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🔍 Click to enlargevegetableannual
Corn
Zea mays
Nothing compares to fresh-picked sweet corn. Plant in blocks for proper wind pollination.
Quick Facts
Sun:☀️ Full Sun
Water:💧💧💧 High
USDA Zones:Zones 3–11
Space:🏡 Large Garden
Soil:Loam, Silty, Sandy
Best Season(s):Spring, Summer
Experience Level:🌱 Beginner
Native Range:Mesoamerica
Bloom Color:Tassels (male) and silks (female) — grown for the grain, not ornamental bloom
Bloom Cycle:Midsummer
Days to Harvest:60–100 days
Harvest Pattern:Single harvest per planting
Care Notes
Plant in blocks of at least 4 rows for pollination. Side-dress with nitrogen when knee-high.
Growing Details
Mature Size:6-8 ft tall, 1-1.5 ft wide per stalk
Growth Rate:🐇 Fast
Zone Performance
In short-season zones (3-5), gardeners must choose early-maturing varieties (60-75 days) and start as soon as soil hits 60°F to finish before fall frost. In long-season zones (8-11), a wider range of varieties works and successive plantings every 2-3 weeks can extend fresh-corn harvest across most of the summer.
Companions & Wildlife
🦌 Deer Resistance
frequently damaged
Deer and raccoons both readily raid corn, browsing young stalks and stripping ripening ears; unfenced plantings often need dedicated protection.
🐝 Pollinator Value
low
Wind-pollinated rather than insect-pollinated, though bees do sometimes collect its abundant, protein-rich pollen from the tassels.
Good Companions
Green Bean — The Three Sisters combination — corn provides a living trellis for climbing beans.
Pumpkin — The Three Sisters combination — squash leaves shade the soil, retaining moisture and suppressing weeds around corn.
Zucchini — Squash-family leaves shade the soil around corn, retaining moisture and suppressing weeds.
Troubleshooting
⚠️ Poor kernel fill, ears with gaps
Plant in blocks of at least 4 short rows rather than one long row — corn is wind-pollinated and needs pollen drift from multiple directions for full ears.
⚠️ Corn earworm in ear tips
Apply a few drops of mineral oil to the silks just after they emerge to smother young larvae before they enter the ear.
⚠️ Stalks blown over in wind
Hill soil up around the base of stalks when knee-high, and consider a wider block planting for mutual wind support.
⚠️ Pet Safety
Kernels are fine in small amounts, but the cob itself is a serious choking/obstruction hazard for dogs — never let a dog eat a whole cob.
Informational only — always check with a veterinarian if you suspect your pet has eaten something it shouldn't have.