Sprouting and Transplanting Corn Seed

Sprouting Some Corn, Sprouting Some Corn, Can I Get Some Butter Please?

Ah corn. It is a bit of ambrosia bearing tall grass that is both revered and hated. Corn takes quite a bit more input than many other garden crops, but the reward! There is nothing quite like biting into grilled corn on the cob, and you get extra life bonus points if in the process of biting into those sweet kernels you shoot corn juice into your most obnoxious relative's eye!

There is also the allure of spontaneous corn cob sword battles, getting yelled at by Grandma for leaving an uneaten row on the cob, and my very favorite activity: corn cob discus throwing into the pig pen, (Good for a hog's cardiovascular health). Hmm. Now that I think of it, I might grow corn more for the fun we have with the plant's waste than with its fruit. Interesting.

Anyway, I always put in a small patch of corn, because I really, really like to sit down with a chipotle lime butter dripping grilled ear of maize on a summer evening and simultaneously try to eat the corn and not eat the accompanying insect barrage. One must keep up one's skills. Food eating ninja skills are super relevant in today's economy. I might be talking out of my old testament equine at this point, but it's Friday night, and that should explain everything.

As a habitually consistent homesteader I plant things differently every year. I tend to farm in the moment, which of course means, "Hey! I have a moment, let's do this thing!" This year I sprouted my corn seeds before I tossed them into the soil due to our local weather putting my gardening time table waaaayyyy behind. Pre-sprouting the seeds before I put them in the Earth gives me a bit of a germination jump in my seed sowing time table. Here's how I go about sprouting my corn:

Grab some paper towels, a pie plate, plastic wrap, and some corn seed.

In my climate the maturity dates on a seed packet are meaningless. That said, I usually buy the shortest day to maturity variety that I can get my paws on!

Moisten a few paper towels and place them in the pie plate

Moisten a square of paper towel and fold it in half, then in half again. Open up the last half fold of the paper towel and place the corn kernels on half of it.

Fold the top half of the paper towel over the corn kernels and place it on the damp bed of paper towels in the pie plate. Cover with plastic wrap.

Place it somewhere warm. I set mine on top of my refrigerator

Two days later you will have little corn sprouts

I plant my corn sprouts in my 4-5 feet wide beds in rows that are about two feet apart with about 5-7 inches between each kernel. If you think that I get my tape measure out and mark things off exactly then I have failed at inter-personal impressionism, for @generikat and straight lines are most definitely mutually exclusive. I can't walk in a straight line let alone plant things all ruler-like. When I mark out a row I take my rake or hoe and wiggle it in the soil to form my row. That's if I am using a row, sometimes I plant in a square foot grid. Gardening in my world is a random, slightly Bohemian experience. It just happens in the moment.

This corn was sprouted in two days, planted, and four days later it exploded out of the ground.

Talk about getting a jump on things!

In seventy to eighty days the corn-caused mischief shall commence!

And as always, all of the images in this post were taken on the author's slightly corny iPhone.

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