DIY Network

Preparing the Soil and Seeds Preparing the Soil and Seeds From "Fresh from the Garden" episode DFFG-103

Sweet corn is one of the world's favorite vegetables -- and growing corn is especially popular with home gardeners because it tastes best when it's freshly harvested from the garden....

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	A field of corn requires plenty of room -- but what could be tastier than an ear of corn fresh from your own garden?
	A garden tiller is essential for breaking up the area of ground where you'll plant. If the soil is hard, make several passes over it until it's sufficiently loosened.
	Add composted topsoil and manure, then spread it with a rake until it's evenly distributed.
	Select a mixed fertilizer with a 10-10-10 formula and add it at a rate of 4 cups per 100 feet of planting row. Be sure to wear gloves when handling fertilizer.
	Use a light garden tiller or a garden fork to work the fertilizer into the soil about 3"-4" deep.

Materials:

Garden tiller
Grow lights
Garden hoe
Sledgehammer
Paper cup
Scarecrow
Garden fork
Corn seed
ID markers
Sod staples
Rubber band
Fish emulsion
Fertilizer
Wood stakes
Garden rake
Netting
Mineral oil
3" peat pots
String
Watering can or hose
Scissors
BT insecticide

Corn is a summer crop that thrives with plenty of sunlight, water and nutrients. Sweet corn needs full sun about 8 to 10 hours a day, good drainage and lots of room: its size requires ample garden space!

1. Prior to sowing the seed, it's best to amend the soil. Begin by using a garden tiller to break up the area of ground where you'll plant. If the soil is hard, make several passes over it until it's sufficiently loosened. Next, add the first round of composted topsoil and manure, then spread it with a rake until it's evenly distributed.

2. Corn requires lots of nitrogen, so this need should be addressed with fertilizer prior to planting. First, check the soil temperature(s), then add nitrogen-rich fertilizer for ideal corn-growing conditions. Select a mixed fertilizer with a 10-10-10 formula – that is, 10 percent nitrogen, 10 percent phosphorus and 10 percent potassium; add the product at a rate of 4 cups per 100 feet of planting row.

   Note: When handling fertilizer, always be sure to wear gloves to protect your hands.

3. Finally, use a light garden tiller (or a garden fork) to work the fertilizer into the soil about three to four inches deep.

In the warmer climates, you can direct-sow seeds in mid-May: the cobs should be ready for picking in late August or September. In cooler climates, you should sow the seeds under glass in mid-April to early May, then plant out in late May to early June.

You can also start seedling transplants in peat pots three weeks before you set them out. Raising your own seedlings gives you more control over your garden. To start seedling indoors, sow 2 seeds -- each about an inch deep -- in 3" peat pots. To help them germinate, keep the room temperature at a gentle heat of 55 to 59 degrees Fahrenheit. Once they've germinated, use a cool-white fluorescent grow light to aid their growth: place the light about 2 inches above the plants. Leave the light on from 12-14 hours a day, and be sure to raise it as the plants grow.

Before transferring seedlings outdoors, you'll need to harden them off. Hardening off means helping the seedling to gradually acclimate to outside conditions. To do this, place the seedlings outside during the day when temperatures are above 40 degrees Fahrenheit; do not set the plants in direct sun or high wind. Set them on a porch, under shrubs or wherever there's shade. Move them out a bit more each day for greater exposure to the sun. Each night, bring the plants indoors. After 3 to 5 days of hardening off, they'll be ready to transplant outside -- just make sure they've reach a height of about 2 inches.