Garden Corn

It's important to harvest corn at the right stage.

Garden corn can be planted after the soil temperature reaches 60° degrees. This will usually be around April 1 in the Middle Georgia area.

Two types of corn grown in home gardens are field or roasting ear types, and that type commonly called sweet corn. The main difference in these is the degree of starch to sugar content. The field types have higher starch content while sweet corn types have a higher sugar content. Both types must be harvested in the immature state.

Early plantings have the advantage that they usually mature before worm problems become severe, especially the corn ear worm and the European corn corer.

Above 6 pH best…

For best results the soil should have a pH above 6 and medium to high in fertility. If you are planting a new garden spot that has not been heavily fertilized in the past, it is recommended that 25 pounds of 6-12-12 is broadcast per 1000 square feet. If you use fertilizer at planting, use 8 pounds of 6-12-12 per 100 foot of row placed 3 inches to the side of the row. When the corn plants are about 2 feet high, side dress the crop using 2 pounds of ammonium nitrate per 100 foot of row.

Varieties of roasting ear corn recommended for Georgia include Hybrid Truckers Favorite, and Hickory King, yellow sweet corn varieties recommended are Merit, Seneca Chief, Bonanza and Golden Cross Bantam. White sweet corn varieties include Silvermine and Silver Queen.

Plant corn in hills spaced 12 to 18 inches apart in the row. Place 3 to 4 seeds per hill and after germination thin plants to leave 2 per hill. Seeds can be covered 1 to 2 inches deep. It will require about 1¦4 pound of seed to plant 100 foot of row.

Harvest period important…

It is very important to harvest corn at the proper stage of maturity and there is a very short harvest period at peak quality. Ears harvested too soon will contain kernels that are poorly developed and the juice in the kernels will be thin and clear in color. The proper stage of harvest is when the kernels are plump, round on the end and the juice has a milky color. Mature kernels become indented and the juice takes on a waxy consistency.

The silks turn from green to brown as the ears mature and this is one indication of when to harvest but must not be the only thing to observe. The end of the ear, when squeezed, will have a firm moist feel and is another indication of the proper stage to harvest. Carefully peeling the shuck back on a few ears to observe the grains will confirm the correct stage.

Refrigerate unprocessed corn…

Corn should be harvested and processed as quickly as possible to prevent loss of quality. Any corn not consumed or processed the day of harvest should be refrigerated immediately and then used as soon as possible.

During most years a good sweet corn crop will produce two ears per stalk. The lower ear normally reaches maturity first and the second ear matures a few days later. A good yield of sweet corn would be 25 dozen ears per 100 foot of row.

For more information on garden corn, contact your local County Extension Office.