Corn in the Garden: Growing & Harvesting Sweet Corn Yourself

Sweet Corn – Sweetness Fresh from the Bed

Once you've experienced sweet corn going straight from the field into the cooking pot, you understand why corn farmers rush their corn to the kitchen at a jog: the natural sugar quickly converts to starch after harvest. Fresher is better.

Variety Recommendations

• Golden Bantam – a classic, aromatic, yellow
• Incredible – very sweet, F1 hybrid, reliable
• Lacy Lady – more compact plant, suitable for balconies (in large containers)
• Blue Corn / Red Corn – colorful, more starch than sugar, good for drying & popcorn

Sowing & Planting

• Direct sowing from mid-May, 2–3 cm deep, 30–40 cm spacing within the row
• Row spacing: 60–80 cm
• Starting indoors possible from April in a greenhouse

Important: corn needs a block, not a row! Corn is wind-pollinated – sow at least 4×4 plants in a block, otherwise poor pollination = gappy cobs.

Care

• Plenty of water, especially during the growth spurt (stem elongation) and at flowering
• Feed heavily: corn is a heavy feeder – fertilize 3 times, 3–4 weeks apart
• Root support: mound soil around the plants (prevents them from toppling over)
• Suckers at the base can be removed – increases yield

Harvest Time

Corn is ready to harvest when:

• The silk (the brown hair on top) is dark brown and dry
• The kernels release milky-white sap when pierced with a fingernail
• The cob feels firm and plump

Use

• Cook fresh: 10–15 min. in boiling salted water, eat immediately
• Grill: cobs with husks on the grill for 30 minutes
• Freeze: blanch cobs for 5 minutes, shock in cold water, freeze (keeps for 10 months)
• Dry for popcorn: let cobs dry completely, then remove the kernels