Growing corn is a bit more difficult than most people think. For one thing, it needs to be grown in blocks, not rows. Corn is pollinated by the wind, and a block of short rows will do that more efficiently than a long row of corn. Because of wind pollination, different types of corn can cross pollinate from as far away as 1/2 mile. To further complicate matters, there are two kinds of corn: sweet corn and flint corn. Sweet corn is what you eat off the cob, while flint corn is ground into corn meal, popped for popcorn, or fed to livestock. Make sure you get the right type for your garden or you could have an unpleasant surprise. Here is what you need to know to plant corn. You can find more information in my article on growing sweet corn, as well.
when to plant: March 20 to May 1, August 1 to August 15
depth of planting: 1 inch
spacing of plants inside row: 3-4 inches
spacing of rows: 2.5 to 3 feet
time to harvest: 65 to 100 days
fertilizing: For every 100 square feet, work in 2-3 pounds of 10-10-10 fertilizer. Mix it with the top 3-4 inches of soil.
cultivars for Hunt County:
| Cultivar | Days to Harvest |
| Indian Corn | |
| Indian | 100 |
| Rainbow | 110 |
| Popcorn | |
| Japanese Hullless | 83 |
| Robust White | 100 |
| Robust Yellow | 100 |
| Strawberry | 110 |
| Sugar Enhanced | |
| Argent | 80 |
| Bodacious | 75 |
| Golden Queen | 92 |
| Seneca Arrowhead | 65 |
| Senceca Dancer | 90 |
| Spring Snow | 65 |
| Suppersweet Corn | |
| Frontier | 90 |
| Honey n Pearl | 78 |
| Miral | 70 |
| Normal Sugary Corn | |
| Early Sunglow | 63 |
| Merit | 75 |
| Silver Queen | 91 |
| Sweet G-90 | 90 |
For more help gardening, buy my book, Preparing A Vegetable Garden From The Ground Up
Available in print or ebook from Amazon.com or other retailers, this book walks you from choosing the site of your garden all the way through what to do after the harvest. Buy a copy for yourself or a friend today!
