Corn is not only very tasty, but also a very valuable crop. In addition to unsurpassed taste, corn cobs have useful properties, as they contain a huge range of elements useful to the human body. In cultivation, the queen of the fields is quite unpretentious, so many gardeners plant it annually in their plots. Proper sowing of corn is the key to a future crop, so this stage should be given special attention.
Choosing a place for planting corn
Regardless of the variety, this culture loves light, well-cultivated sandy, sandy and loamy soils with a pH level of at least 5.6, into which moisture and solar heat easily penetrate. It is strongly not recommended to sow corn seeds in re-compacted soils!
Another important factor affecting yield is the choice of previous crops growing in the previous season at the place where it is planned to grow corn. Good predecessors include cereals, row crops and legumes.
Sowing of corn should be carried out after autumn plowing and spring pre-sowing cultivation of the soil with a cultivator. Prepared soil should also be enriched with organic and mineral fertilizers.
Sufficient moisture is a prerequisite for the formation and good growth of corn. Autumn plowing helps to provide the necessary soil moisture. During its “rest”, the loose earth accumulates a sufficient amount of moisture so that the corn seeds quickly turn into strong and healthy seedlings.
Grade selection
Specialty stores offer a huge variety of hybrid varieties. The timing of sowing corn of all varieties is almost the same, but other characteristics vary. When choosing seed, factors such as the direction of economic use of a particular variety (food or feed), yield, taste, ripening time, resistance to adverse environmental conditions, pests and diseases should be taken into account.
Presowing seed treatment
For planting, calibrated seeds are selected without any external defects. To ensure good germination, corn seeds are prepared for sowing. A week before sowing, it is recommended that they be heated by air and heat at a temperature of 25-35 degrees and good ventilation. Heated seeds germinate better and faster, develop and give a good harvest.
After 5 days, the seeds are washed, sorting low-quality material along the way (if you place the seeds in a container and fill with water, the quality ones will remain at the bottom, and the spoiled ones will float to the surface). Then they are wrapped in cheesecloth and soaked in clean water at room temperature for 2-3 days before sprouting.
Before sowing corn, seeds are recommended to be pickled with special preparations in order to protect against pests and diseases.
Sowing dates
This indicator depends on the climatic picture of a particular region. Sowing corn in open ground can be carried out at an average daily temperature of +10 degrees and there is no threat of frost. The optimal period is mid-May. By this time, the soil at the required planting depth usually also manages to warm up to a similar temperature indicator.
Corn sowing calendar is categorically not recommended to be violated, as failure to meet deadlines directly affects the final result. Every day of being late with planting reduces the yield by 1%.
The scheme of sowing corn seeds
The planting depth of this crop is from 3 to 5 cm. The soil should have sufficient moisture and completely cover the seeds. Deeper than 5 cm, it is not recommended to close them, as this will negatively affect the timing of emergence of seedlings.
Sowing of corn is carried out in rows. The distance between plants and the row spacing depends on the variety. Seed packages usually contain recommended planting patterns. However, it is worth thinking in advance about the convenience of caring for corn. In other words, corn should be sown in such a way that in the future there will be trouble-free access to each plant for weeding, fertilizing, watering and collecting ears.
The optimal distance between plants in a row is 20-25 cm, the row spacing is 50-70 cm.
Seedling care
After the emergence of seedlings, it is necessary to carry out regular loosening of the soil and thorough removal of weeds. Weed plants deplete the soil and take such moisture necessary for corn from it. Plus, they drown out young shoots, preventing them from developing normally.
Loosening of the earth is recommended after rain or watering. Thus, the soil will remain wet longer. By the way, corn does not tolerate drought, so it should be watered if there is no rain for a long time. However, an excess of moisture should also be avoided, since too moist soil makes it difficult for air to reach the roots of the plant.
Fertilizer plants
When 5 leaves appear on the seedlings of corn, they should be fed with superphosphates, potassium salt and ammonium nitrate. These fertilizers are applied to the soil in the form of solutions. Dosage recommendations are usually indicated in the instructions for the drugs.
The second recharge is carried out during the flowering period of corn, and the third - when the cobs begin to form.
The composition of the soil directly affects the plant's need for a particular fertilizer. The condition of the leaves can tell what fertilizer is not enough for corn. So, for example, with nitrogen starvation, the leaves will turn yellow and dry. Lack of phosphorus will manifest as redness of the leaves, and deficiency of potassium - a slowdown in their growth and damage in the form of burns.
Harvesting
The timely collection of corn will allow you to enjoy its unsurpassed taste. The cobs have the greatest taste value at the stage of milk ripeness. Young, juicy and sweet corn is used in boiled form, it is canned and pickled. As a guideline for determining the harvest time, you can use a period of 20-25 days after flowering.
There are several visual signs of corn readiness:
- The edges of the upper wrappers begin to dry slightly.
- Wrappers, drier on the outside and still wet on the inside, tightly fit the heads of cabbage.
- The pistillate threads have not yet dried out, but have already acquired a slightly brownish tint.
- The grains are round and elastic over the entire head of the head.
- The color of the grains is no longer white, but light yellow.
- With a slight pressure, the grain shell bursts, releasing milk-sugar liquid.
Corn harvest usually begins in late July - early August. The formation and ripening of cobs occur in several stages, so fresh fruits can please their taste for several weeks in a row.