Sweet Corn Essentials

Food Gardening Guide → Sweet Corn / Getting Started

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• Plant corn directly outdoors after all danger of frost has passed and the soil temperature is about 60° F.
• Seeds can be started indoors, two seeds per peat pot, 3 to 4 weeks before the last frost date.
• Plan the garden to prevent cross-pollination between incompatible types of corn and to prevent tall varieties from shading nearby crops.

• Work plenty of manure into the soil the previous fall.
• Just before planting, sprinkle 3 to 4 pounds of 5-10-10 or equivalent fertilizer per 100 feet of row along the side of each row and work it into the soil.

• Plant corn seeds in blocks of at least four rows with 2 to 4 feet between rows (the closer spacing is for short varieties). Sow the seeds 1 1/2 to 2 inches deep, 6 to 8 inches apart.

• Thin the corn to stand 12 to 16 inches apart when the plants are 4 to 5 inches tall.
• Provide at least 1 inch of water a week.
• Control weeds with frequent shallow cultivation until the plants are knee high. Then apply a 3- to 5-inch layer of mulch.
• Side-dress with a high-nitrogen fertilizer, such as 2 pounds of ammonium nitrate per 100 feet of row, when the plants are 8 to 10 inches tail and again when the silks appear.
• Watch for signs of nitrogen deficiency (yellowing leaves) and respond with quick side-dressings of fish emulsion, manure, commercial fertilizer, or a combination of the three.
• See our article Summer's Bad Guys by Charlie Nardozzi for controls of common corn pests such as corn earworms and European corn borers.

• Sweet corn should be harvested when its ears are completely filled out and a pierced kernel shows a milky white liquid.
• Sweet corn varieties (except for supersweet varieties) lose their sweetness soon after harvest. Immediately after picking prepare the ears for eating or preserving.
• Harvest corn for meal or popping as late as possible and dry on the cob, then store.

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