Corn blog post

Corn: How to Grow and When to Plant in Your Backyard or Patio Garden!

Although corn isn't the most practical thing for us to grow, it's still one of our favorites because it's such a fun thing to have in the backyard. Plus you can't match the taste of freshly grown corn! It is important to have at least a few rows of corn so that they can pollinate each other.
Although corn isn’t the most practical thing for us to grow, it’s still one of our favorites because it’s such a fun thing to have in the backyard. Plus you can’t match the taste of freshly grown corn! It is important to have at least a few rows of corn so that they can pollinate each other.

How to Grow:

Corn can be planted outdoors after the last spring frost and throughout the summer up until 14 weeks before your first fall frost. You can see specific dates for your location using our FREE iOS, Android, and Universal Web App.

Corn seeds are planted 1-2 inches deep, 4 per square foot, in full sun. Take care to notice what plants are around the area as well, see the companion plant section below. Corn typically sprouts within 5-10 days. Water weekly, more often in hot weather.

Companion Plants:

Companion planting is a vital part of organic gardening. Companion plants assist in the growth of others by attracting beneficial insects, repelling pests, or providing nutrients, shade, or support. There are also plants that do not like being next to each other. Some plants get too tall and can provide too much shade for your plant. Sometimes certain plants attract the same pests, so it is important to try and separate these.

         Good Bad
Acorn Squash Mustard Greens Eggplant
Arugula Nasturtiums Tomatoes (Bush & Vine)
Beans (Bush & Pole) Oregano  
Butternut Squash Peas  
Cabbage Potatoes  
Cantaloupe Pumpkin  
Cucumbers Southern Peas (Black-Eyed Peas)  
Dill Spaghetti Squash  
Goji Berries Spinach  
Honeydew Summer Squash (Zucchini)  
Lettuce Sunflowers  
Luffa (Loofah) Tarragon  
Marigolds Watermelon  
Marjoram    

 
See companion plants for 80+ foods in our FREE iOS, Android, and Universal Web app!

Pests:

Pests can be one of the most difficult challenges you face in the garden. We strive to grow food without the use of pesticide and luckily there are natural solutions for most of these nasty pests! The pests listed below are common ones for corn:

Learn more about how to manage pests and attract beneficial insects in our FREE iOS, Android, and Universal Web App!

Harvesting:

Start checking daily once the ears feel full and the silky parts turn brown. You can test the corn before harvesting by pulling back the husk, piercing a kernel with your thumbnail and seeing if a milky substance comes out. Use one hand to hold the stalk while harvesting to prevent damage.

Cooking & Eating!

Use the corn the same day you harvest it for the best flavor. Refrigerate or freeze any unused corn. Freezing is recommended to retain the best flavor.

 

Learn more about growing over 80 different foods, including how to manage various pests in our FREE iOS, Android, or new Universal Web App!

corn

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3 thoughts on “Corn: How to Grow and When to Plant in Your Backyard or Patio Garden!

  1. I was surprised by how many small parcel of manually harvested corn there were in Oklahoma. I do not remember seeing large crops of it, but there were many small cornfields scattered about. There may have been large crops that were harvested and gone by the time we got there. The small parcels that I saw were still standing because they had been manually harvested. I do not know what it was for, but it must have been for small markets. It got my attention because corn is only grown here as a large irrigated crop. I did not investigate how it was grown in Oklahoma.

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