Planting Bloody Butcher in the Vegetable Garden

Bloody Butcher Corn

On this week's episode, Greg is planting bloody butcher in the vegetable garden. Greg typically plants his corn with 36-inch spacing. However, in today's video, he narrowed it down to around 30 inches to get the most out of this rather expensive variety of corn. When planting corn varieties in the garden, you need drip tape irrigation to ensure the plants are getting all the water and nutrients that are needed for growth throughout the growing season. Drip tape irrigation works best when buried underneath the soil and plants. This ensures that several varieties of plants can get accurate amounts of water and fertilizer directly supplied to their plant roots for overall easier takeup. When planting bloody butcher and other corn varieties, they need plenty of room for growth and pollination. However, you also do not want to waste any room and plant them too far apart in the vegetable garden.

Jimmy Red Corn

Very similar to the Bloody Butcher variety is our Jimmy Red Corn. This variety was originally cultivated by the Native Americans and has become a popular ingredient for grits, cornmeal, and cornbread. Similar to other field corn varieties, Jimmy Red contains a yellow color while in the milking stage but matures to a deeper red color. The Jimmy Red contains a flavor profile that has a rich sweet taste that has a gold standard for red corn. When planting the Jimmy Red variety we recommend using our walk-behind garden seeder. The garden seeder comes with six adjustable seed plates that are made for a variety of crop seed sizes. Once plants start to emerge, Greg likes to go in the garden and thin plants to 8 to 12 inches depending on drip irrigation. Corn varieties should be planted in a square plot instead of long rows to improve pollination and better germination. The square plot allows for the plants to efficiently pollinate the silks and tassels that helps produce the kernels on each set of corn ear. Corn can be succession planted meaning we can get two plantings, one in early spring and one in late summer/early fall. During the warmer months, using Spinosad on the silks and tassels will help control the corn ear worm pressures in the vegetable garden.

Other Field Corn Varieties

Along with planting Bloody Butcher and Jimmy Red, Greg likes to plant other field corn varieties like Hickory King, Silver Queen, Truckers Favorite, and Wapsie Valley. The largest field corn variety is the Hickory King that produces up to 12 to 13-inches tall and two large ears on each plant that are around 9 to 10 inches in length. Although, the Silver Queen is the most popular field corn variety to plant in the vegetable garden for many years. This standard (su) variety contains a sugary gene that is responsible for the sweetness and creamy texture of the kernels on the corn. The Truckers Favorite is another popular variety that produces 9 to 10-inches tall that grows well in many climates, but especially warmer climates. This corn variety produces better in cooler soils, making it great for early plantings in the garden. Another open-pollinated variety is the Wapsie Valley that produces kernels that are high in protein. This variety is highly adaptable to several growing conditions and has the ability to produce huge stalks with well-formed ears.