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Corn fruit development suffers without adequate levels of nitrogen.

Often used simultaneously as a privacy barrier and a food crop, tall corn stalks grown in the home garden
require a lot of soil nutrients for fruit production. In fact, one of the primary nutrients, nitrogen, must be
abundant since it contributes to chlorophyll manufacturing in the leaves. Energy produced by photosynthesis,
How to Side Dress Corn
by Amy Rodriguez, Demand Media
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using the chlorophyll, generates growth, spread and fruit development. Providing additional soil nutrients
through fertilizing is a practical way to help your corn grow tall. Side dressing, or adding fertilizer after the
plant has established itself, provides an additional stimulation for optimal growth.
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Water your corn weekly with garden sprinklers or a watering can so that the plant receives a minimum of
1 inch of water. Continue to water your corn weekly while it is still a seedling to develop a strong root
system. Dry conditions affect the plant's ability to draw in nutrients during side dressing.
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Measure your corn plant's height using a measuring tape. The stalk must be a minimum of 16 inches tall
to begin side dressing.
Choose between using ammonium nitrate and balanced fertilizer, like a 10-10-10 ratio, for the side
dressing. The main nutrient needed is nitrogen, but you can still add the other key elements of potassium
and phosphorus for a balanced fertilizing process, as desired.
Create a shallow trench around the base of each corn's hill using a hand trowel. This furrow provides a
barrier against the fertilizer flowing away from the cornstalk when you water the garden.
Scoop 1 tablespoon of fertilizer from its container using a measured tablespoon. Sprinkle the fertilizer
approximately 3 to 4 inches away from the cornstalk; the fertilizer should surround the stalk at the base
of its hill. Use 1 tablespoon for each individual corn hill.
Water the cornstalks with gardening sprinklers or a watering can so that the fertilizer moves downward
into the soil.
Repeat the side dressing process when the corn has tasseled or grown its flowerhead.
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Things You Will Need
Garden sprinklers
Watering can
Measuring tape
Ammonium nitrate fertilizer
10-10-10 fertilizer
Hand trowel
Measured tablespoon
Tip
Use an impending rainstorm as your watering mechanism. Side dressing prior to rain allows key water minerals
and fertilizer nutrients to penetrate the soil structure simultaneously for optimum growth.
Warning
Do not place the fertilizer too close to the cornstalk's base. Root burn easily occurs from exposure to too much
fertilizer. Keeping the 3- to 4-inch distance from the corn's base provides a safe barrier for healthy nutrient
absorption.
References
National Gardening Association: Corn Care (http://www.garden.org/articles/articles.php?q=show&id=792)
West Virginia University Extension Service: Sweet Corn Production
(http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/hortcult/homegard/sweetcorn.htm)
Ohio State University Extension: Corn Response to Sidedress Nitrogen
(http://corn.osu.edu/newsletters/2012/2012-17-1/corn-response-to-sidedress-nitrogen)
About the Author
Writing professionally since 2010, Amy Rodriguez cultivates successful cacti, succulents, bulbs,
carnivorous plants and orchids at home. With an electronics degree and more than 10 years of
experience, she applies her love of gadgets to the gardening world as she continues her education
through college classes and gardening activities.
Photo Credits
Creatas/Creatas/Getty Images
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