Seed buying is certainly underway for the spring season.  We can tell because some great questions surfaced a couple of times last week. How much sweet corn should I plant to feed my family and what germination rate should I expect when planting sweet corn?

We always suggest planting 3 - 4 seeds per plant that you want to grow. Plant a little closer as you will thin the weakest plants out. Also, you should expect no more than a 70 - 75% germination rate. The germination rate is also dependent upon the soil conditions as well as soil temperatures. If you plant your seed too early and a cold, rainy period sets in, the seed will just sit in the ground and possibly rot or the germ in the seed becomes too weak to emerge a plant. If you are a big sweet corn lover like our family, we plant around 18 - 20 plants per adult for fresh eating corn. If you plan on freezing corn, plant around 35 plants per person for that purpose alone.

You can actually have sweet corn throughout the season if you plant a crop every 2 - 2.5 weeks. The number one tip after fertility is keeping your corn watered. If you become lax on watering especially during pollination time, you will end up with ears with very few kennels of corn on them. Mulch, mulch and mulch. Please keep 2 - 3 inches of mulch (grass clippings, straw, shredded leaves) to help maintain moisture. 

As for keeping raccoons, birds or humans from raiding your garden, that's another blog.