How to Plant Yellow Dent Corn

Leave enough space between your corn stalks for them to grow.

Yellow dent corn, also known as field corn, is a variety of corn known by the characteristic dent on both sides of its kernels. High in vitamin A content, this variety of corn is used in corn chips, tortillas and cornbread and to produce high-fructose corn syrup used to sweeten soft drinks. This type of corn is not easily cooked, as it requires grinding or soaking to process. Yellow dent corn is relatively easy to grow.

Things You'll Need

• Garden tiller or rake
• Fertilizer
• Seeds
• Water
• Pesticides (optional)

Instructions

1. Choose a large, well-drained, full-sun area of your garden to plant your corn. Make sure the corn will not shade other plants in your garden as it gets taller. Other plants may need to be planted away from your corn to prevent this.

2. Prepare your soil by tilling and working in some organic compost or nitrogen fertilizer.

3. Plant your corn seeds in early summer. The goal is to give the seeds all of the sun and heat you possibly can to produce the largest and healthiest yield.

4. Place the seeds into the soil about 1½ inches deep. Plant 2 to 3 seeds to a hole and line the holes up in rows, making the holes 6 to 8 inches apart. Leave 2 to 3 feet of space between each row.

5. Thin the corn to one plant per hole when the corn begins to sprout. Leave the healthiest, strongest plant in the hole and dispose of the other plants from that hole.

6. Mound the soil into small hills around the stalks of corn when they become 12 to 18 inches tall. This helps strengthen the stalks and prevents them from blowing over in the wind.

7. Water your corn daily; soil should be moist, not soggy. Fertilize regularly, as corn grows very quickly and requires plenty of nutrition to produce a good crop.

8. Inspect your corn for pests. Corn is often prey to insects such as root worms and corn borers and animals such as raccoons, deer and birds. Plant your corn as close as you can to human activity to deter animal pests, and spray the corn with insecticides if necessary to eliminate insects.

References

• Food Skills for Self Sufficiency: Growing Corn
• National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service: Organic Field Corn Production
• Heartland Science: Yellow Dent Corn