SWEET CORN 

 A. E. Wilkinson 



Extension Instructor, Department of Vegetable Gardening-, Cornell University 



Ithaca, N. Y. 



Sweet corn is a native of America, but has been introduced into 

 other countries. It is one of the most important garden crops in 

 many parts of the United States, being grown largely both for 

 immediate consumption and as a canning crop. It delights in 

 warm weather, although it is more successfully grown in the 

 northern parts of the United States than in the southern. 



SOILS 



Sweet corn seems to be cosmopolitan as to its soil requirements. 

 It does best on a fairly rich loam. It is not advisable to plant it 

 on soil wdiich is too hard or clayey, and therefore rather back- 

 ward, as satisfactory results may not be obtained. Sandy or 

 gravelly loams, or even a silty loam, will give very good results, 

 especially if they are prepared deeply. In the rotation, corn 

 follows any other crop very satisfactorily. As a general rule, corn 

 is grown where sod, preferably clover, has been inverted. 



PLOWING 



The land should be plowed deeply, early in the spring. Six 

 and one-half to seven inches or even deeper is none too much. 

 Care should be taken not to incorporate too much of new subsoil 

 with this top soil, from one to one and one-half inches being suffi- 

 cient in any one year. Following the plowing, thorough harrow- 

 ing should be given ; that is, the ground should be gone over three 

 or four times rather than only once. Good tools for this work 

 are the disc harrow, used twice over the piece, followed by the 

 spike-tooth used several times. If the land is plowed early, es- 

 pecially sod land, and thoroughly harrowed, a larger amount of 

 water will be conserved, particularly if harrowing follows sood 

 after each rain. 



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