The trouble with Corn...

[Jennifer Tiernan]

Our system is about 2 months old, we cycled without fish for three weeks with Maxicrop, and added the fish about 5 weeks ago.  All of the plants are doing fantastically, EXCEPT THE CORN!  It started out a wonderful deep green and now it's faded to dark yellow.  We have a 180 gallon fish tank with 18 (3-4 inch) talipia and a 3x6 grow bed on a flood/drain cycle totaling about 14 minutes.  Water readings are

pH: 7.2

Ammo: .25ppm

Nitrite: 0ppm

Nitrite: 40ppm

I've added Iron and Maxicrop once a week (thinking that maybe the fish just aren't big enough yet) but the corn just keeps yellowing.  I've even checked the roots for rot, but they all look great. 

Has anyone else had this problem?  Am i just going crazy?  Is it just that my system isn't completely mature yet, or am I just not doing something right?

[Alex Veidel]

I think it's a maturity issue; aquaponic systems just take time. Anything organic just takes time, for that matter. But it's always better in the long run, so don't lose hope! :)

[Vlad Jovanovic]

Huh...Go figure... Corn, The Grandaddy-Chevelle 442-Heaviest Nutrient Guzzler of the Heavy Feeding Plant Realm is having trouble in a brand new AP system...

[George]

You don't get much bang for the buck with corn either.  It takes up lots of space and nutrients for relatively little yield.

[Harold Sukhbir]

Hi Jennifer,

Nitrogen is the most limiting factor for Corn amongst other nutrient. In terms of nutrient, fish waste is a relatively poor fertilizer and it takes time for nutrient to build in AP. Corn then may not be a good choice for newer systems.

http://www.soils.wisc.edu/extension/pubs/A3340.pdf

[Vlad Jovanovic]

Not to mention the space the corn takes up to even properly (wind) pollinate (at least a 4' x 4' corn patch)...Still, cool stuff that maize...http://www.vegetable-gardening-gnomes.com/growing_corn.html

George said:

You don't get much bang for the buck with corn either.  It takes up lots of space and nutrients for relatively little yield.

[Colin]

Not meaning to brag but I did alright with growing corn this summer, my first try doing do. I squeezed 10 plants into a relatively small space of only about 1m x .5m, and got 13 nice and juicy ears. 

[Vlad Jovanovic]

Yeah, I saw some of those beauties in your your pics. Nice going

How deep is that GB that you grew them in?

[Colin]

Grow bed is 30cm deep. 

[Alex Veidel]

Wow! Lookin' good!

Colin said:

Not meaning to brag but I did alright with growing corn this summer, my first try doing do. I squeezed 10 plants into a relatively small space of only about 1m x .5m, and got 13 nice and juicy ears.