🌽VegetablesTender
When to plant Sweetcorn
Default: central Europe (50°N)· 50.0°N
Last spring frost: 5 May
First autumn frost: 5 Oct
Frost-free season: 153 days
Calendar windows
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSeptOctNovDec
Sow indoors
7 Apr – 21 Apr
Sow outdoors
12 May – 2 Jun
Plant out
19 May – 9 Jun
Harvest
3 Aug – 2 Sept
Dates shift with your latitude — they are calculated from your local last-spring-frost date, not from a fixed calendar.
At a glance
Light
Full sun
Water needs
High
Frost hardiness
Tender
Killed by any frost — plant out only after the last one.
Life cycle
Annual
Spacing
35 × 45 cm
Sowing depth
3 cm
Soil pH
6.0–7.0
Days to maturity
80–110
Containers
Needs open ground
Plant family
Grasses
Soil temp. to sow
≥ 12°C
Practical notes
Wind-pollinated: plant in a block of at least four by four, never a single long row, or the cobs come out half-empty. Never grow two varieties near each other.
Knowing when to pick
The silks go brown and dry; press a kernel with a nail and it should squirt milky, not watery or doughy, sap.
Storing the crop
Sugar converts to starch within hours of picking — get it into the pot the same day, or strip and freeze immediately.
Crop rotation
Heavy nitrogen users — follow with legumes or feed the bed well.
Grows well with
Keep apart from
Watch for
Full guide: sweetcorn diseases and pests (4) → with spread routes, compost verdicts and the prevention this list justifies.