The Everything Corn Guide—All You Need to Know About Growing, Harvesting, Cooking, and Eating the All-American Crop

By Bill Dugan, Executive Editor

In this month’s Food Gardening Magazine, you get everything you need to know about planting corn—a hearty and delicious food to complement all your food-gardening efforts. And planting and harvesting corn is not as difficult as you might think. If you want everything you need to know about growing and harvesting corn, this Gardening Guide is for you!

You get all the tips for growing corn, techniques, and advice about how to start and maintain an awesome corn garden. And we cover growing corn for beginners and skilled gardeners alike.

Plus, you get specific advice about corn plant profiles—from the best sweet corn varieties for your geographic area to characteristics and features of each variety. Corn types and corn plant care are covered in great detail for you, so that choosing which variety to plant is an easier decision for you to make. You’ll harvest the most delicious corn from any sweet corn plant in your garden when you follow all of this advice.

This Gardening Guide about corn is your #1 guide for being the best corn gardener you can be! You should refer to this Gardening Guide whenever you have questions about the best way to grow corn—from planning to planting and from maintaining and nurturing to harvesting and reaping the rewards in your kitchen. You’ll have everything about taking care of corn plants in your garden with this Gardening Guide!

First, you get a complete Introduction to Corn—including the history and background of this unique and native American crop. Did you know that corn is American’s largest crop, with a third of all corn produced being used to feed animals; a third used to produce ethanol; and a third consumed by humans and for other industrial uses?

Or did you know that corn is related to bananas? Both are yellow and are classified as monocots, because their embryos have only a single leaf or cotyledon in their seed—just like lilies and palm trees, too. Get all the details about the history and background of corn when you read this introduction now.

Then, you get Feature Articles about Corn that include:

Types of Corn Plants—did you know that there are six different types of corn, in addition to heirloom sweet corn? Find out which corn type is best for eating—and which is best for farm uses such as animal feed. This article will help you decide which type of corn is best for you to grow.
How to Pollinate—and Avoid Cross-Pollinating—Corn—learn how corn naturally pollinates, how you can jump-start corn pollination, and how to avoid unwanted cross-pollination of your corn.
Classification of Corn Plants—did you know that sweet corn plants, the best type for cooking and eating, come in three different cultivars: SU, SH2, and SE? Learn the differences so you can pick the right type for your growing conditions and eating desires.
Choosing to Grow Corn from Seeds or Seedlings—you can start your corn garden from seeds or seedlings. But, if growing corn from seedlings, what one thing should you do to ensure your corn crop survives and thrives? Find out now.
Growing Corn in Open Land, in Containers, or in Raised Beds—discover all the main differences about where to grow your corn. Choosing your growing place has more to do with what type of space and land you have. Want to know about planting corn in raised beds? Or planting corn in containers? Get details and advice about all of your growing options now.
Ensuring the Right Sunlight, Soil, Fertilizer, and Water for Your Corn Plants—corn needs a lot of sun to grow, but do you know the correct pH level of the soil to ensure healthy and bountiful corn? Get specific tips about corn-planting, watering, and corn fertilizer. And learn about the Three Sisters planting technique (hint: it involves corn companion plants, two other food plants that grow harmoniously together with corn). Find out now.
How to Spot, Treat, and Prevent Corn Diseases such as Corn Smut—how to easily identify sweet corn diseases on your corn stalks, including the dreaded corn smut…and what you can do about it.
What to Do About Pests that Can Harm Your Corn Plants—how to spot different pest infestations on corn leaves, stems, and stalks and on corn ears—and the proper ways to treat your plants to rid your corn plants of pests.
The Right Way to Weed Your Corn Garden—get the best weeding tips for corn plants and learn about common weeds in corn fields. Plus, learn weed-prevention methods that can save you all the labor-intensive weeding efforts in the first place.
Essential Tools and Equipment for Growing Corn—get the full list of essential gardening tools and equipment for growing corn … and for almost all of your gardening needs.

Next, this premium Gardening Guide highlights eight popular corn varieties to help you choose the varieties you want to grow—this is just a sampling of the many varieties available, but this is a good guide for selecting the type of corn best for your growing conditions and your cooking needs:

And all your corn-gardening efforts are made more satisfying when you have quick and easy-to-make recipes, to ensure your harvest is enjoyed by everyone you serve at your home. Food Gardening Network is all about providing delicious recipes for making yummy dishes. Try these recipes and enjoy your corn harvest in the most satisfying ways:

Next, you’ll learn all about the health benefits of corn with Nutrition Facts about Corn and Home Remedies & Health Benefits of Corn. Learn about all the wonderful and beneficial attributes of corn—and how you can use corn to boost your overall health.

And to be sure you have everything you need to grow your own corn, we’ve included a Resources about Corn section—so that you can easily find additional tools and information about corn … and all sorts of other general gardening resources.

Finally, our Glossary section gives you the explanation of key corn-growing terms and concepts—so, you’re never in the dark or confused about growing corn or harvesting corn.

Check out this premium Gardening Guide now—The Everything Corn Guide—All You Need to Know About Growing, Harvesting, Cooking, and Eating the All-American Crop—and you’ll really learn everything you need to know about corn!

Cate Prato, Norann Oleson, Victoria Arnold, and Samantha Pulcherz contributed to the creation of this Gardening Guide.

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