Growing Corn In The Short Northern Season

I am an Ohio born corn snob. A fair amount of the corn I’ve eaten in Montana reminded me of the field corn grown on my family’s farm, and it took a lot of butter and salt to make it palatable. Of course, one of my gardening goals has been to grow good tasting corn, and after all of these years in Big Sky Country, I’ve figured it out.

Plant corn in a block of rows.

Know when and what to plant

Choosing the right variety of corn is key to a successful corn crop since we don’t have the warm nights, nor the extended season of the Midwest. Unfortunately, you’ll have to bypass varieties such as the long standing Silver Queen that takes 92 days to harvest. For our shorter season, Ambrosia and Bodacious are both super sweet types that mature in less than 80 days, making them good Western choices. The 68-day Kandy Kwik also allows you to squeeze more harvests into the summer.

The key to planting corn is waiting until the soil temperature is at least 60-65 degrees F. Use a soil thermometer to be sure, although one of the old ways of determining the best time is waiting until the oak leaves are the size of a squirrel’s ear. This phenological sign is typically spot on and a good rule of thumb to know when the soil temperature is sufficient.

Corn is best grown in successive crops in order to provide weeks of fresh corn for the dinner table, unless of course, your goal is to freeze or can large amounts. For continual crops, plant your corn every 10-14 days until the end of June or first part of July. The last planting is one of those times when luck might have to be on your side to avoid early frosts, but if it works out, it’s worth it.

Corn and bachelor buttons growing together to make a beautiful garden- garden.

Where to plant

Corn is best planted in blocks at least 4 rows wide to increase the pollination within the stand. Seed 1.5 to two inches deep, roughly 4-6 inches apart in rows that are 24-36 inches from each other, depending on your gardening style. For instance, if you’re going to rototill, you need more space versus if you are putting down a mulch between rows to keep the weeds down.

Corn can also be grown in containers that are at least 18-20 inches wide and 8-12 inches deep. Keep them in full sun, but protect the corn from the wind or it could topple the plants when they grow tall.

Go with the Three Sisters

Another good way to plant corn is using the “Three Sisters” method that incorporates corn, beans, and squash into their own gardening ecosystem. The thought behind it is the corn supports the pole beans growing up their stalks, while fixing nitrogen in the soil around them, which is a necessary nutrient for corn. The squash covers the area keeping the soil cool while retaining moisture.

To make a Three Sisters garden, create 2 feet diameter mounds roughly 4 feet apart. Plant the corn 4-6 inches apart on the outer edge of the mound keeping at least 3-4 inches from the edge. When the corn germinates, plant the pole beans a couple of inches apart around each of the stalks of corn. Plant the squash plants, and these can be whatever kind you want, between the mounds so they will grow and cover the surrounding soil.

Three Sisters planting

How to keep out the earwigs, birds, deer, and raccoons

Corn is a popular vegetable with insects and wildlife with many gardeners swearing that the raccoons know it’s ready before we do. It can take considerable effort to keep them away.

Earwigs are a plague for many gardeners, despite experts claiming they don’t bother plants or produce. When you peel back the husk of an ear of corn and it looks like something out of a horror movie because of the earwigs spilling out, you can’t tell me they don’t do damage. Sprinkling diatomaceous earth is effective, if you can apply it regularly enough. Many gardeners resort to Sevin to keep the bugs at bay.

Birds, especially magpies, also like fresh corn, pecking the ears and ruining your harvest. This is a tough one to remedy with some gardeners putting a bag over each ear to keep them away from these smart pests.

Hybrid sweet corn is typically larger and has much sweet corn than heirloom varieties.

Deer and raccoons can clear the corn patch before you have an opportunity to taste an ear. The best way to deal with them is think Jurassic Park, with an electric fence around the entire patch. You also have to think about both of these wily critters because they will go over, under, or through to reach their prize.

Cover ears with a bag to keep the birds away

For raccoons the electrified netting is probably your best bet, although make sure there is no way they can hang over and drop into the corn. If you just have strands of fencing, put them low and close enough together that raccoons can’t get through without touching one.

Some gardeners train the deer about the fence by smearing peanut butter on surveyor’s ribbon and attaching it to the fence. If possible, leave it off for a couple of days to have them become accustomed to it. When the fence is on, they’ll receive a surprising shock and learn to avoid it.

Use an angel food cake pan to cut the corn off the cob.

Freezing corn for the winter

It’s hard to say you can ever have too much corn, but when it’s ripening quickly, sometimes you have to freeze it to be able to enjoy it long past the summer season. Freezing corn is super simple and the best way to have it throughout the year.

Blanching corn is useful to destroy the enzymes that break down the corn causing it to lose nutrients and quality. Bring a big pot of water to a boil. Add your corn, and once the water returns to a boil, boil it for a minute. Remove the corn quickly and plunge into a bowl of ice water.

Once it’s cool, cut it off of the cob. I’ve found that balancing it on an angel food cake pan works wonders. As you slice it off the ear, the kernels fall into the pan and are easy to scoop out into the freezer bags.

Count on corn

There’s a reason corn is one of the favorite garden vegetables: It tastes like summer. As soon as your garden is warm enough, plant patches every couple of weeks to enjoy it even as autumn approaches.