Corn needs fertile soil with a lot of compost/manure. Corn is wind pollinated so you should grow at least 16 corn plants (plant in a block – not in a row) so that enough pollen from the tassels will land on the silks to pollinate all of the kernels to produce full ears of corn. Not enough space for 16 plants? You can hand pollinate your corn (look online for instructions). Plant corn seeds after the soil has warmed to at least 65F (5/20-6/15). Plant seeds 6” apart in rows 36” apart (thin plants to 12” apart). Plant at least 4 rows of 4 plants in a block. Days to germination: 3-12. This variety of corn has short plants so don’t grow pole beans on it or the beans may take over the corn.
Harvest sweet corn in the milk stage when kernels are fully filled out but are still soft and are not starting to become starchy or firm.
Corn is a difficult seed saving crop. Corn suffers from inbreeding depression if seed is saved from too few plants. Minimum population size: 100 plants. Corn is cross pollinated and will cross with all other corn varieties. It is wind pollinated which can carry pollen for several miles so corn seed can be contaminated by GMO field corn. Isolate corn from other varieties by at least 2 miles. Harvest seed from the interior (as opposed to the outer rows) to help minimize crossing.
Our Recommendations with Top Hat Organic Sweet Corn
