Your plant nemesis

[bridgetmkennitt]

We all have at least one. It's that plant that you try to grow and grow, but for some reason or another, it just dies or doesn't bloom or doesn't grow any vegetables.

What plant do you consider your nemesis?

Comments

[theora]

A thing with corn is pollination. It's wind pollinated, which works in a field full of corn but not so well if you have only a row of plants. I've seen recommendations to plant in a block rather than a row so that there's more chance of pollination. And apparently you can hand pollinate (google for that).

(...she says, never having grown corn because she knows the raccoons would get it before she'd ever have a chance)

[sleepyfairy]

That's a great tip! I'll try it out this year! :D I have a few extra beds I'm setting up so it'll be a good opportunity!

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

I can say that planting a block of several rows does work, even without hand pollinating. Sadly, chipmunks got at the ears before harvesting.

[3rdragon]

Even commercial farmers have their corn hand-pollinated sometimes. My mom had a job as a corn pollinator one summer. (For maybe a week. But as much as she talked about it, I imagined her spending multiple summers as a downtrodden corn pollinator.)