Biting into a bright yellow ear of corn tastes just like summer; fresh, crisp and sweet. I love sweet corn and can literally eat it like candy from the yard; so much so, I even assume when growing corn at least 30% of the yield will never make it in the house. It’s a snack I quickly grab while working in the garden, or a quick breakfast if I’m out early. This alone makes growing corn, sweet corn the perfect summer treat; and, like many others I simply feel growing corn in the backyard, allotment or kitchen garden cool!
Growing Corn: Sweet Corn
Sweet corn is the taste of summer because it only grows in the summer!
Corn needs the heat; and, it needs warm soil. Seeds will not germinate until the soil reaches between 55 and 70 degrees in the morning. Corn absorbs about 30% of its size in water. Absorbing cold water as its swelling can lead to various diseases reducing yield or killing the plant completely. Therefore if planning to start outside (which is best as corn has a shallow root system that does not like to be moved), ensure the last frost date has passed. If one is in a zone where they must start their seeds indoors to achieve the right time for harvest, use organic pots that can be planted in the ground to avoid moving the babies once they have established!
If one has 65 to 90 days, they can grow corn!
According to the University of Arkansas the average days to harvest for corn runs between 65 and 95 days. One should plan their start time based on their last frost date and how far along the plants need to be to ensure a solid harvest during the summer months. Visit “When to Start Seeds Indoors” for more information on the best start times for seeds!
Give corn a well draining spot and make sure the soil has lots of food and nutrients!
Corn needs well drained fertile soil and plenty of food to grow those gloriously sweet ears. Testing the soil lets one know for sure if there are serious issues to address; however, 2 steps work best for me, to ensure the corn crop is healthy.
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- Add fresh compost to the soil prior to planting. Add 1 bag of compost, Black Kow Compost is my preference, to about 20 feet of garden space. A good rule of thumb is: If the ground becomes hard where the compost is mixed in, too much has been added. Compost should enhance the existing soil, not overtake it.
- Mix in organic matter, i.e. used coffee grinds, leaves or dark rich topsoil if the soil is highly sandy.
Plan to feed plants with feed once they have set at least 3 to four leaves. Alaskan Fish Emulsion has worked wonders for my production spraying once a
Plant seeds in warm soil and within 12 inches apart
Plant seeds approximately 12 inches apart and approximately 1 ½ inches down. Soil must be warm in the morning before planting! Corn is wind pollinated versus bee pollinated. This implies a few things: 1: don’t plant corn where it will be blocked from wind! 2: There should be enough corn for at least two solid side by side rows. If only small amounts are being planted, use small squares versus long rows to ensure the corn is close enough together to achieve good pollination across plants.
Steady water and a good fish based fertilizer does wonders
Corn needs plenty of water; without it they will struggle to produce flavorful kernels. Water at least 1.5 inch per week, allowing the soil to dry slightly between watering. A good rule of thumb is if no moisture in in the soil greater than an inch down, water.
Companion Plants
Corn is a wonderful companion plant for many veggies; those plants that help corn grow the best are:
- Climbing beans
- cucumber
- marjoram
- peas
- pumpkins
- squash
- sunflowers
- zucchini
Related Articles
- Starting Seeds Indoors
- Using Corn Stalks in Your Garden
- When to Harvest Your Corn (in Progress)
Are you planning on growing potatoes? Old school farmer almanac followers will tell you, “if your dandelions are blooming your spuds should be shooting!” In other words plant them when you see those yellow flowers! Potatoes need cooler weather, the soil needs to be 40 to germinate and they grow best in 60 to 70 degree temperatures. If it’s too cold or wet or too hot they will not grow well. 
Before planting potatoes make sure the space selected will enable them to thrive. Potatoes need loose, well draining, slightly sandy soil with good organic matter. Those that have hard, clay soils or soil that are filled with rock would do best using raised beds or bag containers which also work well for growing potatoes . 
accident, I grew some tomatoes in a pot in the back garden. When I harvested the fruit later that year I was amazed by the taste and quality. It demonstrated to me that away from the supermarket shelves, there are so many varieties of fruit and vegetables available if you grow your own. I became hooked quite quickly.
