How to Plant Corn

Learning how to plant corn is Easy-Breezy! Corn actually grows very well when seeded directly in the garden, started early indoors, or purchased as a small plant at a local lawn and garden shop. I love corn for this reason because I’m not the type of gardener who’s going to “baby” any of my plants or vegetables. If you’ve read through any of the info on this site, you’ll find that you’ve got to be a bit tough to survive in my backyard! :)

So if I can learn how to plant corn, I know you can too! Actually planting the corn is not the tricky part in producing a healthy crop...GROWING it can be a bit of a challenge...but more on that in a minute...

When deciding how to plant corn in your yard, you truly do have several options, even if you’re a novice gardener.

You can:

• Start the plant from seed indoors before the weather warms,
• Plant a small plant purchased from a garden center in the garden, or
• Plant the seed directly in the garden once the weather warms.

Start the plant from seed indoors: If you’re like many of us, you can’t wait to get planting come early spring! Unfortunately, the danger of frost has not yet past, and most plants cannot survive the nighttime temperatures prevalent in the springtime in Northern climates.

Because of this, many gardeners start their seeds indoors. I’m not going to go into detail about this, as there is much information about this on the web already, and I found a particularly great article about sowing seeds indoors (opens new window) that will help you get started. I loved the idea of using old cardboard egg cartoons as your starting container!! Follow these instructions, pushing the corn seeds in to about 1 inch in the soil. Corn seeds are not particularly delicate – they do not need to be soaked prior to planting, and they are not so small that they will get lost in the soil when you plant them. Follow the instructions for planting seeds indoors, taking no special precautions for the corn seeds other than to slide them into the soil.

Plant a small plant purchased from a garden center: This is probably my favorite option for planting a vegetable garden. Not only is it much easier to deal with baby plants than it is to deal with fragile seeds, but it’s also easier to see the plants once you’ve added them to your garden. When I plant seeds directly into the garden soil, I tend to forget where I put them. Then when the weeds start growing, I can’t tell what’s a delicate plant and what’s an invasive weed.

Simply loosen the soil where you want to add your plant, and take a bulb planter to pull up a couple of inches of soil, and create a hole that’s perfect for adding your new plant. Push the soil in around your plant somewhat firmly, and add a light mulch to retain water and deter weed growth. Shredded newspaper works well for this. Don’t forget to water your garden several times per week. When planting a vegetable garden, it is extremely important to keep your plants moist – dry plants do not produce fruits and vegetables!

And finally, how to plant corn seeds directly in the garden: Plant seeds 1-2 inches deep into the soil (I literally push a seed down into the prepared soil with the tip of my finger) planting the seeds about 4 to 6 inches apart. You can plant in the traditional rows, or in clusters. I prefer a non-traditional garden, so I just plant in clusters. Prettier that way! :)

When learning how to plant corn, be mindful of the outside temperature (particularly at night), and make sure that it is above at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, plant the corn in rows about 4 to 6 inches apart, or in groupings to ensure the pollination process occurs. (No pollination, no corn!)

And now the most important step! You will need to protect your corn from the squirrels (or raccoons, or possums, or rabbits...I’m not sure what’s taking down my corn, but I’m mad as all get out! The minute that those corn niblets appear, the stalk is torn down! And by the way...why is it that every farm in the state of Wisconsin can manage to grow rows upon rows of corn without incident, but I can’t manage to grow enough stalks in my own yard for a little Halloween decoration??? – I really only grow the corn for the stalks...but I digress...)

If anyone has a better suggestion, I’m all ears - but the way I’ve dealt with this “critter dilemma” is to put a fence (a light deer fence purchased from Menards or similar works well) around my garden. I have to protect the spinach and other goodies from the rabbits anyways, so why not?

And that’s it! I hope this has given you sufficient information on how to plant corn in your own yard. If you find a way to keep the squirrels away, please let me know. I did see one gardener hang shirts and pants from shepherds hooks in her garden. When the wind blew...so did the clothing, ideally scarring away the rabbits...Brilliant!

For more information on gardening, follow these links:

Basic Herb Garden
Best Time to Plant Strawberries
Childrens Garden
DIY Tips for Gardening
Gardening for Dummies
How to Lay Out a Garden
How to Plant Tomatoes
Organic Gardening for Beginners
Raised Bed Vegetable Gardening

As always, happy gardening!

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