6. Fruit, Leaf and Root Vegetable Guidelines
Sweetcorn/Green Maize is relatively low in vitamins and minerals, but is still a very popular, easy large fruit vegetable to grow and also very hardy.
Sweetcorn grows best in temperatures between 15-25°C but is best suited to warmer than cooler temperatures with ideal planting times from spring through summer.
Layout
Plant sweetcorn at 60cm between plants and 75cm between rows. Sweetcorn is a small variety of maize and should be grown at a higher population density than normal maize, so adjust this by not thinning.
Placing 60cm Measuring Rope
Place a 60cm measuring rope from one 75cm permanent peg to its adjoining 75cm permanent peg on the opposite side. Make sure the rope is taut and straight by lifting and dropping it.
Remove God’s Blanket
Move God’s Blanket 30cm downslope from each planting station to expose the soil.
Soil Fracturing
If your soils are compacted, give your Sweetcorn a good chance of success by fracturing each 75cm row line to 30cm deep but due to the 15cm deep planting stations this may not be necessary.
Digging Planting Stations
The wide plant spacing make them best suited for inputs placed directly into planting stations rather than surface composting. Dig a planting station 15cm deep at each 60cm interval, moving the soil downslope of the measuring rope, taking care to neatly heap the soil for reuse later. Planting stations should be 12cm wide, 15cm long and 15cm deep. Repeat this process at each 75cm row interval.
Correcting Acidic Soils
To correct acidic soils and allow for readily available plant nutrients apply 1 tablespoon of woodash/bonemeal or 1 teaspoon of lime, in each of the planting stations.
Compost/Manure
It is preferable to apply 500ml of compost, in each planting station. Alternatively use fresh manure which is high in nitrogen, and very beneficial when growing Sweetcorn.
Seed Depth and Soil Separation Layer
Take a skimming of soil from the downslope heap and cover all the inputs with a 3cm separation layer of soil. Leave a final depth of planting of a matchbox length or 5cm deep.
Planting Seed
Plant 3 seeds per planting station - on the left, middle and right.
Cover level with soil from the downslope heap and replace the 2.5cm thick blanket on top of the planting stations. No thinning is necessary with sweetcorn as it is a smaller variety of maize and does better with higher population densities than other cultivars.
God’s Blanket
Sweetcorn can germinate right through the blanket, unlike other vegetable seeds which need an open 5cm space for germination to take place. Ensure the blanket is at 100% cover and 2.5cm thick to suppress weed growth and conserve moisture.
Top Dressing
If your sweetcorn shows any signs of yellowing or is pale, top dress with urea or manure tea.
Push a small hole 3cm deep, a hand width away from each planting station on the upslope side of each planting station. Then place a teaspoon of urea in each hole and cover it level. When applying diluted manure tea, apply 350ml to each plant base. Repeat the applications at knee height and piping stage.
Harvest
Harvest sweetcorn when the last silks coming out of the cobs have just started drying off to ensure they are sweet and succulent.