I have an allotment garden a few minutes away from my house. Allotments are (usually) areas of land owned by the local authority that are divided into plots (gardens) for people to rent and grow their own fruit and vegetables. They are fantastic resources and often very generous in size.
Luckily my allotment is a 10 minute walk away. If I drive, which I often do when I have plants and tools to take with me, I can be there in 2 minutes. I agree that it’s much more beneficial to have the garden right outside your house; and, I’d love to have that. 
This enables me to manage the seedlings close to home and I simply transport them to the allotment when they are ready to be planted out in the ground. I also try to garden in the most efficient way. Time is precious and I want to make it easy and enjoyable to garden.
Growing food is incredibly rewarding. To nurture a plant from seed to the point that it provides its fruit is a wonderful feeling. It feels worthwhile. Gardening also provides a direct connection with nature and the environment. Something I feel modern society has lost. I know that simply being in the garden is all that I need to relieve stress and to improve my wellbeing.
From a stress perspective, I think I hear that the most, the stress relief I mean. I used to work in a high impact high stress position. Hours of upwards of 60-70 a week was an often occurrence. Being the weekend gardening warrior was sometimes the only thing that kept my sanity! Gardening is not always easy though. 
In terms of vegetables I might pick Beetroot and Tomatoes. I enjoy them both and the beets are relatively easy to grow and the tomatoes are just an abundance – you can’t beat the flavour of both when they are home grown and fresh.
necessarily a new crop but perhaps a different variety of a crop you enjoy eating. It’s one of the best things about growing your own food, the varieties are incredible. This year will be some new pepper varieties and I try to pick a new pumpkin or winter squash to grow each year too
painting plants so much. Not only are they beautiful, there are so many different kinds of the same plant. Squash for example, or cabbages or lettuce. I can paint them over and over again and always paint something new. Which makes your statement so right on; there is always something to grow and still be within the range of what one likes to eat. 
This week I started tomato seeds for the spring garden! I grow them becasuse fresh is best and the health benefit of tomatoes make them even better. However, I just can’t help that 
The tomato is actually a fruit! This does make sense as tomatoes are full of juice when sliced open. However, the 
Potassium: I personally feel the benefits of potassium are underrated, it is afterall an electrolyte. According to 
Vitamin B9: Used for tissue growth and cell functions! 
If one truly wants to appreciate the taste and health of tomatoes one should grow their own. Many of our foods today are sprayed and grocery store tomatoes are often harvested and transported in their green stage making them immature. Food companies can be known to use artificial ethylene gas spray on tomatoes to improve their beautiful red coloring during this immature stage. This process, although good at exposing color, puts a damper on their natural development and hinders the flavor
germinate. I stubbornly refused to get one for years. I do have peppers every year so it’s not a complete loss to go without a mat. However, I struggled with germination on many hot peppers simply because of their strict need for heated soil. Once a mat was obtained results in the number of plants actually germinating improved right away! Vivosun has some very good options for mats. They are also terribly simple to use so highly recommend this gem. 
Time to harvest is litterally the time it takes a plant to actually produce fruit! The grwoth time before your eating your produce! The “Time to Harvest” is most often found on the front or back of a seed packet and can range anywhere from 25 days up to a much as 100 days. 
Depending on how deeply the garlic was buried one can often see the dirt start to mound up around the base of the garlic stalk. This naturally occurs as the bulbs starts to expand below the ground. While looking at your leaves and the size of your stalks look at the soil! Is there mounding or cracking around the stalk? If the other two steps are present, and there is no dirt movement, continue with the next step anyway. 
Growing healthy roses can be one of the most enjoyable things to do… it can also be frustrating as they tend to get hit with things like Black Spot or other similar diseases. Here are a few Quick Tips to help your roses thrive:
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