Sweet corn is an annual with yellow, white, and bi-colored ears. A long, frost-free growing season is necessary. Here’s how to plant, grow, and harvest corn in your garden.
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.
Corn plants are susceptible to several common garden pests:
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.
If too much hot pepper or spice has been added to a soup or stew, adding a can of sweet corn can help.
Popcorn is also a favorite snack if you have leftover kernels. Learn how to make homemade popcorn here.
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Eating mature sweet corn that has been "frosted"
I've been told that humans cannot eat corn once the frost has hit in the fall. Is this true and if so, why?
The Effects of Frost on Corn
Hi Janell,
That is not true. If the corn has not matured by the time a late-season frost hits, the plants and cobs can be damaged and result in the death of the plant or poor-tasting corn. You can still eat it, but it may not taste very good.
corn
Hi - this is my 1st time growing corn, and have run into a problem. The leaves look "rusty" and the stalks have some rusty looking spots. What to do, and are the ears, that are almost ripe, be saved? Thanks!
Rust-Infected Corn
Hi Sandy,
It sounds like your corn is infected with rust, a fungus disease that can greatly reduce the yield of your crops. There’s not much you can do at this point in preventing the rust, but the ears of corn can be eaten safely, though they may be poor-tasting depending on if the rust infected the ears specifically.
growing corn
I have shoots coming up on outside of corn stalks. Why and what should I do about it?
Secondary Corn Stalks: "Tillers"
Small shoots that appear alongside the base of a primary corn stalk are known as “tillers.” These secondary stalks are actually a good sign; they mean that your plant is healthy and your soil is well-conditioned. Tillers are not an issue and generally won’t compete significantly with the central stalk, but if you’d like to be sure, you can simply cut them off at their bases.
Pruning Sweet Corn
I am thinking about planting corn and I have done enough research to allow me to speak pidgeon corn.
After much of the research I have done on sweet corn, I have found that a stalk will produce between one and two usable cobs, in the variety I am planting. And may produce other non-usable cobs.
I was wondering, If I trim off all but two baby cobs as the stalk is growing, will the plant put more energy into the two remaining cobs giving me a better chance of producing two good cobs per plant.
Or would it not make a difference and I may actually trim off what would become one of my two good cobs?
Thank You for any help you can offer.
an ear for corn
David, We must be perfectly honest with you: After the research you say you have done, you have much more knowledge about corn than we do! But we will concur with you, based on the (il)logical comparison to peaches, with which we have some knowledge (but, it must to said, not much luck). Peach growers are advised to remove/prune small fruits to allow a smaller but better harvest. We think that the same would apply to corn. And it seems to apply to other plants, such as melons and pumpkin. After all, if the plant puts its energy into the remaining “fruit” (or ears, in this case), wouldn’t it be as good as it can be?! Assuming every other aspect of the growing conditions are favorable, of course. We say, trim the ears off those stalks! And, if you feel it might be of value, leave a few stalks alone; don’t trim them, and see, come fall, which method seems most productive.
And let us know how this goes, would you?
Crows and critters ate the seed Corn
I know it's not Recommended to start Sweet Corn indoors, but in recent years I have seen it in market pack for sale as transplants And questioned why at the time. BUT Last year the crows got most of my seed. Would planting seed in the netted expanding peat disks 2-3 weeks before time to plant outdoors stunt the plants? I have an adequate light setup for tomatoes and peppers, etc. I think it would at least let them germinate, Could I plant them at 4 inches high without problems, or will I fail to get corn if I do?
transplanting corn
The success of transplanting corn depends on several factors, including temperature, light, soil fertility, variety, container depth (to allow the seedlings to grow deep roots), giving seedlings time to harden off, not allowing them to grow too much before transplanting (2 to 3 weeks is likely OK), etc. However, it has been done with success. You may find the following article, by the Vermont Cooperative Extension, helpful, about one commercial grower’s experience.
http://www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/factsheets/transplantingsweetcorn.html
Good luck!
Crows stealing corn seeds
At one time, I used a product called "Stanley's Crow Repellent" which came in a small tin can and it resembled a thin tar-like substance. You coated the seed with it and the crows wouldn't touch it. I found it at Agway. It had an EPA registration number, but it was cancelled in 1986 from what I can find.
Transplanting corn
Hello, I've grown sweetcorn on my UK alottment for the last two years with the following slightly different methods:
Year 1: Sowing seeds in small hand made paper pots approx 1.5inch diameter, germinating in dark very warm cupboard. Out onto window sill, to get the light, as soon as the shoot shows through the compost. Keep on the window sill until about 2 inches tall. Transplant into 3 inch pots and back to the window sill until about 5-6 inches tall. Then out to small 'cold frame' in the garden until 16 or so inches tall. Then the weather was warm enough for them to go out into the ground on the alottment.
Year 2: Sowing seeds in 3 inch pots, germinating in dark very warm cupboard. Out onto window sill to get the light as soon as the shoot shows through the compost. Keep on the window sill until about 5-6 inches tall. Then out to small 'cold frame' in the garden for a couple of weeks to get them used to the cooler temperatures. Then out to our 'poly tunnel' at the alottment (very warm enclosure) for a few weeks. Then, when they were 16 inches or so and the weather was warm enough, they went into the ground on the alottment.
Windows in the back of the house have light until mid-day, ones in the front have sun later in the day so no more than 50% daylight for each set - I wonder what they would be like if they had sun all day. (temps 15-20 C)
Cold frame in the garden has direct sunlight for only 2/3 day with direct sunlight the temp rises to 30 C+. (I hope I don't forget to open the top when it's sunny - it got to 54 C one day just a month ago and I almost lost my tomatoes...)
