Row by Row Episode 201: The DOs and DONT's of Growing Corn
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Tonight we talk sweet corn and field corn, what is the difference? When should you plant and harvest? How much should you plant for your family? Sheila gives us tips on the best way to preserve your corn harvest!
Sweet Corn Vs. Field Corn
Field Corn has been around the longest (for hundreds of years), originating in Mexico and South America. It is used for grits and corn meal; it is typically dried on the stalk to around a 23-25% moisture level. Animal feed is also made up of field corn. Sweet corn is typically harvested and eaten in the immature stage (milk stage) on the stalk, they have a relatively high moisture content. Sweet corn is bred for its sweet taste.
Stowells Evergreen is the oldest heirloom sweet corn that we carry, it was developed in the mid-1800s. It is standard sweet corn (su) and with it being an heirloom, you can save the seeds. Our most popular is the Silver Queen, which was developed in the 1960s, Silver Queen is a standard (su) sweet corn variety that is a hybrid. This year we "trialed" new sweet corn that we plan to carry next year; the Seminole Sweet XR Corn (sh2) is a bi-color and was bred in Illinois. It is sweeter than the Silver Queen and was bred for the commercial market.
How Much Corn We Plant
Don't overplant your corn! Hoss recommends starting off by planting in a smaller plot to utilize your garden space. Greg planted 6 rows that were 52 feet each (roughly a 25' x 50' plot) of the Seminole XR sweet corn, which produced 60 quarts of creamed corn and 10 pints of canned corn. Greg planted the Seminole XR on March 1, 2022, and they harvested on May 30, 2022. Only 90 days to maturity!
Tips On Preserving Corn
There are many ways to preserve corn. Sheila says you should try creaming your corn and freezing it if you never tried that method. She has recently tried canning and she is a fan. We have a new video going up on Tuesday, 6/7 on our YouTube channel.