Maize: heritage varieties, sowing, hoeing

In short

• Maize is sown when the soil at 5 cm (2 in) has been 10–12 °C (50–54 °F) for several days in a row: in lowland UK and Ireland roughly early to mid-May.
• Spacing for tall heritage varieties: 70 × 30 cm or stations 70 × 60 cm with two plants, about 5 plants per m².
• Hoe two or three times until it is knee-high, and earth up when the maize is 40–60 cm tall.
• Sow in a block of at least four rows: maize is wind-pollinated, and one long row gives poorly filled cobs.
• Never maize two years in the same place: pests and diseases build up in the soil and stubble.

What's inside

Chapters

1. Maize on a small homestead
2. Heritage and open-pollinated varieties
3. Site, rotation and soil
4. Sowing: when and how
5. Birds and wildlife at sowing
6. Beans and squash in the maize
7. Hoeing and earthing up
8. Water, food and the critical period
9. Pests and diseases
10. Pollination and pure seed
11. Harvest: from milk stage to crib
12. Common mistakes
13. Printable checklist

Worksheets

• Area calculator by need
• Seed, plant and yield calculator
• Maize field sketch
• A year of maize
• Maize log