Type: Warm Season Annual • Family: Poaceae (Grass) • Sun: Full sun (8+ hours) • Water: High (especially during tasseling) • Soil pH: 6.0-6.8 • Hardiness: Tender annual—frost sensitive
Planting Calendar (Zone 6b/7a)
| Method | Timing | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Start indoors | Not recommended | Corn resents transplanting. Direct sow. |
| Direct sow | May 1 - June 15 | After soil 55°F+ (supersweet: 65°F+). Sow 1.5" deep, 8-12" apart in blocks (not single rows—wind pollination needs 4+ rows). Germination 7-14 days. |
| Transplant | N/A | Do not transplant corn. |
| Days to maturity | 70-95 days | |
| Succession plant | Every 2 weeks through mid-June, OR plant varieties with different maturity dates simultaneously |
Expected Yield
- Per plant: 1-2 ears per stalk
- Per 10' row: 12-24 ears per 10' row
- Per season: 30-60 ears per 10' row with succession
Growing Conditions
- Soil: Rich, well-drained loam. Very heavy feeder. 4-6" compost + balanced organic fertilizer. Corn is a grass—it needs nitrogen.
- Fertilizer: Heavy feeder, especially nitrogen. Side-dress with blood meal or feather meal when knee-high. Compost tea every 2 weeks. Fish emulsion as foliar feed.
- Companions: Beans (fix nitrogen, climb stalks—Three Sisters), squash (living mulch), sunflowers (windbreak), cucumbers (climb stalks)
- Avoid: Tomatoes (shared earworm), potatoes (different soil needs)
- Pests: Corn earworm (apply mineral oil to silk 5 days after pollination), European corn borer (Bt), raccoons (electric fence), birds, fall armyworm
- Diseases: Corn smut (remove and destroy—or eat as huitlacoche, a Mexican delicacy), Stewart's wilt (flea beetle control), rust
Heirloom & Recommended Varieties
'Golden Bantam'
The original sweet corn, 1902. 5-6" ears, golden yellow. Old-timey corn flavor—complex and corny. The standard of flavor.
'Silver Queen'
The Southern white corn standard. 8-9" ears, creamy white kernels. Late season. Very productive. The taste of Southern summer.
'Bodacious'
Excellent flavor—tender, sweet. 8" ears. Good cold soil emergence. One of the best-tasting hybrid sweet corns.
'Country Gentleman'
Shoepeg type—irregular kernel pattern, very deep kernels. White. Rich, creamy flavor. Old Southern favorite.
'Painted Mountain'
Developed in Montana for cold tolerance. Multiple colors. Can be eaten as sweet corn when young or dried for flour. Very cold hardy—good for early WV planting.
Cultural History & Domestication
Corn (maize) was domesticated from teosinte in Mexico at least 9,000 years ago—a feat of plant breeding unmatched in human history. Indigenous Mexican farmers transformed a grass with 5-12 hard seeds into the world's most productive grain crop. Sweet corn is a mutation causing sugar to accumulate instead of starch; it was discovered by Native American farmers. Golden Bantam, introduced in 1902, was the first named sweet corn variety.
Seed Saving
Corn is wind-pollinated and cross-pollinates readily. Isolation of 600+ feet or plant 2+ weeks apart. Save seed from at least 100 plants to maintain genetic diversity. Let ears dry on stalk. Shell when completely dry. Viability: 2-3 years (loses viability faster than most crops).
The Loop Farmstead Standard
- Compost: 1-2 inches annually (on-farm production)
- Cover crops: Rye + vetch (fall), buckwheat (summer), daikon (compaction)
- Wood chips: Pathways only (aged 2+ years for beds)
- Fall leaves: Mulch or compost browns
- Blood/bone meal: From farm-slaughtered animals
- Biochar: Charged with compost tea (permanent carbon)
- Wood ash: Light application from wood stove
- Eggshells: Crushed/powdered (slow calcium)
Never used: Synthetic fertilizers, mined minerals, gypsum, peat moss