What it is
Sweet Corn (Zea mays) is in the Poaceae (Grass) family. Plant in blocks, not rows, so wind can pollinate it. Nothing beats corn picked minutes before the pot.
How to grow it
It wants full sun, water it high at tasseling, and give it rich, nitrogen-hungry soil. Target a soil pH around 6.0–6.8. Space plants about 8–12 in apart. Expect roughly 65–90. Warm-season annual.
How it's used
Sweet Corn is used: boiled, grilled, roasted, frozen.
🔎 How to identify it
- Tall single grass stalk
- Tassel on top, silks from the ear
- Ears in the leaf joints
Edibility
PartsKernels
UsesBoiled, grilled, roasted, frozen
CautionPick at 'milk stage' — sugars convert to starch fast after harvest.
🌤 Before you plant: check the live 7-day garden weather to time it right for frost and heat.
Part of the free Texas Roots plant database, compiled by Jordan Polasek from his greenhouse in El Campo, Texas. Free to read and share. If it helped, the best thanks is to grow something.