| Purchased corn, whether on the cob or in a can can't | | | | starch after harvest. |
| compare for taste! Sweet corn is easy to grow in | | | | Sow your seed in a very rich garden soil and give it |
| the flower and fruit gardening guides home garden | | | | access to ample moisture. Because corn is a |
| with just a little know how and a few corn facts. | | | | high-nitrogen feeder, even the best soils may need |
| Corn needs warm soil temperatures (50° - | | | | to the addition of aged manure or nutrient rich |
| 65° Fahrenheit) to germinate. Warm | | | | compost to produce an optimum crop. |
| temperatures cause sugars in corn to turn into | | | | Plant corn in two or more rows for pollination to be |
| starches and results in loss of sweetness and creamy | | | | successful. Plant kernels in hills of three, spaced about |
| texture. Sugars also begin converting to starches | | | | a foot a part with rows three feet apart. Plant |
| immediately after harvest. | | | | kernels from one to 1 ½ inches deep or |
| Sweet corn is divided into three types according to | | | | ¾ inch deep for super sweet types. After |
| its sweetness: (SU) normal sugary or standard sweet | | | | germination, preserve the most robust plant in each |
| corn, (SE) sugary enhanced, and (Sh2) super sweet. | | | | hill, discarding any other seedlings that have sprouted. |
| Standard Sweet Corn (SU) | | | | Water rows well after planting, especially in the case |
| Normal sugary is the traditional variety of sweet corn. | | | | of super sweet kernels, which need to absorb more |
| Less sweet than the other types, it will tolerate low | | | | water to germinate. Keep plants well watered |
| temperatures at planting time. | | | | throughout the growing season. Corn needs moisture |
| Sugary Enhanced (SE) | | | | in order to form tassels and silk and to develop |
| (SE) corn is the preferred choice of many of today's | | | | healthy ears. |
| flower and fruit gardening guides home gardeners. | | | | Cultivate frequently to control weeds, but shallowly |
| Sugary enhanced is sweeter than standard corn and | | | | so as not to damage stalks or roots. |
| retains sweetness longer than either of the other | | | | Corn is ready to harvest when silk becomes dry at |
| types. While not as sweet as super sweet, it has a | | | | the ends, ears feel full, and a thumbnail puncture |
| creamier texture and tolerates lower soil | | | | produces a milky-white substance. The sap from |
| temperatures. | | | | under ripe corn will appear watery. Each stalk should |
| Super Sweet | | | | produce one large ear of corn. Many varieties also |
| Super sweet (Sh2) kernels differ from the other two | | | | develop a second, smaller ear. Generally, from the |
| types of sweet corn by their shriveled, small | | | | time the silk is visible to harvest is about 20 days. |
| appearance. Although the sweetest of the three, | | | | Watch your crop closely after the first silks appear. |
| (Sh2) needs a soil temperature of at least 65° F | | | | This is the "milk stage" which lasts for only about a |
| to germinate. Another drawback of (Sh2) is that its | | | | week. The best corn is always the freshest corn! Grill |
| texture is drier and its sugars more rapidly convert to | | | | it, steam it, roast it, microwave it --- enjoy it! |