SUMMER SWEET!
The sweetest corn comes straight from the garden and the best time to plant it is now! Buy seedlings from the garden centre or plant seeds straight into the garden.
Growing corn:
Choose a sunny sheltered spot. Read the seed packet carefully before you sow. Make sure the soil is loose and crumbly, damp but not soggy and wet. Spread mulch, such as straw, around the plants to keep the soil moist. Watering is extra important when the cobs start to grow. Soak the soil thoroughly once a fortnight. Feed with blood and bone or liquid fertiliser.
Did you know?
It’s better to plant corn in a grid rather than a straight row. This makes it easier for the pollen to move from the tassels at the top of the plant to the silks below. Pollen is like magic fairy dust for corn. Without enough pollen a corn cob is gappy, with grains missing.
Across
2. Corn is part of the ____ family. 4. Cobs are ready to ____ when the silks turn dark brown. 5. Corn seed can be sown directly into the __ _ _ soil. 6. A corn cob forms from the ‘ear’, which is a female __ __ _ _. 8. A good month to plant corn. 9. A corn kernel is a_ __ _ .
Down
1. Looks like corn. 3. A fresh picked corn cob tastes sweeter because it contains more ______ than one that was picked yesterday. 7. Covering the soil with mulch keeps it moist and blocks _ _ _ _ _.