One of the best rewards of growing summer vegetables is sweet corn. It has a “summer is here” taste and is fun to eat, grilled or boiled. Growing sweet corn is straightforward, but with these helpful tips, your garden will be brimming with this wonderful summer treat.
Sweet corn is a “warm season” vegetable that grows best during the late spring through early fall months. It is wind-pollinated, which means that pollen reaches the corn through the air. The tassel that grows at the top of the plant releases pollen that must land on the tip of each strand of silk growing from the end of the ear. To have a full ear of corn, each silk strand must receive pollen, which produces a single kernel. If all of the silk strands are not pollinated, the ear will be missing kernels or may be completely barren.
Begin by selecting sweet corn varieties that grow well in San Diego County.
“I prefer SE (Sugar Enhanced) hybrid varieties of sweet corn,” says Joyce Gemmell, vegetable gardening specialist for the UCCE Master Gardeners of San Diego County. “SE varieties have 15 percent more sugar than standard types and tend to be creamier.”
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Try varieties such as “Miracle,” “Bodacious” and “Sweetie.” Select mid- or late-season sweet corn rather than early-season corn, which may have shorter ears and not grow well in San Diego County.
If only a few stalks of corn are grown, plant them in a cluster, not a single row. This will result in more pollen reaching each kernel of each ear of corn.
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Plant corn in blocks of several short rows, according to package instructions. If only a few stalks of corn are grown, plant them in a cluster, not a single row. This will result in more pollen reaching each kernel of each ear of corn. It also helps to shake the corn stalk when pollen is available, but this must be timed for when the pollen is at its peak. Also, thin the young plants when they are a few inches tall so the plants remain about a foot apart.
Corn is easily cross-pollinated by other varieties, and corn pollen can be carried by wind up to 5 miles. Varieties with an extra sweet gene may not produce sweet corn if they have been cross-pollinated by a variety that does not have a gene for extra sweetness (for example, Indian corn). If you are considering saving heirloom corn seeds, be aware that cross-pollination will result in ears of corn not true to type. Planting one type of corn in a backyard garden will help ensure that the corn is true to type.
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Corn is a grass and must have plenty of nitrogen and water, similar to a lawn.
“Add a pre-plant fertilizer prior to planting,” advises Vincent Lazaneo, Urban Horticulture Advisor Emeritus, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. “If using an organic fertilizer such as blood meal or cottonseed meal, work the fertilizer into the soil at least one month before planting corn. It will take about a month for the organic fertilizer to break down and for the nutrients to be accessible to the roots.”
In addition, Gemmell says, “A sign of nitrogen deficiency is yellowing leaves and bottom leaves that dry up before tassels form. Side dress with a nitrogen fertilizer, like ammonium nitrate, 4 to 6 inches from plants at 1/2 pound per 25 feet of row, when plants are 8 to 10 inches tall and again when plants are 24 to 30 inches tall.”
Water corn often early in the growing season and two to three times a week during hot spells. Provide extra water during tasseling and when silks appear.
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The most common pest for sweet corn is corn earworm, commonly found on the corn ears. Lazaneo’s treatment advice: “Bacillus thuringiensis, (Bt) will remedy this pest, but it must be applied before larvae enter the ear of corn. The immature worm must ingest the material to be effective. Start dusting or spraying with Bt at two-to-three-day intervals when tassel begins to form and silks first show. If you use mineral oil on the ear tip, only apply it after the silks have wilted or turned brown. Otherwise, pollination will be interrupted.”
Within a week of the stated maturity date, start checking some of the largest ears. Do not pull husk down from the top, as worms have easy access. Instead, open a small slit on the side of the ear with your thumb nails and check the kernels by puncturing one about mid-way down the cob. The liquid should be milky white. The silk should be wilted and turning brown.
You can also feel the outer husk for full firm ears — they should not feel spongy. Don’t worry about kernels being filled out to the tip of the cob. In some varieties, if you wait for this to happen, the rest of the kernels will be over-matured.
Bay has been a UCCE Master Gardener since 2012. She specializes in teaching new gardeners how to grow their own food in a home or community garden.
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