Plant · P-322

Sweet Corn

Zea mays

Sweet corn is the classic garden corn - picked and eaten fresh before the kernels dry, with popcorn, edible silks, and a cooking oil pressed from the seed as its lesser-known extras. It is by far the thirstiest plant in this reference, needing steady water through two make-or-break windows around tasseling and kernel fill; skimp on water then and the ears never fill out. Above about 90 F the sugar in the kernels converts to starch fast, so heat-adapted varieties, quick picking, and immediate chilling all matter more than they would for most vegetables. It is a heavy nitrogen feeder rather than a fixer, which is exactly why it is traditionally interplanted with climbing beans.