Corn Seed Spacing & Planting Depth

Planting Season

• All corn plants are sensitive to frost. Find the last average date of the spring frost in your region and then wait 10 to 20 days after that date before directly sowing seed kernels into the garden soil. Overly cold soil retards growth of seedlings. Late frosts will kill seedlings.

Soil Preparation

• One to two weeks before you anticipate planting corn, till the garden soil to a depth of 6 to 12 inches with a rototiller or garden shovel. Break apart soil clumps. Consider adding compost to the planting bed.

Planting Options

• Two options for corn planting exists: rows or hills. A row is a straight-line furrow made of any length in the garden. A hill is a shallow hole basin filled with multiple seeds. Hills may be arranged in rows. Corn plants are wind-pollinated and produce better cobs if the plants are close together. Rather than one long row, create a blocklike area of several rows or plants to facilitate better pollination. For example, rather than one 12-foot-long row, create three 4-foot-long rows.

Planting Depth

• Whatever planting option you choose, an acceptable and optimal planting depth remains between 1 to 1.5 inches deep. Planting too shallowly diminish moisture available to the germinating seed. Planting too deeply prevents the seedling from emerging. In heavier soils like loam or clay, plant seeds slightly shallower at 1 inch. In looser, sandy soils, plant seed at 1.5 inches.

Spacing

• In row planting, place corn seeds every 12 inches. In planting a hill, position the three or four seeds about 5 inches apart in the shallow, wide basin. Budget 30 to 36 inches between rows and hills to allow ample room for future plant growth, access for weeding and, once ready, harvesting.