How to Grow Sweet Corn From Seed

Sweet corn is a type of maize with a higher sugar concentration than most other varieties, which is what gives it its sweet flavor. Farmers and home gardeners like growing sweet corn for the taste as well as its high yields and quick harvest. Large gardens and acreages are the best places to grow sweet corn because the seeds must be planted in several large rows. Each stalk will only produce a few ears of corn, so for a generous harvest you need to grow many stalks of corn.

Things You'll Need

• Spade, plow or rototiller
• 12-12-12 fertilizer
• Garden hose or sprinklers
• Mulch, compost or peat moss

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Instructions

1. • 1

     Prepare the soil by using a spade, plow or rototiller to break up the clods and clumps in the first 6 inches of soil.

   • 2

     Apply 4 to 5 pounds of 12-12-12 fertilizer for ever 100 square feet of soil.

   • 3

     Plant sweet corn seeds 1 inch deep and space them 1 foot apart. Plant seeds in four to six rows spaced 32 inches apart.

   • 4

     Provide the corn with 1 inch of water per week. Lay down compost, mulch or peat moss if your soil is drying out too quickly between waterings.