How to Plant Corn in Square Plots

Eating fresh-picked corn on the cob is a summertime treat. Growing corn in your garden provides your own supply of corn. Cultivating it yourself allows you to know how it was handled at each stage of the growing process. Corn is a wind-pollinated crop, so it grows best when planted in tight formation. Planting corn in a square plot is an effective way to achieve wind pollination.

Mechanical tiller
Compost
Fertilizer

Instructions

- 1
  Till the soil with a mechanical tiller. Till a square plot at least 4 feet long and 4 feet wide.
- 2
  Apply 2 to 4 inches of compost on top of the plot, and run the tiller over the plot again to mix the compost into the soil.
- 3
  Fertilize the plot with a chemical 24-8-8 fertilizer or use an organic fertilizer, such as fish emulsion. The 24-8-8 is the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium in the fertilizer.
- 4
  Plant the seeds between 1 and 1-1/2 inches deep in the soil. Place the seeds 8 to 12 inches apart in rows 12 inches apart.
- 5
  Water the plot. The amount needed depends on the type of soil and the amount of rain that has fallen. Keep the soil moist, especially when the ears are developing. Water the plot by hand, with a sprinkler or an irrigation system. It's best to water the plants in the evening, as it allows the water to seep into the soil rather than evaporate in the hot midday sun.

Why Do Corn Plants Flower?

Suckers Growing on Corn Plants

Growing Corn