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How long does corn grow


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How To Grow Corn in Your Backyard Garden

Every editorial product is independently selected, though we may be compensated or receive an affiliate commission if you buy something through our links. Ratings and prices are accurate and items are in stock as of time of publication.

You can successfully grow sweet corn even if you don't have a huge garden or backyard. Here's how to do it.

When I was a kid, I asked my dad why he didn’t grow sweet corn in his garden. He answered that you need a big garden to grow corn. Later, when I had my own garden, I proved you can grow corn in a smaller garden once you understand some basic requirements.

On This Page

How to Plant Corn

All corn varieties, including sweet and ornamental corn, need the same things to thrive.

How to Grow and Care for Corn

Watering

Corn needs about one inch of rain a week, especially when ears are forming. If your garden doesn’t get that amount of rain, plan to water the corn patch.

Weeding

Weeds compete with the corn for soil nutrients. Lightly cultivate around the corn to remove any weeds, being careful not to disturb the corn roots.

Fertilizing

In many gardens, extra fertilizer may be needed. Test your soil to determine which nutrients are lacking and apply the appropriate fertilizer based on that information. You can also safely use an organic fertilizer labeled for vegetable gardens. Choose a balanced fertilizer with equal parts nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK).

Pollinating

Wind pollinates corn. When the corn begins to show tassels (the sprouts at the top), wind blows the pollen from the tassels to the silks of the just-forming ears. That’s why it’s best to plant the corn in blocks instead of one long row, increasing the chances of adequate pollination.

Corn that isn’t well-pollinated will produce ears with gaps in the kernels. To avoid different varieties from cross-pollinating each other, which can affect the taste, plan to grow only one variety of sweet corn. Or provide adequate distances, 300 feet or more, between different varieties.

Controlling pests

Corn earworms are common pests. They’re more of a problem later in the summer, so most home gardeners can avoid them by planting earlier in the season. The corn earworm is generally only in the tip of the ear, so cutting off that tip is also a good, safe option.

Extending your harvest

To harvest sweet corn throughout the summer, plant a block approximately every two weeks. Check the seed packet to determine how long the corn needs to ripen to maturity, so you aren’t planting that last block too late to pick before your first frost.

How Long Does It Take to Grow Corn?

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Generally, it takes two to three months from sowing seeds to picking ripe sweet corn. The exact amount of time depends on the variety. Usually, the number of days from sowing to harvest will be noted on the seed packet.

‘Honey and Cream‘ hybrid sweet corn takes approximately 84 days to mature after the seed germinates. ‘Inferno‘ hybrid sweet corn takes approximately 73 days, and ‘Silver N Gold‘ hybrid sweet corn approximately 65 days .

How to Harvest Corn

Most sweet corn is ready to pick about three weeks after you see the silks, the long strands sticking up from the top of the ear. These should be brown but not dried; the husks will still be dark green and not dried.

To verify ripeness, carefully pull back the husk and gently squeeze a kernel to see if the corn is at the “milk stage. ” If it’s ripe, the liquid that comes out will be milky white. To harvest, grab the ear, pull it down and twist. Once a stand of corn shows ripe ears, most ears will ripen within a week or so.

To ensure the sweetest corn, cook and eat as soon as possible. The sugars in stored sweet corn quickly turn to starch, which will affect the taste and texture.

Popular Videos

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When corn ripens: ripening and harvesting dates

Mature corn is a favorite treat for children and adults. At the end of summer, fragrant boiled ears decorate dining tables, and gardeners casually brag to each other about the size of the crop. But not everyone has many years of experience in growing corn, and not everyone can immediately determine the ripeness of corn. In this article, we will look at how to know when to harvest corn and how to do it correctly.

Contents

Signs of maturity

Timing of maturity varies from crop to variety, so knowing how to determine maturity is important. Check the top ears first, as they ripen the earliest. Therefore, if you want to try it, feel free to break off the top and cook. Usually, it is the top cobs that deviate to the side, showing the degree of ripeness, until they fall perpendicular to the stem.

