Growing Garden Fresh Sweet Corn

Overview: Corn has long been a popular vegetable and all the more so when freshly harvested. Although easy enough to grow in any warm, sunny garden, corn is often difficult to successfully bring to harvest because of the competition from crows, raccoons, squirrels and assorted other pests who find corn as delicious as do humans. Many modern sweet corn varieties have been bred to mature early in the season, but later maturing types tend to be sweeter.

Latin Name: Zea mays

Common Name(s): Sweet Corn

Zone: Annual

Size: Varies with variety, averaging 6 - 8' tall

Exposure: Full Sun

Bloom Period/Days to Harvest : 65 - 90 days

Description : Straight, tall stalks produce husked ears of tender kernels tufted with silks. Most corn varieties look alike on the outside, but under the husks sweet corn can be white, yellow, bicolor, and even red.

Suggested Varieties : ‘Early Sunglow’ is early and sweet. Good for shorter seasons and small gardens.
‘Silver Queen’ is another early producer with pale white kernels and very disease resistant. The new 'Silver Princess" is even earlier.
‘Golden Bantam’ is an open pollinated heirloom variety, often called the original sweet corn.
‘Tuxedo’ is one of the newer 'supersweet' varieties with extra long ears.

Harvesting: Traditional wisdom says harvest your corn the day before the raccoons do. Seriously, look for fat, dark green ears with brown tassels. Squeeze to test for firmness and a rounded, not pointed tip. A final test would be to puncture a kernel with a fingernail. If it spurts milky liquid, it's ready.

Cultural Notes: Corn is generally direct seeded, after all danger of frost is past. Because corn is wind pollinated, it does best when planted in blocks rather than rows. Pollen from the male tassels needs to make contact with the female silks and close planting means more contact. This means of pollination also results in easy cross-pollination, so keep different types of corn separated by at least 25 feet or plant varieties that mature at different times.

Corn is a heavy feeder, requiring rich soil. Nitrogen is especially important, since corn is basically a grass. The Native American practice of burying a fish head with the corn seeds was a practical means of supplementing nitrogen. An inch or two of compost or rotted manure will also work, as will feeding with fish emulsion

The soil should be loose, with a neutral pH (6.0 - 7.0). Heavy soils inhibit the long tap roots. The shallow roots you will see on the soil surface are predominantly there to anchor the tall plants.

Sweet corn is a long season crop. To extend the harvest, plant varieties that mature at different rates. You can expect one to two ears of corn per plant.

Maintenance: Water regularly, especially if you notice the leaves curling and when the cobs begin to swell. Apply nitrogen fertilizer once the plants are about 8 inches tall and again when they start producing tassels. Keep the area free of weeds that will compete for food and water.

Animals will be the biggest pest problem. The native American method of planting squash under corn plants helps deter some animals, be they don't like stepping on the prickly squash leaves. It also makes it difficult to harvest. Corn borers can be kept in check with BT and by destroying the stalks at the end of the season. Flea beetles will spread bacterial wilt. Combat that by planting resistant varieties. Be on the look out for a grayish black fungus called smut. Remove and destroy while young, before the mass bursts and sends the spores everywhere.