Sweet corn for pickling

Zea mays - for Pickling

Boiled, salted or roasted. Corn is always excellent! It originates from tropical and subtropical areas of South and Central America. Plants grow over 2.5 m tall. Roots penetrate to a depth of 1.5 - 3.0 m. Stems have 8 - 10 nodes. Leaves are arranged oppositely. The male inflorescence is a panicle that grows from the last node of the stem. The female inflorescence is a cob. Corn varieties differ mainly in plant height, cob shape, grain color, taste and cultivation purpose.

Sweet corn (Zea mays L. var. Saccharata) is an important type of gourmet vegetable. Seeds contain lots of sugar, vitamin B and fiber. Dent corn (Zea mays indentata) is widely cultivated in fields for grain. Flint corn (Zea mays indurata) has a different grain shape - shorter, harder and rounder. It is not grown here. Popcorn (Zea mays everta) is known primarily from popcorn consumption. Flour corn (Zea mays amylacea) has soft grains. It is used to produce flour for special baked goods - tortillas etc. Indian corn is a type with smaller ears and multi-colored grains. It is an ornamental corn used as decoration.

Corn grains have a high content of B vitamins, especially thiamine (B1), biotin (B3), pantothenic acid (B5) and folic acid (B9). All these vitamins are essential for proper organ function and metabolic processes. Minerals in corn include mainly iron, magnesium, zinc, manganese and selenium - again indispensable trace elements.

How to Grow Corn

• Never plant different types of corn in close proximity to each other - cross-pollination may occur and grains of sweet corn, for example, lose their pleasant sweetness! Plants require warm and moist soils. Sunny location. Windy positions are not suitable.

• Sow seeds from mid-April to the end of May directly in the location. Rows should be approximately 70 cm apart. After emergence, thin to 25 cm. Sowing depth is 60 - 90 mm (depending on the hybrid used and soil).

• Requires warm, deep, sandy-loam soils. Requires deeply worked soils.

• Organic fertilizers are commonly used for corn fertilization. Autumn application is suitable, spring fertilization can only be tolerated on light soils. Doses: N 100 kg/ha, P 25 kg/ha P2O5 and K 90 kg/ha K2O.

  Sweet corn requires soil fertilized with farmyard manure or compost in autumn at a rate of 30 to 60 kg per 10m2. Before spring sowing, fertilize the soil with 300 g potassium salt and 300 g superphosphate per 10m2.

  Top-dress gourmet corn in June with 200 g saltpeter and 250 g superphosphate per 10m2, or twice with 200 g NPK fertilizer (in June and early July). Foliar feeding is also suitable.

• Among fungal diseases, corn smut occurs on corn. It causes round tumors on the plant, which should be removed and burned before they break apart. Rusts may occasionally occur, with sorrel as their intermediate host. It is advisable to eliminate the intermediate host and use chemical protection. Treat plants preventively with fungicides and dress seeds.

  Among animal pests, European corn borer may occur on plants. Its caterpillars damage plants by feeding. Another pest appearing in June and July is corn earworm. Treat plants against pests with special insecticides.

  Viral infections may also appear on corn - stunted growth, red leaves. In this case, eliminate the plants.

• Sweet corn is suitable for consumption in the transition from milk to dough stage. Grains are still soft, but if you press with a fingernail, milky juice no longer flows out. Harvest popcorn when the seed surface is glassy and smooth.