More than a big lump of knobs and juice, sweet corn is a favorite crop for residential gardeners in Florida. Being native to the Americas, this plant has become a staple of our diet and the centerpiece of a good backyard barbeque. With corn in your garden, I can’t imagine a more beautiful thing!

Planting and Care

Corn is grown from seed and should be in an area that gets at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day. Choose one variety per year to avoid crosspollination. Some common varieties that do well in Florida include ‘Silver Queen’, ‘How Sweet It Is’, ‘Sweet Ice’, ‘Sweet Riser’, and ‘Early Sunglow’. Seed them in two to three rows, 24-36 inches apart. Individual plants should be 12-18 inches apart and remember that since corn can get 6-8 feet tall, give it plenty of room.

In Northeast Florida, you should normally be planting in early spring from February to April.

For more information see https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/edibles/vegetables/corn.html and https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/VH021 .

Have a corntastic day!

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