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Sweetcorn sprite
VegetablesHalf-HardyAnnual

Sweetcorn

Sweetcorn is a warm-season cereal grown for tender sugary cobs picked and eaten at peak freshness. Because it is wind pollinated, it performs best in blocks rather than isolated rows, making it especially well suited to allotment patches and dedicated summer beds.

Basic information

Category
Vegetables
Lifecycle
Annual
Hardiness
Half-Hardy
Planting partners
8 companions · 0 crops to avoid

Growth profile

Days to harvest
80 days
Germination window
7–14 days
Germination temperature
18–21 °C
Plant spacing
35 cm
Row spacing
45 cm
Sowing depth
3 cm
Height
180 cm
Spread
30 cm

Calendar

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Sow Indoors
Sow Outdoors
Plant Out
Flowering / Harvest
Timings based on average frost dates in the UK. Sign up to set your frost dates.

Care tips

Sow or transplant sweetcorn in square blocks so pollen can move effectively between plants and fill the cobs properly. Keep plants watered in dry spells, protect seedlings from slugs and birds, and harvest as soon as the kernels release a milky sap when pressed.

Common pests

Birds, mice, slugs, corn smut.

Don’t grow with

No crops to avoid have been added yet.