The next step is to test the cob. The grains should become swollen over the entire area of ​​​​the cob, and the threads with which it is studded should dry out. It is by the color of these threads that ripeness can be determined. When they turn brown, dry and separate easily, the crop is ready to be harvested. Examine the top of the cob. It should be round and blunt, which means that the grains have ripened.

If the previous steps did not give you an idea of ​​the maturity of the corn, carefully move the leaves and inspect the grains - the cob should be completely covered with them. Press a few grains with your fingernail, if the liquid that comes out is white, you can pluck the corn. If the liquid is clear, the corn has not yet ripened, and if it is very thick, then it is overripe.

And the color of the grains can tell a lot. When corn enters the milky stage, they are light yellow, the closer the corn to the full ripeness stage, the darker and richer their color becomes.

If you are growing popcorn, which is used to make popcorn, wait until the stalk turns brown first. For the bursting variety, the harvest period shifts as the cobs are harvested at peak maturity. That is, the later the better. Therefore, you should wait until the stem, the cob, and the leaves acquire a brown color.

Ripening time

The crop ripening time varies depending on the variety and region of Russia where it is grown. For example, in the Moscow region, early-ripening varieties are most often grown, the harvest of which can be harvested as early as late July and early August. Among the varieties that are sown in fields in the Moscow region, the best are: Dobrynya, Lakomka 121, Early Golden 401, Spirit F1. They are distinguished by high yield, resistance to many diseases and ripen among the first among all varieties.

On average, it takes 65 to 150 days from germination to full maturity. The flowering period begins approximately at 60-65 days, but this depends on the variety, as well as the stage of milky ripeness occurs at 75-85 days. The term varies not only depending on the variety, but also on the region of Russia in which corn grows, as well as on the quality of care for it.

How to harvest

So, when you realize that the corn is ripe (in the Moscow region this period falls on the end of August and lasts almost until the end of September), it's time to harvest it. No special preparation is needed for this procedure, so harvesting will be easy and hassle-free.

Picking is best done early in the morning. Put on gloves first so you don't hurt your hands. Squeeze the cob in the palm of your hand, hold the stem with the other palm, pull the cob down and turn.

It should be noted that most sweet varieties lose their taste within a day after harvest. This means that the crop must be immediately sent for processing or eaten. However, there are tricks to keeping the beans sweet.

Place the cobs in a cool place, such as the vegetable compartment in the refrigerator. In this way, you will slow down the conversion of sugar to starch and keep the corn tasty for a week.

Considering that most varieties, especially hybrid ones, produce 2-4 ears per plant, pick them off gradually, keeping a harvest interval of at least 10 days.

When picking popcorn (in the Moscow region this period begins in mid-September), try to be in time before the onset of frost. Again, arm yourself with gloves and start breaking off the cobs. When the stems and leaves dry out, this procedure will not take you much time and effort.

Subsequently, popcorn is dried for at least 4 weeks, and it is better to stand 6-7 weeks to leave only a small amount of moisture in the kernels. They dry it by putting it in mesh bags, which are then hung in a warm room with good ventilation. At the end of the drying stage, the grains are separated from the cobs by scrolling it between the palms. This procedure is also recommended to be carried out with gloves so as not to damage the skin with the sharp edges of the grains.

Properly dried popcorn can be stored in airtight jars in a dark and dry place. High humidity will cause them to become damp and unusable.

Video "Determining the maturity of corn"

The author of this video demonstrates how and by what signs you can determine that it is time to harvest corn.

Corn. Cultivation and care. Garden Encyclopedia.

