Growing Corn

Sweet Corn/Maize
Corn originated in America and was grown by the Indians; it belongs to the grass family.

There are a number of heirloom varieties of sweet corn and maizes with different shapes and sizes. There are golf ball shapes, bantam and lady-finger shapes. There are a large variety of colours; multi coloured, blue, red, white, purple and the typical golden yellows and not forgetting 'pop corn'.
Eden Seeds carries a good variety of the old traditional open pollinated seeds,(heirloom seeds). They also have a new seed catalogue coming out shortly.

When to Plant
The best time to sow corn seed is the end of August and September (early to late spring). Before planting out your corn, soak the seeds in a container of water overnight. You can either sow the seeds directly into the garden, 25mm deep (1"), 150mm apart (6") and in rows around 300mm (1') apart, or in seed trays.

By sowing your corn seed directly into the garden you do not necessarily get a 100% strike; you may have breaks in your rows. Try growing your corn in seed trays or in punnets, then transplant the seedlings out into the garden, when they are 50 to 75mm tall. You will then have complete rows.

Corn needs to be planted closely in a group to facilitate pollination. Plant a hand span apart. You could also try planting your corn in a circle. Another way to plant corn is to hoe out 6-off rows 150mm deep x 2m/s long, fill with chopped up comfrey leaves, (if you don't have any comfrey use compost). Cover over with soil, then sow your corn seeds 25mm deep/150mm apart and water them in (a good soak).

Corn likes lots of compost, comfrey, old animal manures, liquid fertilisers and heaps of mulch (around the main stem of the plant) give them a good soak around the roots, every second day, depending on the weather conditions.

If you have a small garden and are in need of space, you could also plant climbing beans and cucumbers in between the rows of corn, the beans and cucumbers will climb up the corm stems, making a temporary trellis. The seed for the beans and cucumbers need to be sown out at the same time as the corn.

Hints and Tips
A good tip is, once the corncob has been pollinated (the corncob tassels have gone brown and you can feel the cob forming) cut the top flower off about a 100mm up from the cob. Hopefully this will let the plant concentrate on feeding the cob, making it grow larger and sweeter.

Wind
A problem for the home gardener is wind. Your corn is growing great, nearly as high as an elephants' eye when along comes the wind and down goes your best crop of corn or, worse still you are out in the middle of a storm trying to stand it up with sticks and a ball of string.

One way that will save you all that stress is, after you have planned out where you are going to grow your supper crop of corn, hammer in tomato stakes or bamboo sticks every 1.8 metres apart, around the perimeter and down the centre of the corn plot. When the plants are a 1 metre high, horizontally tie (with wire) a stake or bamboo stick on to the stakes, like a top rail on a fence. As the corn grows, lift the horizontal rail higher; this will more than support your corn from strong winds.

Pest
Corn earworm is the major pest for sweet corn. They munch on the top of the cob working their way down. You don't realise that they are there until it's too late. Sometimes they will leave a telltale sign that they are there, by leaving a sawdust trail on the top/outside of the cob.
If you see this sawdust trail pull the top of the cob apart, grab the grub and squash it, or you could feed it to the chooks. Don't just throw it on the ground as it will continue its cycle. Re-cover the cob, wrap an elastic band around the top of the cob. This will stop the cob from drying out and stop other bugs getting in.

Saving Seed
'Corn Seed' being an 'air pollinated plant' needs at least a 2 kilometre distance between crops as corn will easily cross pollinate with the local farmer or your neighbours crops. If this happens, there goes your true to type seed.

If you are going to save seed ensure it has not been cross pollinated or that it is not seed from a hybrid plant as hybrid varieties may not produce fertile seed. If you use these seeds you won't know until it's too late and the cobs have not pollinated, this could take up to eight weeks.
Please ensure that the seed is from a healthy non-hybrid plant - an 'old variety'.
If you don't know, don't use that particular seed for the next season's crop, buy fresh seed.

To save corn seed pick the earliest and the best-developed corncob, cover with a large enough paper bag and tie the top to keep the bugs and grubs out.
Do not use a plastic bag as the cob needs to breathe. Allow the cob to develop and dry out on the stalk as long possible. To store the cobs remove them from the bag, pull back the husks and hang in a dry area, away from vermin or you will end up with a dried out corncob with no seed.

When the cobs are fully dried out break-off the seed, store in a paper bag and keep in a cool place, the bottom of the fridge is a good spot. Good seed should be viable for at least a couple of seasons (two years).

You can buy non-hybrid seeds from Eden Seeds a $1.80 a packet contact no 1800 188 199.

Diseases.
Diseases that attack Corn are mainly fungi and viruses.
Crops planted late in the season are more than likely to develop these diseases. Providing you plant out your crop at the right time of the year and have a happy well composted garden, use liquid fertilisers and rotate your crops, you will have healthy strong plants.

With having healthy strong plants there will no need for any control methods.

Storing Corn.
A corn crop matures all at the same time. Fortunately corn freezes very well. Freeze the corn when it is at its very best and, to ensure the highest nutritional value, as soon as possible after it has been picked.

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Drop in prepared corn cobs, don't overcrowd, and leave them in the boiling water for seven minutes - that is actual time, not after the water comes back to the boil. Drain and cool as quickly as possible by running under cold water and then standing in iced water. Pat dry.
You may like to freeze a few whole cobs but I prefer to scrape the corn off the cob. It has more uses this way, keeps better and takes up less room in your freezer. Pack the corn kernels in plastic bags in meal sized portions. Pat the bags flat, remove any air and seal. Spread packets out in the freezer so they freeze as quickly as possible. It takes a bit of time and room so if you have a huge amount of cobs, do the picking and preserving over two or three days.

If you don’t have a freezer you will be popular with your friends and neighbours for a few weeks or you could try corn relish; -
One litre cider vinegar, 220 grams sugar, one quarter of a white cabbage, two onions, two capsicums (vary the colours), one kilo of corn kernels, two tablespoons cornflour.

One teaspoon of salt, one teaspoon turmeric and three teaspoons of mustard.
Chop and shred the onions, cabbage and capsicum very finely. Bring the vinegar, sugar and condiments to the boil. Add the vegetables and bring back to the boil. Add the flour dissolved in a little water. Simmer the mixture gently, stirring often, until it becomes thick - about 30-40 minutes.
Pour the relish into hot sterile jars and put lids on loosely. Screw the lids tightly down when the relish has cooled.
The jars can be heating (and sterilising) in the oven while you cook the relish.

Corn is delicious and nutritious and well worth the effort of growing.