How To Grow Corn - How To Grow Your Own Corn

A Corn Field
(Image credit: Ritthichai)

Corn (Zea mays) is one of the most popular vegetables you can grow in your garden. Everyone loves corn on the cob drizzled with butter on a hot summer day. Furthermore, it can be blanched and frozen so you can enjoy fresh corn from your garden in the winter.

Most methods for corn planting are similar. The differences depend on type of soil, available space, and whether or not you need to amend the soil for growing corn.

How to Grow Your Own Corn

If you want to grow your own corn, you need to know how to grow corn from seed. There aren't many people who actually start corn plants first; it just isn't feasible.

Corn enjoys growing in an area that allows for full sunshine. If you want to grow corn from seed, be sure you plant the seeds in well-drained soil, which will increase your yield dramatically. Make sure your soil has a lot of organic matter, and fertilize before you plant the corn. Good soil preparation is very important.

Wait for the temperature of the soil to reach 60 degrees F. (18 C.) or above. Make sure there have been plenty of frost-free days before putting the corn into the soil. Otherwise, your crop will be sparse.

If you're thinking about how to grow corn from seed, there are only a few rules to follow. First, make sure you make your rows 24 to 30 inches (61-76 cm.) apart from each other. Plant the corn 1 to 2 inches (2.5-5 cm.) deep in the soil about 9 to 12 inches (23-31 cm.) apart.

Mulch will help keep your corn weed-free and will retain moisture during hot, dry weather.

How Long Does it Take for Corn to Grow?

You might be wondering, "How long does it take for corn to grow?" There are many different varieties of corn and a couple of different methods for corn planting, so you can plant 60 day, 70 day, or 90 day corn. When most people think about how to grow corn, they are thinking in terms of their own private stash of corn.

One of the different methods for corn planting is to have a continuous growing season. To do this, plant several types of corn that mature at different time intervals. Otherwise, plant the same kind of corn staggered by 10 to 14 days so you have a continuous crop.

Harvesting time is dependent on the particular type grown and how it will be used.

Kathee Mierzejewski
Writer

Kathee Mierzejewski was with Gardening Know How in the very beginning, writing many of the site's foundational articles.