4 Ways To Get Enough Nitrogen For Your Organic Corn Patch
Sweet corn is a staple crop for market growers and personal gardeners alike in most areas that provide the hot summers this grain needs to mature. If you've recently changed over to using organic growing methods in your garden or farm, you might find it tricky to grow healthy sweet corn for the farmer's market or your own table. Try these tricks for increasing nitrogen organically for lush, green growth early in the season.
Planting Cover Crops
In the spring and fall when your ground lies fallow, try planting nitrogen-fixing cover crops to enrich the soil naturally. Chopping these plants up at the right time turns them into a convenient mulch you can rake aside for planting and then spread again once the corn seedlings sprout. Some of the best cover crops for fixing nitrogen include the following:
- Most legumes, including beans, cow peas, field peas, and winter peas
- Hairy vetch, another member of the legume family
- Red, white, and yellow clovers.
Add Composted Animal Manure
What can you do when there's no time left for growing an entire crop of plants just for fixing nitrogen from the air into the soil? Try amending the ground directly with a more concentrated source of the fertilizer. Animal manure, as long as it is properly composted and well-aged, is a safe and organic form of fertilizer that is naturally high in nitrogen. Watch out for weed seeds and make sure the manure is coming from a farm that follows organic practices as well.
Top with Blood Meal
Some farmers and gardeners simply don't have access to an inexpensive source of manure, and buying it by the bag or truckload is quite expensive. Blood meal is a more concentrated animal byproduct that supplies the nitrogen corn needs so much early in the season. Blood meal is about 12% nitrogen by weight, so you only need a few cups of it for every linear foot of crop row. It breaks down quickly, which is a good thing since it has a mildly unpleasant odor when first applied.
Mix in Solid Fish Meal
Finally, fish meal with a high solid content is a great choice for people who want to stay away from byproducts that could contain bacteria or attract animals. When worked into the soil, the dry material has very little odor but breaks down quickly to release nitrogen for hungry corn plants. This technique dates back to Native Americans who used to bury fish and fish scraps in their maize patches for faster spring growth.
For more information and options for corn fertilizer, contact companies like Nature Safe.