Our Experience in Growing Sweet Corn
Our journey of growing this sweet vegetable started with sowing seed in cocopeat in a grow bag. Cemented pots, Grow bags, or any large root growing containers can also be used for growing this crop.
- For corn, it is ideal to sow the seeds directly into the medium instead of raising seedlings and transplanting them. The root system of this plant is very delicate, and unless it is handled with extreme care and caution, attempting to transplant this may result in loss of the plant. We used cocopeat as the medium to grow corn. If you would like to grow it in soil, ensure that the ph of the soil is maintained at a neutral pH range of 6-7.
- Before sowing the seed make sure that the selection of pots is right. This plant needs a pot with a wide mouth and a depth of at least 2 feet. As mentioned earlier, since the root system is very delicate, transplanting is not advisable.
The seeds germinated within a week. And from then on, we waited with bated breath to see the transformation and growth of this plant. Plants started growing well. For nutrition, we provided the plants - CG Symphony, our nutrient solution. We initially started with a dosage of 2 ml of Greens + 2ml of Nutes per liter of water. This concentration was gradually increased up to 4ml (Geens 4ml +Nutes 4 ml) and addition of Blooms at the flowering stage ( which was around the 5th to 6th week). Just like many other plants, these also need enough sunlight and optimum temperature for their proper growth. Any fluctuation in climate will impact plant growth, which will delay in getting corns to harvest. We have had to face fluctuating temperatures and climates in Bengaluru, and yet we were able to harvest corn within 6-8 weeks.
When will we know the corns are ready to harvest?
deally, one can harvest healthy corn within after 8-9 weeks of planting.
We allowed a few of our plants to grow beyond the baby corn stage, and they are now maturing into maize or corn.
Some others were harvested earlier as baby corn. Fortunately for us, we did not have to fight any disease or pests for this crop. Initially, we did notice some micronutrient deficiencies in the plants. This was then eliminated by using our CG Nutes solution. We hope this encourages you to add this vegetable to your growing collection too.
Happy Growing!