Planting Sweet Corn
Would someone teach me how to sucessfully plant and grow sweet corn?
Depending on the cultivar, sweet corn needs 60-100 warm days to grow. I do not think that would be a problem in S. Florida. It also requires 8 to 10 hours of full sun, good drainage and lots of room. In warm soils, plant seeds 1-2 inches deep, in groups or hills with 3-4 seeds in them. Space the hills about one and a half feet apart. Seeds may also be sown in single rows of 9 inches apart, spacing 2 to 3 feet between rows, with a minimum of 4 rows to assure cross pollination. Corn is a heavy feeder and needs ample nutrients to produce, therefore, before planting apply 10-10-10 fertilizer at the rate of one and a 1/2 pounds per 100 square feet to the soil. When the corn gets about one and 1/2 feet tall, again side-dress with 10-10-10. Once the plants are tasseling and silking make sure it has at least one inch of water per week. Do not allow wilting at this time as it will affect pollination and kernel development.
Harvest when ears have filled in with milky juice and silks begin to turn brown. This occurs about 20 days after the first silk strands appear. Pick before the racoons and grackles find out that your corn is ready. They find it irresistible and so will you! The ears should be eaten as soon as possible, or refrigerated. Once picked, the sugars decrease rapidly and starch content increases. Sweet corn is well worth the effort once you taste the fresh picked ears.
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I am growing okra for the first time and would like get some information on it. Thank-you
Bill Andrews
Comment by Kris — 3/23/2005 @ 8:39 am
I live in Oklahoma, my corn is tassling at about two feet high, is this normal, If not what can I do about it. Chuck
Comment by Chuck — 6/9/2005 @ 3:21 pm
Quick question. I have a number of horse farms around me, but not very many cattle farms. Just wondering if horse manure and cow manure are equally effective for fertilzing a vegetable garden. Thanks, Ron
Comment by Ron — 7/8/2005 @ 9:11 am
how soon should you refrigerate sweet corn after picking
Comment by v martin — 7/12/2005 @ 11:35 am
can you provide any help in preventing my sweet corn from blowing down? I live in oklahoma and plant my corn seed according to the instructions.
Comment by Don Woods — 7/25/2005 @ 6:57 am
Have you done ‘three sisters’ with your corn? Would the pole beans fix enough nitrogen so that no additional fertilzer would be required? Do you think the squash is necessary, or just taking advantage of space?
Comment by Lolly — 8/27/2005 @ 2:21 pm
is there anything special about growing Indian corn in relation to sweet corn? i have tried growing Indian corn for the last 3 years and i have yet to get a full ear of kernels. (this year i did not even get any that produced half an ear of kernels) i also woundered if both indian corn and sweet corn could be grown in the same area, would cross polination make the sweet corn unediable? i have searched the net and have found no information about growing indian corn so i hoped you could help.
Comment by Lilleah West — 11/14/2005 @ 10:58 am
Can you plant Corn and watermelon togther? I currently have a couple of plants that came that way, would I have to seperate them, or will one overtake and kill the other?
Comment by Fred — 4/12/2006 @ 2:22 pm
My sweetcorn is about a foot high and is growing suckers at tthe base of the stalk .Should they be removed or left to grow. Carl.
Comment by Carl Gilland — 6/4/2006 @ 1:38 pm
I have tiny ants all over my sweet corn tassels, it is silking now the stalks are about 6 ft high and doing nicely here in so Ca. Im thinking there are aphids and the ants are after the secretions from the aphids, what can i spray with to get rid of both? Is Garlic Barrier a good choice?