Lots of indoor growing for us due to lower temps earlier in the year. Plenty of corn both years - first year we grew 40 plants, year 2 was 70 plants, this year we're going for a round hundred.
A lot of varying info but I wanted to show you how hardy they can be with temps and transplanting. I still have sweetcorn in the freezer from last year and I have just potted my first seeds for this year. Good luck, Rob.
First time garden
I'm going to plant a 2 by 6 foot block. I'm going to grow peas around the stalks and zucchini at the base. Does this make sense? Do you have any recommendations or tips?
corn and potatoes
I have a big potato patch on the north side my garden, about 10'x10'. Can I plant corn in this patch in between my potato rows, or does corn need more space? I've tried growing corn three summers now, and never get good results. I don't want to devote so much space to a crop that might not grow, so I want to plant it where I've already got something going (in case its another failed experiment). But will it hurt my potatoes?
corn and potatoes
As far as companion plants, corn and potatoes do fine, although corn is a heavy feeder, while potatoes are medium feeders and do better without as much nitrogen (which encourages foliage rather than tuber formation). However, the other thing to keep in mind is the height of the corn. Plant them on the north side of the garden, so that they don’t shade the shorter potato plants too much. Also, corn, which is wind pollinated, does nicely in the garden when planted in blocks rather than rows.
Sweet corn topping
Hey, So I am a first time gardener. I have put some sweetcorn into my garden that I have built an enclosed mesh protective cage over to keep unwanted preditors out. The issue I have is that the sweetcorn has grown taller than I expected and is pushing through it. What would happen if I were top the stalks. Is there anything else that I could do to save the corn.
Cheers Willie
corn cage too small
Welcome to gardening, Willie! We have seen folks in a small-plot community garden create a mesh cage for the corn, specifically to keep critters away. We can not recall how that grower may have handled his tallest stalks. Check the seed packet/source to see how tall the corn can be expected to get. If it is not a whole lot taller, perhaps you can add a sort of mesh cover to the arrangement. If it is a lot taller,you might want to remake the cage to make it higher. It would seem a shame to put the crop at risk. Maybe you can use the existing cage, separately, as a pea fence or cuke/squash/melon vine trellis. Don’t think of the effort as wasted; there is always another use for the mesh.
In the meantime, we looked into the idea of topping off. Apparently, farmers who grow corn for seed corn production top off (cut off) as much as two feet of the stalk. This removes the tassels so that the plants can only be pollinated by other plants. This goes on to say that the rows of corn that are topped are female; the rows that are not topped are male. Pollen is produced on the tassel and crossbreeding begins. The result is hybrid seed. You probably do not want to do that.
We wish you the best—
Sweet Corn
My corn is about 2 feet high and I wonder if I should remove the shoots that appear on the stem near the ground or leave them on
Thanks
corn suckers
In a healthy crop, removing the suckers, also called tillers, makes little difference to the harvest yield or health of the plant, since they usually appear later in the season and can’t compete with the main stalk. Their formation may indicate healthy conditions; some varieties tend to form suckers more often. If the crop had been damaged early in the season, or the plants are widely spaced, a corn plant may respond by growing suckers; in these cases, sometimes those suckers will produce harvestable ears. Otherwise, in a healthy, closely spaced crop, they won’t usually.
If you’d like to remove suckers, only do so when they are very small, to prevent damage to the stalk; removing them when they are larger will weaken the plant and invite insects and diseases.
I am using this website as a
I am using this website as a reference and I cannot seem to find the date this article was published and the authors name.
The author is The Old Farmer
The author is The Old Farmer’s Almanac. Web pages are updated continuously so there is not a publish date, per se. Look up APA guidelines for how to reference a web article.
Hi,
Planting Corn. I'm doing a school assignment on corn and was just wondering if anyone could tell me the germination time?
Thanks, Very Much Appreciated,
Chyenne
Germination depends on your
Germination depends on your soil temperatures and weather conditions. If the teperatures are 60 degrees F or warm, germination may take 10 to 12 days. If the temp is 50 to 55, it may take 3 weeks.
Im going to buy some land in pyote tx
I wanted to know if i had the right soil prepared and the weather was on my side. Is it possible to grow corn around the middle of August toward the end to yield a good crop.
When to Plant Corn
For a fall harvest, it is recommended corn be planted mid- to late July, August 1st at the latest.
What can i plant in this plot for a short period of time
I have this opportunity to use a plot of land in an open field, am planning on planting corn/maize on the land.
Is it preferrable I do in June,
also what can I plant along with it?
can cassava go for it,
Can vegetables do, if so what kind,
Pls I need something that won't cost me a lot... Thanks
Corn Companions
The "Three Sisters" is an ideal companion planting: In a hill put a few corn in the middle, pole beans in a ring around that and squash or pumpkin around the outer perimeter of the hill. Each type give the others the nutrients they need to grow well.There's quite a bit about the traditional "Three Sisters" method online. Cassava is a companion to sweet potato according to one companion planting chart I found.
growing corn in zone 5a
Which is the best variety of corn for eating to grow in zone 5a?
Sweetcorn with hardly any kernels!
Hi,
we have grown tall, healthy looking corn all with cobs on them. The silks have turned brown but upon opening them they have very few yellow kernels. The rest are unripened, white and flat. Do we just need to be more patient or do we need to help them pollinate? If so, how do we do this?! Thank you
kernel troubles
Brown silks are one sign that corn is maturing; also check the kernels themselves. If you puncture one with your fingernail, it should exude a milky liquid. If it is clear, it is not ready yet. However, there are also several diseases, pests, and cultural/environmental problems that can cause the same effect. Drought stress, for example, can interfere with pollination, and so can the feeding habits of certain insects. For in-depth information about corn ear problems–you might visit this page from the Ohio State University:
http://u.osu.edu/mastercorn/
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