How to Grow Corn in Pots

Living in condominiums, townhouses and apartments prevent the homeowner or renter from having the space to grow a garden. The solution is to grow vegetables, such as corn, in pots, placing them on balconies, decks and stoops. Corn grows 3 to 7 feet high and offers privacy and a decorative touch to the living space. The maintenance and care of corn include its stalk, leaves, silky tassels and ears. Corn also requires scheduled fertilizer feeding and water to promote growth and to deter pests. Harvest the crop when long, silky tassels appear.

4 clay pots
Potting mix
10-10-10 fertilizer
Watering can
Corn seeds
Water-soluble fertilizer
Cooking pot
Storage bags
Insecticide

Instructions

- 1
  Place four 5-gallon pots that are 20 inches wide in an area with six hours of full sun each day.
- 2
  Fill the clay pots with well-drained potting mix. Add 10-10-10 fertilizer, and sprinkle water into the soil using a watering can.
- 3
  Plant three to four corn seeds in each pot, approximately 4 inches apart, and cover with 1 inch of soil.
- 4
  Thin out the 6-inch tall, newly grown sprouts by hand, removing the weaker sprouts. The remaining sprouts must be 8 inches apart in the pots.
- 5
  Water the sprouts daily. Apply water-soluble fertilizer once when the sprouts reach 2 feet in height. Silky tassels will appear three weeks after planting at the top of the corn. Shake the stalks when the tassels appear to help pollinate the plant.
- 6
  Harvest the corn when the ears are firm, the tassels brown and the kernels creamy and plump. Hold the stalk by hand below the ear, and twist the ear's tip toward the ground until it breaks. Shuck, desilk and cook the corn in a pot of boiling water for three minutes to preserve its natural sweetness. Remove the corn from the stove, and eat or freeze in storage bags.

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