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How to Grow Sweet Corn

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How to Grow Sweet Corn EHT-044 3-11 Easy Gardening sweet corn • sweet corn • sweet corn • sweet Joseph Masabni, Assistant Professor and Extension Horticulturist, and Patrick Lillard, Extension Assistant, The Texas A&M System weet corn is a member of the grass fam- Varieties ily. In smaller gardens, it should be planted in square blocks instead of long Normal Sugary Shrunken S sugary enhanced (se) (sh2) rows to improve cross-pollination between Bonanza Ambrosia Crisp-N-Sweet corn stalks. Like most vegetables, corn will Merit Argent Florida Staysweet grow best in areas with plenty of sunlight. Silver Queen Bodacious Frontier Sweet G-90 Golden Queen Honey n Pearl Corn is one of the plants grown in the Kandy Korn How Sweet It Is traditional Native American vegetable tech- Popcorn Legend Mirai Tendertreat Summer Sweet nique call the Three Sisters. The other two Robust White plants in the Three Sisters are beans and Strawberry squash, and each had its role in this com- panion planting tradition. Corn served as a Soil preparation support for the vining beans. Squash served Remove weeds, rocks and trash, and as a ground cover, preventing weeds from work the top 8 to 10 inches of soil before growing. Beans provided natural fertilizer planting. Work the soil only when it is dry for all. enough not to stick to garden tools. Site selection Fertilizing Corn can tolerate many soil types but Use 2 to 3 pounds of fertilizer, such as prefers well-drained soils with a pH between 10-10-10, for every 100 square feet of garden 5.5 and 7.0. In sandy soils or soils with a area. Spread the fertilizer evenly over the soil low pH, corn may suffer from magnesium and work it into the soil 3 to 4 inches deep. deficiency. Rake the soil to smooth the surface. -1- Planting Watering Sweet corn is a warm-season crop and Water sweet corn as needed to keep it must be planted after the soil warms and from wilting. Do not let corn suffer from there is no more danger of frost. If you lack of water when the kernels are forming. have room, plant again when the first corn plants have three to five leaves. This usually Care during the season takes 2 to 3 weeks. Hoe or till the soil just under the sur- You will need 1 to 2 ounces of seed face. Hoe the weeds off just below the soil’s for every 100 feet of row. Do not use seed surface. Deep hoeing will cut the corn saved from last year’s sweet corn as these roots, which are close to the top of the soil. seeds will not grow a good crop. When the plants are about 2 feet tall, Sweet corn grows best when planted in apply 1 cup of fertilizer for every 10 feet of several short rows instead of one long row. garden row. Scatter the fertilizer evenly be- This makes it easier for the corn plants to tween the rows and mix it lightly with the pollinate, and good pollination is necessary soil. Water after fertilizing (Fig. 3.) for ears of corn to have plump, juicy kernels. Figure 3. When corn is about 2 feet tall, scatter 1 cup of fertilizer for every 10 feet of row and water it in. Diseases Figure 1. Plant corn in several short rows, not in one or two long rows. If a few of your corn plants are stunted, they may have a viral disease and should be Plant the corn removed to keep the virus from spreading. seeds about 1 inch deep and 3 to 4 Harvesting inches apart in the row. Space the rows Corn is ready for harvest about 3 2½ to 3 feet apart. weeks after the tassel grows on top of the After the plants are corn plant. Corn is ripe when juice from up, thin them to 1 the kernels is milky white, the silk on the foot apart. If you ears has turned dark brown, the ears are plant them closer, firm, and kernels on the tips of the un- husked ears are plump and milky. Sweet Figure 2. Poorly filled your corn will have corn is caused by poor small, poorly-filled corn is not ready when the juice of the pollination. ears (Figs. 1 and 2.) kernel is watery. It is overripe when the -2- kernels get large, chewy and Name and description Control pasty like dough. The best time to pick ® Larva: Green, brown or Sevin corn is in the early morning pink, light strips along Bt sides and on back; up garlic juice extracts or evening when it is cool. To to 1¾ inches long. harvest the ears, hold the stalk Adult: Light to dark below the ear and twist the tip brown, or light olive green, with a wingspan of the ear toward the ground of about 1½ inches. until it breaks off. Cook the corn right away, or store it in the refrigerator until meal- Corn earworm time. Corn loses flavor and Larvae are pinkish tan; Bt nutrients quickly when left at adults are tan and garlic juice extracts high temperature. Watch the about ½ inch long and corn closely because the qual- hold their wings in a delta shape at rest. ity changes fast. Serving European corn Corn has small amounts borer of many vitamins and miner- als and is best when cooked Young larvae have light azadirachtin bodies and black heads; Bt immediately after picking. It fully grown larvae are garlic juice extracts can be cooked either on or 1¹⁄3 inches long with kaolin off the cob. Remove husks, three yellowish-white spinosad lines down the back; silk and bad spots just before adult moths are ³⁄4 inch cooking. Corn which is past long and 1¹⁄2 inches its best quality is still good as wide with gray wings and irregular white cream-style corn. Fall armyworm spots near the ends. Completely black beetle crop rotation Storing ¹⁄16 inch long. resistant varieties Store corn in the husk. permethrin Sevin® Place it uncovered in the re- garlic juice extracts frigerator for 1 or 2 days. Corn azadirachtin stored for more than 2 days Flea beetle loses its sweetness. Grasshoppers are chew- garlic juice extracts ing insects with man- azadirachtin Cleanup dibles that tear off food. pyrethrin Old corn plants are good They make sounds by Sevin® rubbing their hind legs compost to add to the garden together. soil. They will break down much faster if shredded before Grasshopper composting. -3- Acknowledgments The original version of this publication was authored by Sam Cotner and B. Dean McCraw. Insect photos courtesy of Bart Drees, The Texas AgriLife Extension Service. The information given herein is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names is made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is implied. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service AgriLifeExtension.tamu.edu More Extension publications can be found at AgriLifeBookstore.org Educational programs of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service are open to all people without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or veteran status. The Texas A&M University System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperating. Produced by Texas A&M AgriLife Communications -4-.
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