Zea

This is a very popular vegetable known as Corn. Corn is actually a tall annual grass and all kinds, including the three described below, are varieties of a single species, Zea mays. Corn has been a valuable food at least since the Incas cultivated it. Ornamental Corn (Z. indurata) - This comes in a wide range of shapes, colors and sizes. Various names include Flint Corn, Calico Corn and Indian Corn. The dried kernels can be ground for corn meal and young ears can be harvested at milk stage and boiled or barbecued. This kind of Corn, however, is mainly grown for ornament. The ears are shucked back to expose the beautiful, colorful kernels and the husks are tied into bunches.

Popcorn (Z. praecox) - This is sold in grocery stores so readily and cheaply that you may choose not to grow it since it does take up a lot of garden space and needs a long growing season. Regardless, superb popcorn hybrids with white or golden kernels are available, as well as ornamental varieties, including one with ruby colored kernels. Hybrids pop more reliably and expand more than the old open-pollinated popping corns.

Sweet Corn (Z. rugosa) - Freshly harvested Sweet Corn is so much tastier than store bought corn that it is advantageous to cultivate your own. Sweet Corn with yellow kernels is the most desired, but across the South, white varieties are the preference. Some of the newer hybrids have white and yellow kernels and these are becoming increasingly popular. The sizes of the ears range from slender and 6 inches long with 8 rows of kernels to heavy and 9 inches long or more, with 16 to 18 rows of kernels. Generally, the later the variety, the larger the ear. The best varieties have large ears and deep, tender kernels. Standard Sweet Corn is more flavorful when cooked right after harvest, but there are now ultra- and super-sweet hybrids, along with bicolor hybrids that are bred for improved sugar. The sugar in these varieties doesn't convert to starch as fast as in standard varieties. Recently developed super-sweet hybrids can stay in the field for a few days when ripe without losing quality. There are early and extra-early varieties that can be grown in the North where the growing season is short. Elsewhere, these varieties can be planted in late summer and harvested just before fall frost. Midseason (main-crop) varieties or late hybrids are relied on to provide heavy crops of corn for freezing, canning or fresh use.

Pot Cultivation

Ornamental Corn - This Corn should be planted 2 or 3 weeks after you or your neighbors plant Sweet Corn or the two kinds may cross. Plants are thinned to stand about a foot apart. Ornamental Corn doesn't snap off the stalk easily. Instead of yanking the ears and damaging the stalks, snip them off with shears. If they are for edible use, test for tenderness with your thumbnail. It is ready if a little juice squirts out of the kernel when pierced. Pick them before they turn tough and doughy. If they are wanted for decoration, shuck back the ears and place them in a plastic bag with mothballs for a few days to kill weevils and seed-eating larvae. Sun-dry the ears to dispel the chemical smell.

Popcorn - If Sweet Corn has been planted within a quarter-mile radius, delay planting popcorn for 2 or 3 weeks to avoid cross-pollination, which can ruin the flavor of Sweet Corn. Popcorn should be left to dry on the stalk. The ears will shed water better if you break down the stalks as soon as the husks start to dry. If cold weather threatens, snap off the ears, shuck them and dry them on a screen rack in a warm, well-ventilated room. Sprinkle the ears with pyrethrum to discourage seed-eating insects.

Sweet Corn - Sweet Corn must have full exposure to sun. Early crops will grow better in fast draining sand or loam. Later crops need the nutrient and water reserves of heavier loam or clay soils. Extremely dry or hot weather or prolonged rain and high winds can affect pollination. Poor kernel development can be a result of nutrient deficiencies. Sweet Corn needs a moderate amount of fertilizer. Early varieties usually need only one preplant application of complete fertilizer plus a mulch of compost. Later varieties are more hardy feeders and therefore need a supplementary feeding when 12 to 18 inches high. Use a 10-10-10 or similar ratio fertilizer. In the South, 13-13-13 plus important micronutrients, is a popular formula. When the silks turn brownish, pull back a strip of husk to reveal a few kernels. Test for tenderness with your thumbnail. Sweet Corn will squirt out milky juice when it's at its best. In the "dough" stage, it's a little overripe, though it's still usable for creamed corn and barbecuing, but it's a little tough for boiling. Pull down and twist the ears to snap them off the stalk. You can control corn earworms and tomato fruitworms by spraying mineral oil on the silks a day or two after you see a dusting of pollen on them.

Propagation

Ornamental Corn - Remember to sow this Corn 2 to 3 weeks after Sweet Corn so they don't cross pollinate. Plant like Sweet Corn, but make sure to leave plenty of room for the large, late-maturing plants. In the South, gardeners build "hills" (low mounds of soil), 3 feet apart. Six seeds are placed in each hill and are eventually thinned to 12 inches apart. Popcorn - Plant 6 to 9 inches apart or in hills 2 to 3 feet apart. As with Ornamental Corn, make sure to sow Popcorn a few weeks after Sweet Corn. Sweet Corn - Sweet Corn is susceptible to damage from frost, but still some gardeners gamble and plant seeds a couple of weeks before the frost free date. Hardier hybrids can come back from a light frost, but prolonged, cold weather can rot seeds, especially those of the super-sweet varieties. Starting corn indoors and transplanting is only recommended in the far North. Where seasons are short, apply a clear plastic mulch as soon as the soil has warmed and plant the seeds through slits cut in it. Direct-seed corn 2 inches apart in rows 2 to 3 feet apart. Cover the seeds with an inch of soil. Where climates are hot and dry, plant seeds 11/2 to 2 inches deep in furrows that have been flooded. Plant this Corn in a block of several short rows. Thin the seedlings 6 to 12 inches apart, depending on the plant size, soil fertility and your ability to keep the corn watered.



VARIETIES: Ornamental Corn - Grow from shelled kernels or order from catalogues. Indian Fingers has thin ears only 3 to 4 inches long.

Popcorn - Yellow: Cr�me-Puff Hybrid. Early yellow: Tom Thumb. White: Popwhite, White Cloud hybrid, Burpee's Peppy Hybrid. Ornamental: Cutie Pops, Symphonie, Strawberry.

Sweet Corn - The choice is huge. Days to maturity (early, midseason, or late), kernel color (yellow, white, or bicolored), ear size (small, med., lg.) and sweetness (standard, very sweet, super-sweet, or ultra-sweet) are all factors to consider. Super- and ultra-sweet kinds should be isolated so that they won't cross with standard types. Below are a few of the more popular hybrids.

Early standard: Aztec, Early Sunglow, Party time, Polar Vee, Seneca Star. Midseason standard: Candystick, Honey & Cream, Seneca Chief (AAS). Midseason very sweet: Crusader. Midseason super-sweet: Butterfruit Bicolor. Midseason ultra-sweet: How Sweet It Is (AAS). Late Standard: Silver Queen. Late very sweet: Great Taste, Kandy Korn E.H. Late super-sweet: Burpee's Sugar Sweet, Florida Staysweet.