Thom Bri

Berms and huegels would certainly help if the problem is rain washing away nutrients and soil. Can you give us an idea of your climate, maybe someone can help if they have more info.

If you don't already, I'd suggest getting legumes started everywhere. they will help hold soil in place and gradually improve the nutrient levels. Rows of trees and shrubs across the slope can help as well. Lots of avenues to try.

Doug McEvers wrote:Mark,
It seems to be a favorite of deer, pheasant, ducks and fox squirrels.

My corn is much preferred by the local birds. They can destroy the patch if I don't prevent it. I have walked from my corn to a nearby commercial corn field and compared. ALmost zero bird damage on the commercial corn vs heavy damage on my corn. I figure it tastes better, and they are attracted to the purple leaves.

Very interesting. I also grow OP corn. Some years I see bees on the pollen, but most years not. I have heard that corn pollen is not very attractive to bees. I suspect when I see them on the corn it is because there is a pollen dearth and they are taking whatever they can find even if it is second choice.

Do you have any pics of your corn?

What I am doing about the deer and birds. This method works very well. It seems to help keep bugs out of the ears too. Period of greatest loss if right after pollination, during the milk to dough stages. Once the seeds harden I see very little new damage.

Random pics down the rows. Lots of ground cover of various sorts.

Lessor problem this year than many years is bird damage. Quite a few look like the pic below, but I am not seeing any deeply stripped down ears. They seem to be eating a few off the tip and moving on. Not good, but it has been a lot worse.

Deer bit the end right off! Have had a dozen or so of this sort this year. Annoying because it lets the bugs and mold in even if the deer only eats one bite. Not usually a big problem.

Sweet corn. Some have purple cobs and leaves but only a few with odd-colored kernels. A few red ears. The result of about 20 years of crossing a dozen different commercial seed varieties plus my purple corn, and selecting for sweet. Still occasionally get a tough, semi-sweet ear, but most of them are very good.

2 days ago 27 ears of sweet corn. Today, 72 ears. My spouse was a bit peeved! We gave a bunch away to her friend, who gave us okra and cucumbers. I expect in 2 days there will be a lot more. Time to sharpen the knife and freeze some.

In my wife's home country, ears of sweet corn are $4 for ONE EAR! So we joke that in the last few days we have eaten hundreds of dollars worth of corn.

I planted multiple rows over a few weeks, so the corn season should be long. Hope she doesn't kill me before it's done. It's affecting my diet too. My attempt to lose weight (18 pounds so far in 2 years) has stalled.

Will definitely use the board trick next year!