7 Types of Corn You Should Harvest Right Now for Perfect Yields

From home gardeners to farm market customers to retailers, everybody anticipates the sweet corn harvest. But there are types of corn you can grow for uses other than fresh eating. Here we'll explore the most popular types, what they look and taste like, and the best use for each kind.

All About Corn

Corn is an ancient crop believed to have originated in Mexico between nine and ten thousand years ago and developed from a variety of grass called teosinte. All types of corn, also called maize, are grasses with one-third of the world's supply grown in the United States.

Sweet Corn

Dozens of varieties of sweet corn, (Zea mays L.), have been developed and are grouped into one of five categories. For most home gardeners selections include 'standard sugary (su)', 'sugary enhanced (se)', and 'supersweet (sh2)'.

The other two groups 'synergistic (syn)' and 'augmented supersweets (shA or aug)' are mostly grown commercially for their long shelf life. All varieties in these groups produce sweet, tender kernels for fresh eating and can be yellow, white, bicolor, red, black, or blue.

Standard sugary (su) includes heirloom varieties that turn to starch in one or two days after picking. Along with standard white, yellow, and bicolor, varieties include ears with black, blue, or red kernels. Sugary enhanced (se) corn contains a higher sugar level and keeps its flavor for up to ten days after picking. Supersweet (sh2) has the highest amount of sugar and the longest shelf life - up to two weeks when refrigerated.

• Silver Queen (su): An heirloom favorite, 8- to 9-inch ears feature 14 to 16 rows of sweet, milky, white kernels. This is a late-season corn with just a couple of days' shelf life before it becomes starchy and loses its sweet flavor.

• Peaches and Cream (se): A popular yellow and white bicolor for home gardens, this hybrid features 7 1/2 inch ears with 14 rows of kernels that have the combined high sugar flavor of yellow and white sweet corn. Great for canning, freezing, or eating fresh. Use within a week of picking.

• Illini Xtra Sweet (sh2): A sturdy heirloom variety with an extended shelf life ideal for roadside stands and farm markets. It produces 8-inch ears with 14 to 16 rows of tender, golden-yellow kernels.

Popcorn

Popcorn, (Zea mays everta), is one of the oldest forms of cultivated corn, categorized as either rice or pearl according to kernel shape. It comes in yellow, white, red, blue, black, bicolor, and multi-colored, with yellow being the most popular.

Ears range in size from miniature 2 to 3 inches up to full size 6 to 9 inches. High levels of starch cause the kernels to explode when heated.

• Dynamite: An heirloom and heavy producer of two to three 6- to 9-inch ears per stalk. Orangish yellow kernels have a light buttery flavor and tender bite when popped.

• Red Strawberry: This heirloom variety features three 2- to 3-inch ears of ruby-colored kernels perfect for popping or adding to autumn decor.

• Calico: Ears are 5- to 8-inches long with kernels in combinations of red, yellow, brown, black, green, blue, pink, and orange, Popped corn has a slightly nutty flavor.

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Flour Corn

Flour corn, (Zea mays var. amylacea), is most commonly grown from seed that produces either yellow or white kernels. There are a number of alternatively colored ears and both dent and flint varieties that can also be ground into flour.

The best corn for flour has soft, starchy kernels with a thin outer covering called the pericarp.

• Bloody Butcher: An heirloom variety growing to a towering 12 feet. Each stalk produces two to six large ears (8- to 10-inches) of crimson red kernels perfect for grinding into cornmeal. This is a long-season variety maturing in 110 to 120 days.

• Hickory King White: A large, heirloom variety at 12- to 13-foot tall with 8- to 9-inch ears each having 10 to 12 rows of flat, white, dented corn. Snug husks discourage pests.

• Indian Flour Corn: An heirloom variety used for cornmeal and grits. Also known as rainbow corn, the multi-colored kernels make popular autumn decorations. Ears are 8- to 9-inches long.

Dent Corn

Dent corn, (Zea mays indenata), is also known as field corn and the type grown in greatest quantities in the U.S. cornbelt. It comes in multiple colors of white, yellow, blue, red, green, gold, purple, brown, black, and bicolor with yellow varieties as the top crop in amount harvested.

Dent corn is characterized by a distinctive dent or depression in the tops of the kernels caused when the soft middle collapses. This type is used as livestock feed, in processed foods, and in industrial products like cooking oil and biodegradable plastics.

• Lancaster Sure Crop: Tall 12-foot plants have a sturdy root system to withstand wind and drought. Long 10- to 12-inch ears are relatively thin with 16 to 18 rows of large yellow kernels. Primarily used for silage and fodder.

• Reids Yellow Dent Field Corn: A hardy, productive heirloom used for livestock and wildlife feed, flour, and cornmeal. Large 9-inch ears feature 16 rows of packed, flat, yellow kernels.

• Earth Tones: A novel type in shades of muted, earth-tone colors including gold, bronze, mauve, pink, green, browns, and blues. Kernels lack the shine of traditional Indian corn but have multiple uses including animal feed, flour, and decoration. Large 8- to 10-inch ears.

Flint Corn

Flint corn, (Zea mays var. indurata), also called 'Indian Corn', is the late-season type often sold at farm markets for autumn decorations. It has a low water content and a tough outer shell that makes hard kernels.

Flint corn can be yellow, white, or multi-colored and has a deep, earthy flavor. Uses besides decor include grits, hominy, flour, and cornmeal.

• Cascade Ruby Gold: Features include 8- to 12-inch long, thin ears with kernels in various shades of red, orange, yellow, and gold. Used for cornbread and polenta with different colored kernels giving different flavors.

• Yellow Guinea: This prolific, short-season, heirloom produces up to eight 6-inch ears on each plant with golden yellow kernels perfect for hominy and cornmeal.

• Wade's Giant Indian Flint: Tall plants produce thick, heavy, 12-inch ears filled with kernels in a kaleidoscope of colors including yellow, blue, red, orange, white, purple, and more. Primarily ornamental it can also be used for grits, polenta, cornmeal, or animal feed.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many varieties of corn are there?

Grown all over the globe, corn varieties number about 200 with many more cultivars and new hybrids being developed all the time.

What's the most common type of corn?

Dent corn, also known as field corn, is the most common type grown in the U.S. which produces one-third of the world's total corn crop.

Read the original article on The Spruce.