Corn Crops Like It Hot

For corn crops to be prolific in vegetable gardens, you will need to plant the corn every two to three weeks. You could also plant early, midsummer and late varieties to have corn to harvest all summer long. The most popular seed corn is sweet or super sweet corn. Crops of corn want the weather hot, especially for seeding. The crops prefer long, hot summers. Corn grows best from seed, rather than trying to get a start on the plants. Corn doesn’t transplant well and must be started when the soil is at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

Plant seeds two inches deep with four to six seeds per foot, and three feet between rows. Take special caution with corn production when your crops are seeded. They must be kept at least three feet apart in order to avoid the number one problem that happens to corn crops, overcrowding. When the corn plants are too close to one another, they will die.

The pollination of the corn plants occurs by wind action, which is part of the reason why it is necessary to keep them apart. Wind pollination is another reason why careful seeding is important when planting corn varieties. If different corn varieties, such as dent corn, which is a crop for animal feed and is distinguished by the dent on the top of each kernel, are planted too closely to sweet corn, cross pollination could occur and cause problems. Continuous water for corn is necessary, especially before the harvest.

Techniques for Crop Care

The Native American method for growing corn, one of their staple diet items, was to plant pumpkins and squash closely to protect the roots of the corn. This method of vegetable plants being grown in the same garden space in order to protect the growing process of the corn plants in a symbiotic relationship is not unique. It works excellently with the growing of corn, as it not only protects the roots, it inhibits weed growth and helps to retain water. Doing your own weeding of the crops is a careful task as you must be careful not to damage the roots of the corn.

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