Dates for Planting Corn

Specifications

• For corn seeds to germinate and begin growing into corn plants, soil temperatures must be a minimum of 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Optimal temperatures range between 60 and 95 degrees.

Time Frame

• Corn planting should be postponed until approximately two weeks after the average date of the final killing frost. This does not mean you must wait until the final frost in your area, only that you should plant two weeks after the average date of the final frost, as plants will take approximately 11 days to emerge from the soil.

Considerations

• Pick up an item at the grocery store and chances are it contains corn by-products or was fed by corn. Using such high volumes of corn each year for food additives and food stock for chicken and cattle has led scientists to create hybrid corn varieties. Hybrid corn is capable of earlier planting, allowing farmers to double crop during the growing season for increased yield. In Iowa, where most farmland is used as corn fields, planting often occurs between April 20 and May 5.