Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 138, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 June 1918 — Home-Grown Sweet Corn Is Best—Good Advice on How To Grow Your Coasting Ears [ARTICLE]

Home-Grown Sweet Corn Is Best—Good Advice on How To Grow Your Coasting Ears

To have sweet corn at its best, says the U. S. department of agriculture, it should be on the fire within 15 minutes after being pulled from the stalk. It loses quality very rapidly after being picked because its sugar changes into starch. This Is a fine argument for having this crop In the home garden, if space will allow. Those who wish to grow their own roasting ears will find the following advice useful: Corn does best in a fertile soil, but is able to adapt Itself to all textures from sand to clay. To grow It in sufficient quantities for the average family requires more space, however, than for most garden vegetables. It should not be planted until after danger of frostis past, The rows should be spaced not closer than three feet apart, and for the larger-growing late varieties the distance had best be three and one-half feet. Stalks should be thinned to stand from 15 to 18 Inches in the row. In planting, the seed Is covered with one or two inches of soil. Cultivation must be thorough, frequent, and shallow. It Is possible to use the ground occupied by early corn for a fall planting of such crops as spinach,' turnips, and kale. Large, late varieties of corn, however, will occupy the ground for practically the whole season.