Jan–MarApr–JunJul–SepOct–Dec
Planting
Days to maturity
Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
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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.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 2–11
- Soil
- Loam · Clay
- Moisture
- Well-Drained · Moist
Vertical layer
Herbaceous- Soil pH
- 5.8–7
- Plant type
- Annual
- Mature height
- 4–5 ft
- Mature spread
- 12–24 in
- Plant spacing
- 12 in
- Root type
- Fibrous-shallow
- Spread pattern
- None
Keep exploring
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Aloe Vera
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The deeper layer
Plan what comes next.
- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
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- Byproduct
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Behind the record
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