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EmailBotanical name: Zea mays
Plant type: Vegetable
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Sun exposure: Full Sun
Soil type: Loamy
Soil pH: Neutral

Sweet corn is an annual with yellow, white, and bi-colored ears. A long, frost-free growing season is necessary after planting. Sweet corn is wind-pollinated, so it should be planted in blocks, rather than in single rows. Early, mid, and late-season varieties extend the harvest. If you miss the optimal harvest time, corn will go downhill fast as sugars convert to starch.
Planting
- Corn is picky about its soil. Work in aged manure or compost the fall before planting and let over winter in the soil.
- Starting seeds indoors is not recommended.
- Plant seeds outdoors two weeks after the last spring frost date.
- Make sure soil temperature is above 60 degrees for successful germination. (Up to 65 for super sweet varieties.) In colder zones, the ground can be warmed by a black plastic cover if necessary. Plant seeds through holes.
- Plant seeds 1 inch deep, 9 to 12 inches apart.
- Leave about 3 feet between rows.
- For sufficient pollination, plan your plot right. Don’t plant two long rows, rather, plant corn blocks of at least four rows.
- You may choose to fertilize at planting time, corn is meant to grow rapidly. If you are confident that the soil is adequate, this can be skipped.
- Water well at planting time.
Care
- Be careful not to damage the roots when weeding.
- Soil must be well drained and able to keep consistent moisture.
- Except in very dry conditions, watering is not necessary until flowering starts.
- Then, water at a rate of 5 gallons per sq yard. Mulch helps reduce evaporation
- When the plants are 4 to 5 inches tall, thin them to stand 16 to 23 inches apart.
Pests
- Spotted Cucumber Beetles
- Flea Beetles
- Cutworms
- Corn Rootworms
- Raccoons
Harvest/Storage
- Harvest when tassels begin to turn brown and cobs start to swell. Kernels should be full and milky.
- Pull ears downward and twist to take off stalk.
- Sweet corn varieties lose their sweetness soon after harvesting.
- Prepare for eating or preserving immediately after picking.
- Sweet corn freezes well, especially if removed from ears before freezing.
Recommended Varieties
There are three types of sweet corn: Normal, sugar enhanced and super sweet. Each one contains a different level of sucrose, changing the flavor and texture of the corn. Sweeter varieties will stay sweeter for longer after harvest.
- ‘Iochief’ Midseason normal-sugar variety. Yellow.
- ‘Silver Queen’ normal sugar-variety. Resistant to some bacterial diseases. White.
- ‘Challenger Crisp n Sweet’ supersweet variety, resistant to some diseases, high yield. Yellow.
- ‘Pristine’ sugar enhanced variety, good taste. White.
Recipes
Cooking Notes
If too much hot pepper or spice has been added to a soup or stew, adding a can of sweet corn can help.
Wit & Wisdom
Baby corn is produced from regular corn plants that are harvested early, while the ears are immature. Regular sweet corn, sugar-enhanced sweet corn, and supersweet corn varieties can be used, along with a few varieties that are specific for baby corn.
If your corn shucks harder than usual, prepare for a cold winter.
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Comments
Corn
Thanks for idea
Vacuum
No just suck them with a vacuum no put what ever fertilizer you said
Advice
We planted our corn and they got about 2 feet tall then stopped growing, we have a few corn on the stalk, but they look miniature. Is this a failure of not watering enough?
It may be a pollination
It may be a pollination issue. Corn grows best in a block system--four short rows instead of long individual rows--as the pollen (which is carried by wind) can better reach the silk to fill out the ears. At this stage, you could try hand pollinating by rubbing the tassles on the new silk. Also, corn is a heavy feeder and drinker. Side dress your crop with a high-nitrogen fertilizer.
Wormy corn
I had my first garden in years last year. My biggest problem was worms in my corn. Every single ear I harvested had a worm eating it from the top. Somebody help me!
Corn
Ask a farmer about the spray they put on their corn that discourages worms from eating the ears of corn.
wormey corn
U could try using mineral oil(small amount) on silk cuz the moths lay their eggs on the silk an when they hatch they start to eat right away. I tried it 1 year. It seems like alot of trouble but it does work for the most part
You may have waited too late
You may have waited too late to plant the corn. The later you plant, the problems you have with worms.
wormy corn
Sounds as if you have corn-ear worm. Be sure to rotate to a new spot of earth this year. Wait 'til the ears start to fill out (AFTER the pollen gets to the silks) and put 1 or 2 drops of mineral oil on the silks. Hope this helps.
Corn Silk
Corn silk is edible--why bother? You can even fry them like cellophane noodles
shucking corn
The easiest way I know of to get the silk out is to shuck the corn from the bottom. I've done this for eons and I have very little silk left. What is left comes off easily if you use a 'finger nail' brush and gently brush from the base to the tip. This gets any off the corn silk left behind, I do this when washing the ears in the sink
removing silks from ears of corn
A air pick with an air compresor set on about 30 psi does a good job of blowing silks off corn after shucking. But remember high pressure will pucture kernals.
Not removing them
It always doesn't work so try putonghua fertilizer on them or just like suck them with a vacuum
Corn
I love to grow corn but worms worms worms keep coming and eating my plant what do I do ??????!!!!!
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