Corn
Corn is a delicious, easy to grow warm season crop.
Time to harvest: 60-100 days
Sweet corn is a great addition to any garden, having been cultivated in North America for over 4,000 years. It's a widely consumed food staple and is a nice summer treat. Not only is it a productive and versatile crop, but growing corn also has positive environmental impacts. The USDA states that one acre of corn removes a whole 8 tons of carbon dioxide from the air during the growing season.
Planting
For germination, sweet corn seeds require a soil temperature of 18 C (60 F). Don't plant corn too early in the spring, as corn is very vulnerable to frost. Generally this means planting in mid May to mid June. Corn needs lots of nitrogen, so make sure to enrich your soil with an organic 4-4-4 fertilizer or use soil that has been enriched from previous plants like beans or clover. Corn also needs lots of sunlight, so plant them in a spot where they can receive 6-8 hours of sunlight per day.
Seeds must to be planted one inch deep into warm soil and 15 centimeters away from each other. Each row of corn must be 45 centimeters away from other rows. Water well at planting time.
Growth Guidelines
Corn needs about 1 inch of water per week, which can be delivered with a soaker hose. Take extra care to pluck out weeds around corn, as weeds will outcompete the corn and kill it off. Mulch can be applied around the corn to prevent weeds from growing. Once the corn cobs are 15 centimeters tall, trim the plant to 30 centimeters.
Harvesting
When the silks at the top of an ear turn brown, the corn may be ripe. Check by puncturing a corn kernel. If a liquid spurts out, the corn is at its most ripe. Harvesting should be done during the morning, and then the corn must be refrigerated to keep their taste. In Ontario, corn is generally harvested around late August to early October.