How to Grow Hydroponic Corn

Corn being grown indoors with a hydroponic system.

Corn can be grown hydroponically either indoors or out. Corn consumes a lot of vertical space, so that of course should be considered if planning to grow it indoors. Anticipate that the corn stalks will reach seven feet in height. You’ll not only need the 7-foot clearance, but an adequate separation between the grow lights … Read more

Why Corn Stalks and Leaves Turn Red and How to Prevent It

Corn plant with red stalk and leaves with husk opened on the cob showing badly formed kernels.

Corn plants will sometimes turn red to reddish-purple, generally later in the season. That’s not something you really want to see when you’re anticipating roasting or boiling some juicy ears of sweet corn. The redness is indicative of a sugar accumulation in the leaves and stalks which results from too few kernels being developed on … Read more

Plant Profile: Sugar Pearl Sweet Corn Hybrid

Close up of freshly harvested sugar pearl sweet corn ears.

Sugar Pearl is an early producing hybrid white sweet corn. As the name suggests it is pearly white and sugary sweet. Stalks attain a height of about 5 to 6 feet and yield ears of 7 – 7.5 inch pearly white sweet corn. It is a relatively trouble-free variety of corn suitable for gardeners with … Read more

Sweet Corn Planting Guide

Close up of two ears of sweet corn ready for harvesting.

How to Grow Sweet Corn Fresh home grown sweet corn, straight off the stalk is undeniably the best you’ll ever taste. Utilizing simple time-tested techniques, you can use a limited garden space effectively to grow an abundance of this classic American staple crop . Annual USDA Zones 3 – 11 Botanical Name: Zea Mays Full … Read more

How to Grow Corn in Containers

Corn plants growing in a large plastic pot.

Zea Mays     Zones: 3-11     Full Sun     Soil pH 5.5 – 7.0 Fresh home grown sweet corn, straight off the stalk is undeniably the best you’ll ever taste. Utilizing simple time-tested techniques, you can use a limited garden space effectively to grow an abundance of this classic American staple crop. Anything can be grown in a container and corn, … Read more

Identification and Control of the Corn Earworm

A corn earworm eating the kernels on the tip of a corn cob.

Larvae – The Corn earworm/ tomato fruitworm and sometimes called the cotton bollworm varies in color from light green or pink to dark gray but are generally lighter on their undersides and have alternating light and dark stripes along the length of their bodies. The young larvae clip off silks and then proceed into the ear … Read more

Best Companion Plants for Corn

Shucked sweet corn cobs in a gardener's hand.

Companion Planting is the placement of various crops in close physical proximity to one another so as to symbiotically compliment each others health, vigor, growth and the flavor of their produce. It also naturally involves separating plants whose development is antagonistic to each other. A plant that attracts a certain class of insect pest, fungal or … Read more

Grow Corn in Drought

Tips & Techniques to Grow Corn in a drought The only true drought resistant plants are those that evolved in a dessert environment. deep-rooted Desert Trees survive months without rain by extending their roots deep into underground aquifers. Cactus have the ability to subsist on minimal moisture and store more in their fibrous membranes. There … Read more

How to Preserve Sweet Corn After Harvest

Corn being cut off the cob in preparation of freezing.

Fresh Sweet corn is always the best. Canned and frozen corn simply can not match the crisp sweet tastiness of corn straight off the cob. In a perfect world, everyday is Sunday and every season is summer, suitable for fresh corn on the cob. Unfortunately we do not live in a perfect World. If you … Read more