Home-Grown Corn: How Sweet It Is!

It's about that time of year when my mouth starts watering for just-picked sweet corn. You know the stuff: the type of corn that practically melts in your mouth. Who needs corn pops cereal when there are these super sweet corns on the market?

If you've never tried to grow your own corn, you're missing all this and more. Of course, you can grow corn anywhere, but there's still plenty of time to plant it throughout California. Our El Nino-influenced weather has kept things unusually cool, which is bad for most gardens but makes it great for home gardeners who tend to put things off. The result? Go ahead and still plant corn.

That doesn't mean there aren't a few picky pointers when it comes to home-grown corn. For instance, first and foremost, corn is a hog -- at least in terms of garden space. Corn requires plenty of space and as much sun as you can give it. For best results, plant corn in blocks of a minimum of four rows. Short rows are better than long rows in terms of increasing pollination. Short, so-called "block" planting encourages pollination the most.

Secondly, corn is a hog when it comes to its relatively high level of nitrogen required, and moderate amounts of potassium and phosphorus. And have I mentioned water? Corn is also a hog when it comes to watering. I always make sure my corn planting has plenty of organic matter, including steer manure to get it off to a good start. I also supplement the soil with a little sulphate of ammonia (22-0-0).

Getting back to water, corn needs plenty of it, particularly just before the appearance of the silk and a couple weeks after the silk turns brown. This constitutes the kernel-filling stage. Also, avoid overhead watering of plants with sprinklers. Corn is wind-pollinated -- the pollen drifting from the tassels to the silks. If the tassels or silks are wet, the pollen won't leave the tassel or will be washed down to the soil hampering any chances of pollination. Of course, deep watering always is better than "teasing" your corn plants with sprinkling.

If all this hasn't turned you off, just keep thinking of the best part: eating just-picked corn. Hybrid varieties of corn that have been developed over the past 50 years really make corn the poster child for hybrids. That's because corn hybrids have that innate extra vigor when compared to open-pollinated plants. This means plants that are stronger, more uniform and more productive, as well as allowed for the development of much more tender corn that is sweeter, too.

Recent breeding enhancements has given us sugar enhanced (often labeled SE or SE+) and supersweets (marked by sh2, which refers to the shrunken kernel size of their seeds). These types start out sweeter and stay sweeter much longer than regular sweet corn. If you really like sweet corn, go with these new types. Be aware, though, that the supersweets require warmer temperatures for germination, which shouldn't be a problem in most parts of California this time of year.

Some popular supersweet hyrbids have names like "Kandy Korn," "How Sweet It Is" and "Super Sweet." Personally, some of these supersweets are even too sweet for my sweet tooth. Other more traditional varieties include: "Silver Queen" and "Golden Jubilee." Check out seeds at the nursery or mail-order catalog. Thanks to our extra-long growing season in California, there's still plenty of time to plant a summer crop.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more tips on growing home-growing corn, check out the Extension Horticulture Information Resource.

The North Dakota State University Extention Service also has information on corn .

For some corn production facts, try the Ohio Corn Marketing Program.