Growing Corn 101

Before continuing I want to point out that I’m not a professional or an expert gardener. I’ve been growing corn for several years and am basing this on my experiences. I never thought that growing corn in a small backyard garden would work well, not only has it done so, but corn has become one of my favorite things to grow.

Why Should You Try Growing Corn

When I think of a cornfield I think of a great expanse of green stalks, waving gently in the breeze, along the side of roads or highways. Or maybe cornfield mazes. I didn’t know how small scale corn growth would work, but the packet of seeds was only $1, and corn is my favorite vegetable, so I saw no harm in trying.

As long as you have about 4′ x 4′ of ground space you, too, can have a personal sized cornfield. Corn is a fast grower, with the right planning you can get two crops a year. It needs very little help or attention. It’s an excellent “starter vegetable” for new gardeners.

How to Get Started

Besides needing an area of ground free of grass and weeds you also need seeds and fertilizer. I tend to use whatever 10-10-10 fertilizer is available or on sale. As for the seeds, just about any store that sells garden seeds sells corn seeds too.

Corn is one of the few vegetable plants that need fresh seed every year. Unlike tomatoes, where the seeds can be harvested from year one and used year two you’ll need new seeds from a supplier every year.

There are two ways to classify types of corn, by sugar content and by color. The typical colors are white, yellow and bi-colored. The sugar varieties are supersweet (Sh2), normal sugar (SUSU) and sugary enhancer (SESE). There are some minor differences between the types (such as supersweets being more affected by cross breeding and normal sugary types not storing well.) All have their pros and cons, and each has a number of gardeners who swear by them.

Pick one kind (to prevent cross pollination) and get ready to grow.

Planting

How you plant depends on what your seasonal goals are. If you want just one harvest or have limited space you can plant your corn as close as 1 foot apart (for 4-5 rows of 4-5 plants. At this size you want to be able to reach the plants on the inside while standing on the outside.)

If you have more room you can plant the corn in rows wider spaced which will leave room for you to reach between the rows or plant a second crop between the first crop’s rows.

Corn needs to be planted after the danger of frost is gone. (You can find out when that is for your area here.)

Corn should be planted in an area with full sun, one inch deep, 3-5 seeds per hole (the stalks will help support each other this way, you can thin the plants down to the 2 or 3 strongest a few weeks later) and in at least 4 rows. They can be planted in a square or circle, but four rows is the minimum for good pollination. Corn does not transplant well, so plant directly into the garden.

Corn sprouts should start showing up between one and two weeks. If you don’t have sprouts by two weeks after you planted you might need to replant.

If you want a second crop you can plant more seed about two weeks after your first planting.

What Next?

Corn grows fast. You should keep an eye out for common problems like corn smut, wireworms and various beetles. (A list of some common corn problems is available here.)

Corn needs about an inch of water a week for the best ears and shouldn’t be allowed to get too dry. (And being too wet can cause root rot.) Make sure to keep the area free of weeds (which gets harder as they get taller.)

To help manage weeds when my corn reaches about 1-2 feet I spread shredded paper around it, wet it down real good (which helps it form to the soil) then put a layer of straw over it to help weigh the paper down. A warning though, birds love to steal both of these materials for their nests so it’s probably going to be necessary to fill in holes in a few weeks.

Soon your corn will grow tassels (the tall seedy-looking parts that stick up over the plant). The “seeds” are actually the pollen, the male part of the plant. The wind blows the pollen (which is relatively heavy for pollen, this is why your rows need to be close together) off the tassels. The leaves catch the pollen and send them down to the silk (the female part) growing along the stem. Each silk fertilized means one kernel that grows, so if your corn is spotty and not filled out it’s not getting pollenized correctly.

About three weeks after the silk appears you will be ready to harvest.

Harvesting

Corn is ready to harvest when the silks dry out and when the kernels give out a milky fluid when pierced. It’s better to harvest too early than too late as if left past their peak corn will become doughy in texture with over sized kernels. (It can still be used to make cream corn, so don’t give up hope.)

Corn is best harvested in the early morning or late evening. The cooler temperatures peak the sugar content. It should be cooled immediately and used withing a week.

Each stalk gives at least one, typically two ears of corn.

To pick it grab the ear firmly and twist it off.

Additional Notes

This year (2008) I tried a hybrid “Ruby Queen” that is supposed to grow red/purple kernels and “Early & Often” a yellow corn which is supposed to grow more than two ears.

I made the mistake of planting them right next to each other and as a result the earlier tasseling “Early” hybrid pollenized the “Ruby Queen” resulting in some interesting looking corn. (And a priceless moment when my young daughter peeled open an ear and gasped, “It’s purple!”

“Ruby Queen” grew slower, smaller and even grew smaller ears.

A few ears were even completely immature, even though I gathered them under the same conditions as the ones you see in the two pictures above.

Corn is one of my favorites to grow because of how easy it is and because of how much sweeter it is than store bought corn. The only down side is that most plants only give fruit once, meaning you have a week or two when you have a lot of corn then nothing again.

*A downloadable version of this is available on my web page at www.michelelee.net/growingcorn.pdf