A good rule of thumb is to sow three seeds (2-3 cms beneath the soil) for each plant you want to grow, and to thin to the strongest seedling (about 30 cms apart), since corn’s germination rate is around 75 percent. Chieftain and Max are varieties of untreated corn seed that can be sourced. Cornstalks growing with ample moisture and in well-prepared, fertile soil can be expected to produce two ears per stalk.

Sweetcorn is wind-pollinated, so a square plot is more effective than long rows and it can help you use limited space efficiently. Native Americans plant corn in hills in a square, leaving about a metre between each hill.

Sweetcorn is monoecious which means there are both male and female flowers on each corn plant. In some monoecious plants, male and female parts are in the same flower. In sweetcorn, male and female flowers are in different locations – the male flowers form a tassel which is at the top of the plant. The female flower is located at the junction of leaves and stem. It consists of a collection of hairs (silks) enclosed in the husks of what will become the ears. These silks are pollen-receiving tubes. Wind-blown pollen from the male flowers (tassel) falls on the silks below. Each silk leads to a kernel, and pollen must land on all silks for the ear to fill out completely with kernels. Kernel “skips” (ears only partly filled out with kernels) often are the result of poor pollination.

If you plant sweetcorn in a sheltered spot it may pay to shake the stalks so the pollen is easily transferred.

According to Native American legend, corn, beans, and squash are three inseparable sisters which grow and thrive together.

Sweetcorn provides a natural pole for bean vines to climb. Beans fix nitrogen on their roots, improving the overall fertility of the plot by providing nitrogen to the following year’s corn. Bean vines also help stabilise the corn plants, making them less vulnerable to blowing over in the wind. Shallow-rooted squash vines become a living mulch, shading emerging weeds and preventing soil moisture from evaporating. Spiny squash plants also help discourage predators from approaching the corn and beans.

Sweetcorn, beans and squash also complement each other nutritionally. Sweetcorn provides carbohydrates, green beans provide vitamins and minerals and dried beans are rich in protein. Squash yields both vitamins from the fruit and healthful, delicious oil from the seeds.

After planting, keeping your sweetcorn watered is most important, especially during pollination. If corn suffers a drought then, you’ll end up with only a few kernels on each cob. Sidedress the stalks with a nitrogen-rich fertiliser (like chicken manure or sheep pellets) a month after planting your sweetcorn, then again when tassels appear. Sweetcorn also loves being fed fish fertiliser during the growing season too. A good layer of mulch between the stalks helps keep the soil moist.