramatically threatens our coastal regions, the effects of disruptive climate change will starve many of the worlds citizens. We're just getting a taste of things to come.

[ritter]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Lore', 'A')s mentioned, food security will be one of the greatest problems we'll face in the coming years. Long before sea rise dramatically threatens our coastal regions, the effects of disruptive climate change will starve many of the worlds citizens. We're just getting a taste of things to come.

[ColossalContrarian]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ritter', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Lore', 'A')s mentioned, food security will be one of the greatest problems we'll face in the coming years. Long before sea rise dramatically threatens our coastal regions, the effects of disruptive climate change will starve many of the worlds citizens. We're just getting a taste of things to come.

[Pops]

It's been a very warm spring and the silage corn here in SW MO is ready to chop, the fields planted nice and early are anyway. We are set to break some heat records this week looks like, not a good time for lots of heat and no rain.

Ethanol is in a pickle though:
Falling oil price has diverged from the oil price for the first time in years so I've read
Falling gasoline consumption of course eats into the mandated use, EIA says ethanol volume will be flat this year
No more Gov subsidies or protecting tarrifs
And of course higher corn prices on the way.

Farmers have been on a roll, borrowing and buy big time, just like before every farm crash before.

Personally I think I'm fine because calf prices are at record highs - even dairy steers. The cost of grain has run a lot of folks out of the business and cattle numbers are down. I graze all my larger calves but the younger ones need grain to replace the milk they don't get, I am generous now even at the higher grain prices because the calf prices more than make up for it.

[Lore]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ColossalContrarian', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ritter', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Lore', 'A')s mentioned, food security will be one of the greatest problems we'll face in the coming years. Long before sea rise dramatically threatens our coastal regions, the effects of disruptive climate change will starve many of the worlds citizens. We're just getting a taste of things to come.

[M_B_S]

June 27, 2012 7:14 pm
Heatwave fans US corn prices higher
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/04127994-c06f ... z1z43zFNSL

Jerry Norton, who chairs the grain estimates committee at the US Department of Agriculture, said about 25-30 per cent of the domestic “corn belt”, the main growing area, could be affected.

“It would be hard for it to be a worse situation,” he said.

“I’m not trying to overdramatise it.”
***********

Wolrd corn reserve supply is down to below 40 days..... record low level

We are in the red territory

M_B_S

http://www.igc.int/downloads/gmrsummary/gmrsumme.pdf

The rosy grain market report from Mai is fiction.....

[davep]

There seems to be a lot more corn planted this year than usual in my corner of France. I'd say 2/3 of the fields are planted with corn (usually it's 1/3 or below). And my heirloom variety "Blanc de Bresse" is doing better than any of it, as it is adapted to where I live and doesn't need extra watering.

[TreeFarmer]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'M')y guess is that east coast corn volume is miniscule compared to midwestern corn and maybe its a different type? It sure is tasty though and goes well with crabs from the bay.