Sweet corn is a favorite vegetable of many people, while it is popular to grow corn in gardens now. Do you want to eat corn from your own garden? Here are some tips for you to know about growing corn.
1) Preparations
Corn belongs to the grass family and pollinates its flowers with the help of the wind. So corn in blocks of short rows often harvest better than that in long and single rows.
Corn requires plenty of sunlight, so be sure to plant corn in a spot where there is full sun. Corn has a shallow root system, so avoid a spot where there is much strong wind.
Loosen the soil sufficiently with a garden tiller before sowing the seed. Then add a layer of manure and distribute it with a rake.
2) Add fertilizer
Add some nitrogen-rich fertilizer to the soil, as nitrogen is essential for corn to grow well.
Choose a mixed fertilizer which contains a total of 30 percent nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, each of them 10 percent. Add about 2kg of fertilizer per 30m of the planting row. Distribute the fertilizer evenly under the soil about 6cm deep with the garden tiller.
3) Soak the seeds
Dry seeds of corn may not germinate in the soil, so soak them in water indoors for a whole night.
4) Create rows
Stake the bed to create rows for the corn. Keep each row about 50-60cm apart from each other. To ensure better pollination, plant as many rows as possible and each row should not be so long.
5) Form furrows in soil
Draw a furrow first along each row and plant the corn seeds in the furrows. Keep the seeds 10-15cm apart as when they grow up, they will occupy much more space. To make sure there are good germination, you can plant two or three seeds. Then rake soil to cover the corn seeds 3-5cm deep.
6) Water and Protect
After planting the seeds, be sure to water the rows every week to keep the soil damp. It is essential for sweet corn to germinate well to absorb plenty of water. Water them at least 3cm every week if there is no rain.
Water them more often when the plants grow and the weather is warm. When the roots come out of the base, cover them with soil to protect them from being hurt.