Perhaps you love gardening and you now have thought that you may venture into growing corn in your backyard, but if you’re completely new to growing corn you may not even be sure if it’s worth growing and what you can expect.
Corn is worth growing if you live in an area where the weather is sunny in the Summer, you have loose fertile soil, you pick the right variety of corn, you spend sufficient time preparing and planting, and take care of the plants. Expect to plant about 9 plants per person to cover your family’s needs.
How difficult is it to grow corn
Corn can be tricky to grow, which is the reason why much care must be exercised when you are in the process of planting your corn.
Corn can be damaged during times of frost. This is the reason why you need to be aware of when the frost comes to your area so that you do not plant corn in your garden prematurely during such periods.
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Also, corn really does not like to be transplanted. This is the reason why it is wise for those who live in areas with a short season for growing vegetables to be sure to commence the growing of the corn indoors and to apply the usage of pots that are biodegradable.
When the corn is placed in pots that are biodegradable, you will place the whole pots into the soil of the garden. This will prevent the roots from being disturbed at the time that you transplant the corn.
The corn should be able to thrive then if you follow this procedure. The soil should be at least 60 °F (15.5 °C) before you decide to plant your corn, as this is the temperature that is required for the process of the germination of the seeds of the corn to take place.
If you find that the weather is remaining rather cool, it is a good idea to place black plastic on top of the soil in the area where you intend to plant the corn, as this will help to speed up the process of the soil warming up.
How long does it take to grow your own corn?
It will usually take a period of sixty days to as much as one hundred days for your corn to grow. This is because there are many different varieties of corn that have a wide range of growing periods.
You will be able to tell that your corn is ready to gather when you notice that the ear of the corn has become a dark green color and the silk has become brown in color.
Also, the kernels of the corn will tend to be plump as well as soft. When you squeeze the kernels of the corn, the juice should be milky in appearance instead of being clear. These are all signs that your corn is done growing and ready to enjoy.
You can pick your corn by gripping the ear of the corn and then twisting it in a downward motion to remove it from the stalk.
In general, your corn is ready to pick around twenty days following the appearance of the silks of the ears of the corn. It is best to pick your corn during the morning. Then you should immediately immerse the ears of corn into water that is quite cold, as this helps the corn to remain pleasantly sweet.
Does corn grow back every year?
Since it is not a perennial type of crop, but rather an annual type of crop, corn doesn’t grow back every year. Therefore, you must go through the process of planting each year if you want to be able to enjoy some tasty corn.
Is it worth the effort?
Those who love the taste of freshly picked corn find that it is truly worth the effort to grow it in their backyard. Growing your own often means that the corn has a much more pleasant taste than the corn that you buy in the grocery store, and you know that exactly how it was grown. You can be sure that your corn is top quality.
If you don’t consume fresh all the corn you’ve grown, you can also freeze it for the rest of the year. Or if you prefer it, and you want to take culinary arts to the next level, you can even make your own corn flour.
Just the fact that you know that everything started with a single seed is highly rewarding on several levels. Your very own corn is a story in itself.
How much does corn yield?
In most circumstances, you can anticipate that you will get around two to four ears of corn per plant. When planting, you should calculate with six to twelve plants of corn per person. That means that you would have a total of thirty to sixty plants for a family of five.
If you follow through to plant the recommended amount of corn, you should be able to anticipate anywhere from sixty ears of corn to as much as two hundred and forty ears of corn, based on how many corn plants you have and based on how many ears of corn the plants produce. If you plant thirty corn plants and each one yields two ears of corn, that would give you sixty ears of corn.
But if you plant the highest recommended number of corn plants, which is sixty for a family of five members, then you could see as much as two hundred and forty ears of corn if each plant yields four ears of corn per plant.
| Family size | Plants of corn | Ears of corn expected (approx) |
| 1 | 6 – 12 | 27 |
| 2 | 12 – 24 | 54 |
| 3 | 18 – 36 | 81 |
| 4 | 24 – 48 | 108 |
| 5 | 30 – 60 | 135 |
| 6 | 36 – 72 | 162 |
| 7 | 42 – 84 | 189 |
| 8 | 48 – 96 | 216 |
How much time does it take to care for corn per week?
Besides water and weed-free soil, corn doesn’t require much attention from you. If you’re only growing for your family and you have automated the watering, expect to spend less than half an hour per week taking care of the plants mostly weeding them. Weeding around the corn plants is necessary, because weeds steal water and nutrients in the soil from the corn plants.
If you plant an acre of corn, you could expect to spend three to four hours taking care of it, but in this case, you’re probably looking at an automated process.
Are there types of corn that are better growing than others?
If you want corn that is easy to grow, especially if you are new to growing corn, then you should consider Ambrosia Hybrid. This corn is supremely decadently sweet. It requires lots of sunshine and will be ready to harvest in about seventy-five days.
Blue Hopi corn has beautiful dark bluish kernels. This corn will be ready to harvest in around one hundred to one hundred and ten days. The taste of this corn is pleasantly sweet. It can even be dried for the purpose of making flour. In fact, this corn flour is ideal to create tortillas.
What climate is it worth thinking about growing corn?
If you live in a climate that is sunny and warm with fertile soil, then that is the climate where corn will thrive. Corn needs lots of sun, lots of warmth and soil that is truly fertile with lots of nitrogen.
Happy growing!
