Tall Corn or Short Corn Better?

I'm preparing a seed order for my vegetable garden.  We don't eat corn, but I do want to grow some for the chickens and goats, so I'm looking at flint and dent corns.  Because we can get high winds here, my first thought was to stick to the shortest old varieties, but then I was thinking it might be better to go with a couple of the really tall varieties because they would give me more organic matter for composting and mulch.  Thoughts?  I'm planning an order with Baker Creek, and so far I have Atomic Orange, Painted Mountain, and Bronze Orange corns on the list.  

And while we are discussing, anyone in my area (Kentucky) have recommendations for the best winter squash varieties in this climate?  I have favorites from growing in Oregon, but it's a totally different climate, with different diseases and pests.

Kathleen

I choose taller corn on my farm. Taller implies more vigorous growth and more food. Taller resists animal predation better. Taller is better at out-competing weeds. In my experience, taller corn survives thunderstorms better than shorter corn (speculating that's because a larger root system is required to support larger plants).

Joseph Lofthouse wrote:I choose taller corn on my farm. Taller implies more vigorous growth and more food. Taller resists animal predation better. Taller is better at out-competing weeds. In my experience, taller corn survives thunderstorms better than shorter corn (speculating that's because a larger root system is required to support larger plants).

Thanks, Joseph, those are all good points!

Great picture!

Kathleen

Taller is much better if you have raccoons.

Ken W Wilson wrote:Taller is much better if you have raccoons.

I'm sure we do, although my livestock guardian dog seems to be doing a great job of keeping them away.

Kathleen

I don't have raccoons, but I do have tradewinds. So short corn is better for me, the shorter and sturdier the better.

Su Ba wrote:I don't have raccoons, but I do have tradewinds. So short corn is better for me, the shorter and sturdier the better.

Wind is why I was picking short varieties to start with.  I don't know how hard it was blowing, but we've had several storms in the less-than-a-year that we've lived here where it was raining horizontally, and the wind noise was so bad that I was watching for a tornado to come roaring over the hill (and they had tornado watches, and had some not too far from us).  That's why I thought short varieties might be best.  Maybe I should do a couple of test plots and see.

Kathleen

I would run a test, have two patches one with tall and another with short.
Landcaster Cultivar http://openpollinated.com/varieties.php

Even better yet create your own land race. Get alot of different cultivars plant them and track the cultivars that you like.
Then buy some more of those cultivars next season, then save the cross pollinated seeds.
Replant those seeds and save the corns that you like the most.

S Bengi wrote:I would run a test, have two patches one with tall and another with short.
Landcaster Cultivar http://openpollinated.com/varieties.php

Even better yet create your own land race. Get alot of different cultivars plant them and track the cultivars that you like.
Then buy some more of those cultivars next season, then save the cross pollinated seeds.
Replant those seeds and save the corns that you like the most.

Yes, I was already planning on working on my own 'landrace' for here.  Joseph Lofthouse and Carol Deppe have provided a lot of inspiration in that regard.

Kathleen