How to Grow Hybrid Seed Corn

Mark out an area on the north side of your garden, going east to west, for the corn rows. By doing so, other vegetables you plant will not be in the shade of the tall corn stalks.

Dig up the soil to about 1 foot deep, using a garden shovel. Pour compost, 2 inches thick, over the top of the soil. Work it into the soil, down to the 1-foot depth, with your shovel and rake. Smooth the area even, using your rake.

Place the point of your garden hoe at the northwestern edge of your garden. Pull a line about 3 inches deep as you make a row towards the east. Let the soil fall to the inside, or south, of the row. Make another hoe line about 8 inches to a foot parallel and south of the initial one. This is your first garden row, with a moat on each side. Make as many additional garden rows as needed, leaving a 2-foot path between them.

Push holes into the top of each garden row with your finger. Make the holes an inch deep and 4 to 6 inches apart. Drop a hybrid corn seed in each one. Smooth the soil over the top of each corn seed hole.

Wet the hybrid corn rows with a fine mist from a hose misting nozzle. Be careful not to spray so hard that the seeds become unearthed. Spray the garden rows as often as needed to keep the soil moist. The need for misting will vary according to the weather in your location. The soil must be kept moist for the seeds to germinate.

As soon as the hybrid corn seeds germinate--or sprout through the soil--you may begin to water directly into the moat without the misting hose nozzle. Water about once a day. Water more often if the weather is especially hot and dry.

Use a general all-purpose, organic fertilizer on the hybrid corn plants about two weeks after planting the seeds. Add more fertilizer about every two to three weeks after that, until the corn is ready to harvest. It's ready to harvest when the ears are full, about 20 days after corn silk is first visible.