Comment by Fred Wilt — 6/25/2006 @ 4:58 pm
HI, I would like to know which comes first the Silk or Tassels. this year my tassels came first, and then the silk, the ears were half and small is this normal,. please help
Comment by willmon edwards — 6/10/2007 @ 11:06 am
growing a good field of sweet corn is and art form it tastes so good for dinner and corn on the cob is so good, and it worth the work and trouble and gives much satifaction when you finely get it on the eating table
Comment by stanley mcqueen — 1/12/2008 @ 9:45 am
I have had a garden now for at least 35 years , and to me growing a good sweet corn is something that depends on the weather and the rain durning the seasons. it seem that working and plowing the corn after it come up help to make it grow better, try this when your sweet corn is about eight to six inches tall, get some ammonia , and sprinkle along side the corn row above the corn being careful not to get any ammomia on the young corn , after that go get your tiller plow and plow threw the rows that you have applied the ammonia, this works in the ammonia and then just set back and watch your young corn take heart and grow with that ammonia giving it that green lush healthy look, ammonia works for 90 days and it make the corn sweet and gives it that extra boost, try this this year and see if you dont have the best sweet corn on the bllock, note just put the ammonia about 6 inches above the plant and just don’t use so awful much it dont take a lot of ammonia to get corn off the growning into a beatiful patch of good old sweet corn….email me if you have futhers questions…mcqueen@mail.com
Comment by stanley mcqueen — 1/12/2008 @ 9:56 am
one things i want to mention about growning gardens, useing a good tiller plow is the key to making a good garden, if your are lazy and don’t like a little work and dirt on you hands gardening is not for you..but those people with a little grit and has little willie will power as a first cousin to them , will not find a little work any problem, my dear pappy also said that lazy people grow weak crops .. and to note its’ the plain truth…i would suggest when you put out your garden this year fist off ask the good lord to help you grow it and bless the seeds that you plant.. lord help some of us who are not worthly to get blessed anyhow . and sometime we used the good lord like a spare tire, and lord forgive us all for that and help us plow our corn with your grace in our stepts. plowing and keeping the weeds out of our gardens is a sure way to raise a good garden..but as for me and old mountain plow boy God has help me with my crops all the while and you know what more that i would want to mention sometimes i never even look toward heaven to give my God thanks… lord help us all to believe and trust you even with our toils and labor in growing a graden. and remind us lord to look up at the end of the harvest and give you and earnest thanks for giving us rain and good growning season. if you like to get to know and old clod kentucky man email me at mcqueen@mail.com.i love farmers and all people .im simple as a jar of rain water, but have a heart and love for God big green earth
Comment by stanley mcqueen — 1/12/2008 @ 10:17 am
my father was a tobacco farmer and a good one..i was raised on a small twenty 26 acres tobacco farm , and my father and mother was such good people both hard working and they raised nine of us kids by the sweat of their brow..they are both dead now and i miss them so much, back when we was all at home and growing up we raised big gardens on the small farm and our table was always full of good food, we were poor and dad drove the county school bus and farmed tobacco, those were the good years back then, working together with a hoe in our hand and crops to tend it make us close together and formed a bond that is impossiable to describe..we were taught to work and to grow things and not to complain about a hard day in the fields, we hoed tobacco and our garden was our food. we put out large gardens because they were so many mouths to feed, mother canned large amount of beans and veg soups, she canned black berrys and made jellies and everything that would help our table have food on it..desides our family my great great grandma lived with is and also one of mom brother who name was Carl Dean , mom mother and dad both died early before all her brother and kids were completly grown and married off and what was old enought to be married took in the remainder of the younger one, which was a noble thing to do with mom folks dieing so young before all her brothers and sister was big enought to fend for themselves..i just wanted all you folks to know that back then folks put a lot of stock in the family garden ,because if you was poor folks like us raising a garden was our life line, and i just want to thank God for being taught and brought up on and american farm with good hardworking parents that learned us to work for our bread and to love one another , and to never be scared of a hard days work…if your would like to be a email pal of mine id be happy to hear from any old or young gardener..I am like i said and old kentucky clod that is disabled and now my wife does the garden stuff and i miss being in good health ..but bad health come with age and now im 57 and hoping to see some good looking gardens in the future in it be the lord God will. email me sometime i would be happy to be your friend …mcqueen@mail.com
Comment by stanley mcqueen — 1/12/2008 @ 4:54 pm
when planting my sweet corn there is a grass that will grow with the stalks,and takes the nutrition from the corn.How do I get rid of the grass?
Are you growing large fields of corn or just in the garden?
Comment by mark nickell — 3/22/2008 @ 3:45 pm
I am planting three 1 acre fields
Comment by mark nickell — 4/5/2008 @ 7:14 pm
I was told that when my corn starts to grow more than 4 leaves that I should pull the bottom 2 off. This is supposed to yield better ears. Is this something I should consider? I haven’t had much success in growing sweet corn lately.
Comment by Janelle — 4/22/2008 @ 5:39 am