Sweet Corn Seeds
How to Grow Sweet Corn
Sweet corn likes it sunny and hot, with ample soil moisture and consistent fertilization. A satisfying ear of sweet corn should taste like corn- not just sugar. If there is not enough sweet in your homegrown corn, the problem is more likely how it is grown than what you are growing. The supersweets virtues were for the commercial grower; their sugar is slow to convert to starch after harvest for their long trip to the market. For the home gardener provide your sweet corn with good growing conditions and you will be rewarded with corn that is both sweet and full of flavor. It is easy to know when to pick a tomato, but knowing when to harvest corn is a little trickier. Examine the silk at the top of the ear, a ripe ear of corn has a small amount of pliant- ( greenish silk ) near the top of the husk, with dry brown silk at the ends. The time of day is a great concern for harvesting. The highest sugar content is in the early morning, not just before the evening meal. The best way is to pick early in the morning- before the warmth of the sun, then refrigerate with husks on until dinner. Open the husks just before the corn goes into the water. In spring remove any mulch to let soil begin heating, apply some finished compost, and cover the beds with black plastic at least a week before sowing and monitor the soil temperature with a soil thermometer.
Sowing
Seed Depth: 1" (2.5cm)
Germination soil temperature: 80º F (27ºC)
Days to Germination: 4
Sow indoors: Not recommended
Sow outdoors: 1 week after last frost
Growing
pH range: 6.0-7.0
Growing soil temperature: 65-75º F (18-24ºC)
Spacing in beds :8".
Watering: Moderate early, then heavy from flowering to harvest.
Light: Full sun
Nutrient requirements: N= high, P=high, K=high
Rotation considerations: Precede with nitrogen fixing cover crop
Good Companions: Bush beans, beet, cabbage, cantaloupe, cucumber, pea, parsley, pumpkin, squash.
Bad Companions: Tomato
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