Zea mays var. saccharata
Sweet corn
Common names: Sugar corn
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Spacing
- 40 cm, rows 50 cm
- Lifespan
- Annual
- Sowing
- Apr–May
- Harvest
- Aug–Oct
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below 0 °C
- Water need
- High
- For children
- Well suited
Photo: Rasbak at Dutch Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Description
Zea mays var. saccharata, commonly known as sweet corn, is a vegetable variety of maize that produces tender, sweet ears suitable for grilling and cooking. It is wind‑pollinated, so it should be planted in blocks of several short rows rather than a single long row to ensure even pollination. In a Three Sisters garden, it provides support for beans and shade for pumpkins.
Care instructions
Plant from early April or sow from mid‑May (week 20) directly into a block of at least four rows for optimal pollination. Water generously, especially during flowering and ear development, and lightly support the stalks to keep them wind‑resistant. Harvest when the silks turn brown and a pressed kernel releases milky white juice, this indicates peak sweetness.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingApr–May
HarvestAug–Oct
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 12 °C, ideally 24 °C
- Days to sprout
- 5 to 10 days
- Light
- Sprouts in light or dark
- Sowing depth
- 3 cm
- How to start
- Start indoors, then plant out
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
loamy, humus-rich, well-drained, nutrient-rich
Sweetcorn wants a deep, loose and humus-rich loam soil that drains water well. It does not tolerate waterlogging. Loosen the soil deeply before sowing so that the roots can grow downwards unhindered.
Sweetcorn is a heavy feeder, but is well tolerated in the rotation: a break of about 2 years is enough, and it fits well after legumes.
Feeding
Heavy feeder
Months
Mar, Apr, Jun, Jul
In spring, a few weeks before sowing, work ripe compost and horn shavings shallowly into the soil. That is the organic basic supply for the heavy feeder. When the plants are knee-high (June/July), give a nitrogen-rich top-up with diluted nettle manure for the main growing phase. Use only well-rotted material, no fresh manure at sowing.
Overwintering
Sweetcorn is annual and dies after the harvest; there is nothing to overwinter. Pull out the dead plants after the first frost and compost them. If you want your own seed, let individual cobs of an open-pollinated variety ripen and dry completely, remove the kernels and store them dry, cool and dark until sowing from mid-May (soil at least 10 °C).
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
You propagate sweetcorn exclusively from seed. Other methods make no sense with this annual grass species. You have two ways: direct sowing or raising indoors.
Direct sowing outdoors: Sow from mid-May at the earliest, when the soil has warmed to at least 12 °C (at 5 cm depth) and no more frosts are expected. Press two seeds per planting spot about 3 to 4 cm deep into the soil, spacing around 40 cm in all directions. Germination time at 20 °C is about 6 to 10 days. Pull out the weaker seedling later.
Raising indoors from the end of March/early April (recommended in cooler locations): Use single pots at least 10 cm deep with seed compost, two seeds per pot, about 4 cm deep. Place them bright and warm (room temperature is enough). After emergence, remove the weaker one. After the Ice Saints (mid-May), plant out with the root ball undisturbed, because sweetcorn does not tolerate root disturbance when repotting.
Block planting is a must: Sweetcorn is wind-pollinated. Plant at least four short rows side by side instead of one long row, so that the pollen from the male tassels reliably falls on the silks (styles) of the cobs. Poorly pollinated cobs stay gappy.
Varietal purity: The sweetcorn traits are recessive. If field maize or another maize variety flowers nearby, foreign pollen can turn individual kernels starchy and reduce the sugar content. Keep at least 300 to 500 m away from other maize varieties, or stagger the sowing dates so that the flowers do not open at the same time.
Seed for next year: If you want to collect your own seed, let selected cobs dry completely on the plant (kernels hard and dented), then rub them off and store them cool, dry and dark. With hybrid varieties (F1), raising from your own seed does not give plants true to variety. Better buy seed anew here or use open-pollinated varieties.
Companion planting
Good neighbors
Rather not
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
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