All About Corn

Just so you know, the fungus known commonly as "corn smut" is a highly prized delicacy in Mexican cuisine, known as huitlacoche.  It can sell for upwards of $25/pound.  I know all the corn farmers will hate this post, but as long as you harvest the "infected" ears before the kernels start to turn black, you'll be keeping the fungal spores from spreading.  Here's the scoop:  Huitlacoche foraging

Last spring was my first year growing corn from seed. It wasn't perfect, but I so enjoyed my first attempt! I'd like to do it again.

Does anyone know the easiest way to maximize nutrition? Does it have to be hominy or does parching work as well?  I’m not sure what is myth or marketing.

I never understood why people would grow corn any other way... I've seen it started in seed trays... and thought that was silly.  Do you get a bit of a jump start on the season that way?  Is it really that much of a difference?  The only things that we generally get started in trays are pepper, eggplant, and tomatoes.  And honestly our volunteer tomatoes often perform better than our started ones, and we only gain a week a two in terms of date of first harvest, so we could almost just plant those too.

Rachel Elijah wrote:Last spring was my first year growing corn from seed. It wasn't perfect, but I so enjoyed my first attempt! I'd like to do it again.

Thomas Dean wrote:I never understood why people would grow corn any other way... I've seen it started in seed trays... and thought that was silly.  Do you get a bit of a jump start on the season that way?  Is it really that much of a difference?  The only things that we generally get started in trays are pepper, eggplant, and tomatoes.  And honestly our volunteer tomatoes often perform better than our started ones, and we only gain a week a two in terms of date of first harvest, so we could almost just plant those too.

Rachel Elijah wrote:Last spring was my first year growing corn from seed. It wasn't perfect, but I so enjoyed my first attempt! I'd like to do it again.

Yes, it was much easier than transplants.... And to be honest, I never did that great with transplants, anyway. I agree with it being being not much difference with time frame of growth.

Does anyone else feel like your patch of tall heirloom corn is watching you?  Check out this snippet from my wife's essay about growing corn:

"When harvesting, I would often hear a whispering that sounded like voices. I would look around, checking the phone in my pocket for an inadvertent dial. Always, I would find it to be the whispering of the wind in the corn—even when there seemed to be no wind, the stalks would rustle imperceptibly. When my back was to the corn I found myself turning around again and again in response to a tangible presence. 'Oh, its just the corn again.'"

Read the rest here: Growing corn at Laird Woodland Farm

We have access to a 34x20 polytunnel. Due to the huge amount of work that the property needs, I'd like to focus my efforts (and irrigation) on just growing in the greenhouse this year. I've never had the space to grow corn and was wondering if it's a bad idea to try and grow it in a polytunnel? I have seen it done in Ireland (somewhat similar to our growing conditions in the Southern Gulf islands). My main concern would be pollination, the tunnel does have a fan and the ability to keep the sides & doors open, would that be enough? Thanks for any advice you can give (also if anyone in my area has suggestions re: varieties I'd love to grow flour or popping corn but would settle for sweetcorn).

Important to note that corn does NOT contain folic acid, essential for the healthy development of the neural tube of a fetus.
In places where corn is a primary food source, there is a disproportionate number of children with some kind of neural tube deficit, like spina bifida.
Nutritionists recommend that women who eat a lot of tortillas as opposed to other sources of carbohydrates take prenatal vitamins to insure enough folic acid.  Because of poverty, they often don't have adequate access to leafy green vegetables, seafood or fruits and may not eat enough beans, all of which are excellent sources of folic acid.

C Murphy wrote:We have access to a 34x20 polytunnel. Due to the huge amount of work that the property needs, I'd like to focus my efforts (and irrigation) on just growing in the greenhouse this year. I've never had the space to grow corn and was wondering if it's a bad idea to try and grow it in a polytunnel? I have seen it done in Ireland (somewhat similar to our growing conditions in the Southern Gulf islands). My main concern would be pollination, the tunnel does have a fan and the ability to keep the sides & doors open, would that be enough? Thanks for any advice you can give (also if anyone in my area has suggestions re: varieties I'd love to grow flour or popping corn but would settle for sweetcorn).

Hi C. I can appreciate wanting to focus your growing ideas on a small, more controlled space. I did this myself here until recently - concentrating on planting trees and using just my polytunnel to grow food. I have grown sweetcorn in the polytunnel successfully, although for some reason I have struggled with germination recently and haven't tried in a few years.
First, you probably need a short growing variety. Corn can typically grow 7 ft plus. I found even a short variety grew quite tall in my tunnel, and you don't want it going through the roof!
I got reasonable pollination from mine. There are a few things that can be done to improve this. One is spread the season. The male parts open a couple of weeks apart from the female parts, so planting in blocks a couple of weeks apart can a) give you a staggered harvest (particularly useful if it is sweetcorn you are wanting as a harvest) and b) improved pollination of at least half the crop.
I used to draw my hands through the pollen tassels and rub them over the female silks to try and encourage pollination as well.

For those commenting above about transplants v. sowing direct - yes it can significantly affect the ability to grow in short season climates. I think the germination temperature is generally slightly higher than the temperature at which the corn will then grow too. So far my attempts at sowng direct have failed miserably, even in the polytunnel.

Oh I love sweetcorn...maybe next year.

Nancy Reading wrote:
Hi C. I can appreciate wanting to focus your growing ideas on a small, more controlled space. I did this myself here until recently - concentrating on planting trees and using just my polytunnel to grow food. I have grown sweetcorn in the polytunnel successfully, although for some reason I have struggled with germination recently and haven't tried in a few years.
First, you probably need a short growing variety. Corn can typically grow 7 ft plus. I found even a short variety grew quite tall in my tunnel, and you don't want it going through the roof!
I got reasonable pollination from mine. There are a few things that can be done to improve this. One is spread the season. The male parts open a couple of weeks apart from the female parts, so planting in blocks a couple of weeks apart can a) give you a staggered harvest (particularly useful if it is sweetcorn you are wanting as a harvest) and b) improved pollination of at least half the crop.
I used to draw my hands through the pollen tassels and rub them over the female silks to try and encourage pollination as well.

Some excellent advice - thank you!