Growing your own food is an eco-friendly, rewarding, and delicious hobby to have. There are many different varieties of fruits and veggies you might choose to grow, but corn is an especially great one for many reasons. Growing corn is relatively easy and yields a great crop that has many versatile uses.
Did you know that corn is America’s biggest crop? Farmers planted over 91 million acres of the stuff in 2019 alone. If you’d like to learn what all the fuss is about, then you need to see this corn-growing guide.
When to Plant Corn
Corn is a warm-season crop. When you plant it in cold and wet soil, it’s unlikely to germinate.
If you want to give it the best chance of survival, you should plant it after the soil temperature reaches around 60°. Therefore, around 2 or 3 weeks after the last frost in spring is the perfect time to plant.
It can be a good idea to start your corn plant indoors around 2 weeks before the last frost in spring is due to occur. You can then transplant it outdoors.
How Long Does It Take Corn to Grow?
If all goes well your corn will take between 60 and 100 days to become harvest-ready. The timing will differ slightly depending on the variety of corn you’ve planted and what the weather is like.
You will know your corn is ready to harvest because you’ll be able to see thin silky stands appearing on the corn. Around 20 days after these first appear is when you’ll want to harvest.
What Does Corn Need to Grow?
Your corn crop will need to be watered on a regular basis to grow in a healthy manner. If the weather is hot, it will need even more water than usual.
You want to make sure the corn is watered evenly, and try to avoid overhead watering as much as you can. This can limit the number of kernels that appear.
To have as healthy a crop as possible, you can add plant food to your corn’s soil. Pacesetter is a good brand to try, and as an added bonus, it works with several different other crops.
How to Harvest Your Corn
The most exciting part of the corn growing process is when your crop is ready to harvest. There is a specific method you should use when you want to do this.
Grab an ear of corn with a firm grip and then make a twisting motion downwards. This will loosen it from the soil, at which point it’s ready to be taken out.
Growing Corn Made Simple
If you’d like to try your hand at growing corn, we hope this guide will be of some help to you. If you’re looking for more produce growing tips or for some delicious ideas about what you can do with your new corn crop, we’ve got articles that can help with both. Check out the rest of our site now.
