Cane, I use tomato cages, but put them over the tomato plants when I set them out. I also use rebar stakes. Currently I have used all my cages and stakes and will go get some T-posts tomorrow because I have some over 5' tall and still reaching!
Your garden looks beautiful! Isn't it fun to watch things grow and know you did that? :tools
The corn could have a sulfur deficiency, but I don't think that's it. Looking at the picture, it appears the corn is growing with the squash. Squash is a heavy Mg and Zn feeder. If the pH is a little low, or either nutrient is lacking in the soil, the corn will suffer first since it is more nutrient sensitive than squash. If the growing nights have been cool, that will make it worse. If P is high, Zn will definitely be affected. It could even be all three nutrients. If I had to take a guess, I would say cool nights, Mg and Zn deficient soil coupled with competition with the squash is causing it. That would explain the stunting as well as the yellow streaking. A good soil test would tell the tale in an instant.
Oh no! I didn't even realize that there were streaks - let alone that they were a bad thing. Yes, we have had very cool nights - many in the low 40's/high 30's.
Do I have to take samples somewhere to do a test or is that something I can do at home?
I thought corn and squash together were a good thing?
I got t-posts in amoungst the tomatoes last night and will start working twine in tonight. They've gotten too wild to cage without doing alot of damage. Going to be a challenge to coax them into captivity - but better now than after this upcomming warm week when they've grown another foot.
I just can't get enough of simply hanging out at that end of the yard. With the garden growing, and the new chicks to play with - this is addictive!
Take a stool out with you when you tie up the tomatoes.
I tie a good length of baling twine to the post first. Then, take the loose ends and tie that around the plant. If I don't make a secure tie to the post first, I'm inclined to tie the plant too tight. . . . &/or, the string is pushed down the post by the plant as it grows heavier.
Now that my plants are in single rows again, I'm willing to try a Florida weave on 'em. We will see how that works. Cane', welcome to the world of trying to control tomatoes !
I'm going to try a Florida weave for the first time on my main group. The small batch that I crammed into the pepper bed ( hey, the peppers didn't want as much room as I thought! ) are growing between two lengths of re-wire. Both methods are firsts for me, so we'll see how that works out.
eta: Nevermind - googled it. Cool idea. But since mine aren't in rows but are in sort of diamond shaped groups... that's not gonna work.
I was thinking that I'd just sort of try to prop/hammock/wrangle/hogtie them as needed to get each variety into it's own little, mostly contained and supported 'mater jungle.
I took my old tomato cages apart last night (just big tubes of fencing) thinking that I could just wrap them around the plants - and that MIGHT still work with enough of an afternoon to fiddle with them. But if not - it's going to have to be twine and some creative engineering.
Ya turn your back for a week - get all involved with projects outside of the yard/garden - and when you look back.........
The weeds inside the garden are getting a little out of hand. The 'lawn' around it is completly out of control. The recently tamed tomatoes have broken free and run amuck. The spaghetti squash have taken off through the fence and are heading for the pasture and the potato has swallowed up 2 pepper plants.
Good thing I've got a 4day weekend coming up. I'm in NEED of some dirt therapy anyway.