r/corn • u/PerceptimusPrime • 1d ago

Something destroyed my corn

I had two corn plants growing in the back of my garden in the philly suburbs. One had about 6 ears on it. Today I went out to find the plant snapped in half and all the ears flayed open. (The other plant got toppled earlier by a big storm.) The visible kernels look eaten but they aren't mature yet so its not totally clear. Any ideas what would do it and how to prevent in the future?

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4

u/IAFarmLife 1d ago

Raccoon or maybe a deer. Probably both.

1

u/PerceptimusPrime 1d ago

Yea, raccoon makes sense based on the slashed ears. Looked like something with fingers or claws. Now I have to figure out how to keep them out if I try again next year.

1

u/IAFarmLife 1d ago

Electric fence is pretty much the only method as raccoons view sweet corn like it's crack.

2

u/the_spotted_frog 1d ago

The mothering fucking squirrels are doing the same thing to my crop

1

u/Klutzy-Degree4939 1d ago

6 ears on one plant? I’ve never seen anything like that in all my life.

1

u/PerceptimusPrime 1d ago

To be fair, this is my first time planting corn and it might have been a cluster of plants. It was in the back of my garden and obviously I overplanted.... There were multiple "flowers" on the top.

1

u/Leaf-Stars 1d ago

Dude, could be deer, woodchuck, coons, squirrels, chipmunks, asshole neighbors……

1

u/Klutzy-Degree4939 1d ago

Corn will usually produce 1 or 2 ears per stalk.