Growing Corn - Benefits and Instructions

 

Benefits of Growing Corn

  • Health Benefits - Choosing corn and whole-grain corn products -- rather than food that has processed white flour -- can lead to better gut health and help lower your chances of getting diseases like cancer, heart disease and diabetes. The fiber in corn helps you stay full for longer between meals. It also feeds healthy bacteria in your digestive tract, which may help protect against colon cancer.
  • Nutritional Profile -  Corn is rich in vitamin C,B,E, and K and is high in fibre.
  • Use in: Soups, stews, chilis, fresh eating, cornmeal, popcorn.

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Growing Instructions for Corn

Culture:

Sun Exposure: Choose a full sun location. 
Soil: Corn is a heavy feeder and requires fertile, well-drained soil with pH of 6.0-6.5. Prepare the soil by working in well-rotted manure or other organic matter. A side dressing of nitrogen, applied when plants are about knee high, will give corn an added boost in growth. Try bloodmeal, partially rotted manure or a liquid fertilizer.
Moisture: Corn needs plenty of moisture. Hill soil around the base of the plant when they are 6 inches high. This will help to anchor the plants and keep the roots covered and cool. Use a mulch to keep down weeds and conserve moisture.
Planting: Corn is wind pollinated, so it must be planted in a block of several rows for even pollination. Thin the seedlings to 10-12 inches as ears will be greatly reduced in size or not form at all on crowded plants. Ornamental corn must be isolated from sweet corn. Planting in cool soil will set back seedlings, especially if a frost is still possible. It is best to plant when the soil has warmed to 21-24˚C. Plant several different varieties of varying maturities to ensure a longer season of harvest.
Spacing:   Plant 4 corn plants per square foot of growing space using Square Foot Gardening Method.  Or plant in rows 24-32 inches apart.
Sow seeds Sow seed 3-4 inches apart and about 1⁄2 inches-1 inch deep

 

Harvesting:

Corn is ready when the ears are completely filled and a pierced kernel shows a milky white liquid. A good sign of readiness is when the silk turns brown and crisp.

Storage/Preparation:

Corn can be preserved in many different ways. The most common ways being freezing, canning and pickling. You can also remove the kernels from the cobs and dry them in a food dehydrator or a low oven for a longer shelf life. This is also how to prepare popcorn varieties.  Another common practice is to dry out the corn cobs after the kernels have been removed and use the cobs as fire starters or to smoke certain types of food.

Companions:

Bush bean, beet, cabbage, cantaloupe, cucumber, parsley, pea, early potato, pumpkin, squash.

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