Description

Characteristics of corn

Corn is an annual plant of the bluegrass family. Internodes separated by stem nodes form a stem. The number of nodes can be different, depending on the growing conditions and variety. Early varieties of corn have 10 nodes, mid-season varieties have 13-14 nodes, and late varieties have 18-20 nodes. The height of an adult corn plant varies from half a meter to six meters. Late varieties are the tallest.

Corn is distinguished by its fibrous, highly branched root system. The length of the roots often reaches 250 cm. It is the roots that allow plants to receive the necessary amount of moisture and nutrients from the soil.

Corn has well-developed not only underground, but also superficial roots. These roots serve as a support for the plant, and can also take root and give an additional fibrous system.

Corn is a monoecious and dioecious plant, which can bear male and female flowers - panicles and cobs. Panicles, as a rule, bloom a week earlier than ears. The fruit of corn is a kidney-shaped caryopsis. The color of the grain varies from white or yellow to reddish and brown. The weight of the fetus can reach 400 grams. Corn blossoms in the second half of summer, and the fruits ripen from September to October.

Corn is a thermophilic crop. For seed germination, a temperature of at least + 10 ° C is required. Corn will grow and develop well at temperatures above + 22 ° C during the day and + 18 ° C at night. Even slight frosts can damage the plant in the early stages.

Corn does not require much moisture. Often, the moisture that has accumulated in the soil during autumn-winter precipitation is enough to form eight true leaves. Plants require a lot of water during flowering and maturation, as plants grow rapidly in height. And it is during this period that corn is more responsive than ever to watering and irrigation.

Light is very important for corn, it is a short daylight plant. Corn should grow in a site with good sunlight. And not the last role in this is played by regular weeding and sparse planting.

Good agricultural practices are very important when growing corn. And even the type of soil fades into the background. True, on fertile, neutral and loose chernozems with good breathability, corn grows very well.

Agrotechnics

Preparation of soil for corn begins in autumn with digging and applying organic matter and fertilizers - for every 10 m2, about 20 kg of rotted manure, 300 g of superphosphate and 100 g of potassium salt are applied. In spring, the soil is leveled with a rake, and then up to 200 g of nitrogen fertilizers are applied and the earth is loosened.

Seeds to be sown must be large. They need to be warmed up for a week at a temperature of 35 ° C, and then pickled with special preparations.

Corn is planted at the end of April. A little more than 20 g of seeds is usually spent on a plot of 10 m2, given that the row spacing is 70 cm and the distance between plants is 30 cm. The prepared wells are watered with water and planted in each of 3 or 4 grains. The seeds are then sprinkled with a 3 cm layer of earth.

Seedlings appear after a few days. As soon as the corn has risen, you need to loosen the soil and destroy the weeds. When four leaves appear, the seedlings must be broken through, leaving the most developed plant. A little later, when 5-6 leaves appear on the plant, you can feed. Add a solution of 50 g of ammonium nitrate and potassium salt and 100 g of superphosphate to the soil.

Often corn is planted in 2-3 terms, using varieties with different maturation periods. This practice allows you to get fresh cobs throughout the summer.

Maize should be watered abundantly at least four times in the 5-6 and 8-9 leaf phases, as well as in the panicle and grain filling phases. After each watering, the soil must be loosened by 10 cm, and the plants themselves should be well hilled. It is important to regularly remove emerging side shoots, the so-called stepchildren. If the stepchildren are not removed, the growth of the ears will slow down.

Mature corn cobs are harvested selectively, on average, every two days. Cobs are harvested that have reached milky and milky-wax ripeness, which occurs 20-25 days after flowering.

Corn is stored for a short time - within a day after harvesting, the cobs lose a quarter of sugar at room temperature. That is why the removed cobs must be immediately either boiled for eating or canned.

Secrets of successful corn cultivation

The key to successful cultivation of corn is the correct selection of varieties. The variety should correspond to the climatic conditions as much as possible and be resistant to various diseases and pests. If the variety is selected correctly, there will be no problems during cultivation, and the yield will be high.

