How to Grow Corn

More than any other vegetable, corn tastes best when you pick it, then rush it straight to boiling water. That's because its sugar turns to starch in the blink of an eye. Corn needs hot weather, lots of time to ripen and plenty of elbowroom.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Compost Makers
• Corn Seeds
• Electric Fences
• Fertilizers
• Fish Emulsions
• Garden Spades
• Garden Thermometers
• Garden Trowels
• Mulch
• Pinwheels
• Plants

1. 

   Choose a site that gets full sun and has soil with a pH of 6.0 to 6.8. Corn needs soil that's simultaneously rich, moisture-retentive and well-draining; digging in plenty of compost and well-cured manure will ensure the magic combination.

2. Buy corn plants at the nursery if your growing season is on the shorter side of acceptable. Otherwise, plant seeds outdoors at least a week after the last frost and when the soil temperature has reached at least 55 degrees F (65 degrees for supersweet varieties).

3. 

   Sow seeds 1 to 1/2 inch deep, 4 to 6 inches apart. For best results, plant in hills, with several plants to a hill and the hills grouped in clusters rather than long rows (see "How to Plant Vegetable Seeds Outdoors").

4. Thin plants to a foot apart when they're 3 to 4 inches tall, and mulch when the ground has warmed to deter weeds and retain moisture.

5. 

   Make sure plants get at least an inch of water a week, but never water from above - it can wash away pollen.

6. Feed plants with a balanced liquid organic fertilizer three times: when they reach 10 inches, then 18 inches, and when tassels appear.

7. Harvest when husks are dark green, silks are dry and brown but still supple, and full-size kernels reach to the top of the ear. For most varieties, that will be about 20 days after the silks appear.

Tips & Warnings

• Corn is a big-time consumer of phosphorus and nitrogen. If the leaves start to yellow, it's a sign of nitrogen deficiency; correct the problem by spraying with manure tea or fish emulsion.

• To keep fresh corn coming through the season, make successive plantings every two weeks. Crops planted later, when warm weather has settled in, will mature more quickly than earlier plantings.

• Corn can take up to 90 toasty-warm days to mature. If your growing season isn't that long, look for faster-growing varieties such as 'Precocious' (70 days, with more cold tolerance than most), 'Seneca Brave' (72 days) or 'Breeder's Bicolor' (73 days).

• Deer and raccoons love corn. The best way to deter these and other four-legged diners is to install an electric fence. Failing that, try adorning your corn patch with whirling metallic pinwheels, shiny wind socks, or lights timed to go on and off through the night - assuming neighbors' windows don't overlook your garden.