Yellow Striped Corn Leaves

Took a peek at my weedy garden this morning and this is what I found underneath the unwanted growth, blushing tomatoes with a few nearly ripe. We have been eating some for the past week. Not bad for this part of Wyoming. You do have to put them in the ground mighty big though.

So far, I'm not happy so far with my Glacier tomato's performance. We'll talk more about them later.

Alas, I sold all my Siberia plants and one gal said they have been eating tomatoes off them since the middle of June. What was I thinking getting rid of them all. ( Alas, hardship teaches the greatest lessons and I promise never to do it again.)

 The potatoes are a sea of white blossoms and when I pulled a weed near a plant a small potato was unearthed. Woot, woot, we should at least be eating those.

As for my spinach that was left to go to seed. Grey beetles got the munchies and they are all gone. Now you see them and now you don't. The plants that is for these little monsters can ruin a crop in under 20 seconds flat. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating but seriously, they eat their body weight numerous times a day. I think because otherwise how can they do such damage in such a short amount of time when I turn my back?

(Nope, no cucumbers yet but soon.)

We are really blessed here for we don't have many insect pests. Remember, not much grows here but grass and it doesn't have many enemies. The big challenge is the weather and the soil.  Except for this summer, we have cool nights in the fifties where the plants stop growing and days in the 70's to the 90's. This year we are having nights in the 60's and 70's - shocking.

 And here I sit with the smallest garden I've grown in years. Seven weeks of taking care of invalid parents will do that for you.    

 I've several kinds of beans growing and these brighten my day with their vibrant color. Can't wait to taste them next week.

 Now for the lesson of the day. Yup, once again the corn looks like it will be tasseling at close enough to the same time that it will try to cross pollinate. Last year I got in the sweet corn two weeks before the Painted Mountain flour corn. They blossomed at the same time. This year I put in the Painted Mountain first and it is tasseling  and the sweet corn's tassels are just beginning to peek forth.

That doesn't work, the planting at different times so I'll scratch that idea.
I suspect weather is the determining factor for tasseling times, not so much the time of planting. Alas, we live where hay crops, not vegetable crops are grown so there is no planting on another person's land to keep the plants from cross pollinating. Hardly anyone grows a garden here.

I do have this weird corn plant, I'm sure I should have plucked when I first saw it, but curiosity is my middle name. You know what happened to the cat. I hope it doesn't mean the ruination of my corn but this one plant has me entranced watching it grow. I know, I know, I'm easily entertained.

What did I find out about yellow striped corn? Well ...

Iron

• Corn grown in soil containing chalk or calcium carbonate, can be deficient in iron, which results in inadequate amounts of chlorophyll being produced in the leaves. This results in stunted plants and the appearance of yellow or white stripes between the midrib and the veins.

• Sulfur

  • A lack of sulfur can cause white or yellow stripes to appear between the leaf veins of corn leaves. Other symptoms include stunted plants and yellow leaves. According to Jim Gerwing, extension soils specialist with South Dakota State University, stripes caused by sulfur deficiency occur on the entire plant, while stripes from zinc deficiency usually occur on the third and fourth leaf. Sulfur deficiency usually happens with sandy soil, especially after a wet winter

  
  
  

  Magnesium

  • Magnesium deficiencies cause yellow streaks or stripes to appear between the veins of lower leaves. Eventually, the leaves turn reddish purple and the tips and edges may even die.

  Other

  • Other nutritional deficiencies that cause the appearance of yellow stripes on the leaves are manganese and boron.

  To find out more reach the below link.
  
  Read more: Corn Has Yellow Stripes on the Leaves | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_8373694_corn-yellow-stripes-leaves.html#ixzz20tnpg7cv
  
  Is any one of these things my problem. No, it only has happened to one plant and a few inches away the corn is not effected. I'll probably never know what happened but none the less, it's pretty so I might just keep it until I find out it is dangerous. I hope not.