Good agricultural practices are also extremely important when growing corn. Caring for corn is not only watering, removing weeds, hilling and fertilizing. If you set out to maximize the yield - carry out artificial dusting. Transfer pollen from male flowers to female flowers with gauze. This procedure must be carried out several times during the entire flowering period.

An important point in the cultivation of corn is fertilizer. This crop is quite sensitive to fertilizers of all types and needs them only during flowering and ear formation. However, this does not mean that corn practically does not need to be fertilized.

If the plants feel too much nitrogen, they will turn yellow and wither, and if they do not have enough phosphorus, the leaves will turn red. A lack of potassium will slow down the growth and development of plants, burns will appear on the foliage, and the cobs will be uneven in size.

When growing corn, crops must not be allowed to be thickened. This will lead to a lack of lighting, which, in turn, will seriously slow down the growth and development of plants. seedlings need to be thinned out already during the appearance of the second leaf.

Another simple and effective way to get a high yield is pinching plants in the 7-8 leaf phase.

Harvesting corn is not as easy as it might seem at first glance. To collect ripe cobs, you need to see the signals that the plant itself gives. First of all, ready-to-harvest cobs give out their even yellow color. There are no dents and wrinkles on the tops of the grains, and when pressed, their shells burst, an embryo jumps out of them and a milky liquid flows out.

Possible difficulties

Corn, like many other crops, is subject to the negative effects of pests and diseases. The stem borer is the most dangerous for corn. The insect is a rather large yellow-gray caterpillar - its length is 25 cm. The stem moth hibernates in weeds, and the butterflies fly out in early summer. Butterfly eggs are also laid on weeds, so it's important to remove them regularly.

Stem borer caterpillars feed on leaves, stems, panicles, cobs and caryopses, causing damage to plants and a significant reduction in yield.

Successful control of this pest lies in the competent implementation of agrotechnical measures. It is necessary to harvest corn in a phase of milky-wax ripeness in a timely manner. And if the crops are seriously affected by this pest, the site must be treated with chemicals - protectants.

Cotton bollworm is another very dangerous pest of corn. Butterflies lay their eggs on all parts of the plant. Caterpillars damage the panicles, penetrate under the wrapper and gnaw out the grains on the cob.

To protect plants from cotton bollworm, it is necessary to plant seeds as early as possible to avoid the development of larvae before the period of technical maturity of the crop. Also, a single treatment of plants with chemicals does not interfere.

Click beetle or wireworm larvae damage not only plant stems but also seeds and root systems. Only the shell remains in the seeds, wireworms leave round holes in the stems, and ulcers form on the roots.
If you carefully dig or plow the ground in the spring, removing the rhizomes of weeds, most of the wireworm larvae will die. But do not forget that even on cultivated fertile soils, crop rotation must be carried out.

Under no circumstances should you grow corn on the same plot for several days in a row, otherwise it will be difficult to get rid of wireworm larvae later.

There are many diseases in corn, but the most dangerous diseases are fusarium, blister and dust smut, cob and seed diseases, as well as viral diseases.

Fusarium shoots of corn is a fungal disease, its causative agents are fungi of the genus Fusarium. In affected plants, the roots and foliage turn brown and rot. The disease is dangerous because it can occur in a latent form, when the seedlings rot and die sharply.

Fusarium develops in unfavorable conditions for growing and storing corn, the development of the disease is favored by high air humidity and sharp fluctuations in temperature.

Fusarium control includes crop rotation, disinfection and treatment of seeds, observance of sowing and harvesting dates. After harvesting, the cobs must be dried, and during storage, a high level of air humidity should not be allowed.

Blisters and loose smut are also fungal diseases. Bubble smut affects the entire plant - foliage, stems, cobs and panicles, and loose smut - ears and panicles of corn.

Swellings of various shapes appear in diseased plants, changing their color. Over time, the swellings crack, and a dark liquid flows out of the cracks.

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