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Sweet corn

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When to plant sweet corn

Plant in blocks, not single rows, so the wind pollinates the cobs. Sow small batches two weeks apart for a longer harvest.

Photo: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 us, via Wikimedia Commons

The rules we use

Frost
Tender: killed by frost. Goes out 1–2 weeks after the average last frost.
Soil warm enough
Weekly mean around 13°C55°F or more
Heat limit
Average highs above 36°C97°F while it matures (flowers drop)
Days to harvest
About 80 days from sowing in warm weather; longer when it is cool
Picking
About 3 weeks from one planting

General guidance, kept on the cautious side. Varieties differ: check the seed packet. How the dates are worked out.

At a glance

Grows outdoors in
81 of 89 cities
Earliest start (north)
Orlando, January 1
Latest start (north)
Halifax, June 7
Can go in this week
14 cities
No outdoor window
Anchorage, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin, Calgary, Edmonton

Sweet corn: city by city

Sorted from the earliest start after midwinter to the latest. Southern-hemisphere cities follow, with their seasons six months on.

Sow indoorsSow or plant outdoorsHarvestFrost seasonToday

Northern hemisphere
OrlandoFlorida
TampaFlorida
MiamiFlorida
Los AngelesCalifornia
San DiegoCalifornia
HonoluluHawaii
PhoenixArizona
JacksonvilleFlorida
HoustonTexas
New OrleansLouisiana
TucsonArizona
San JoseCalifornia
AustinTexas
San AntonioTexas
Las VegasNevada
FresnoCalifornia
CharlestonSouth Carolina
DallasTexas
SacramentoCalifornia
El PasoTexas
MemphisTennessee
BirminghamAlabama
Little RockArkansas
San FranciscoCalifornia
AtlantaGeorgia
CharlotteNorth Carolina
RaleighNorth Carolina
NashvilleTennessee
TulsaOklahoma
RichmondVirginia
Oklahoma CityOklahoma
LouisvilleKentucky
WashingtonDistrict of Columbia
St. LouisMissouri
Kansas CityMissouri
BaltimoreMaryland
PhiladelphiaPennsylvania
AlbuquerqueNew Mexico
CincinnatiOhio
IndianapolisIndiana
ColumbusOhio
PittsburghPennsylvania
OmahaNebraska
Des MoinesIowa
New YorkNew York
Salt Lake CityUtah
ClevelandOhio
ChicagoIllinois
MinneapolisMinnesota
BoiseIdaho
DetroitMichigan
BostonMassachusetts
PortlandOregon
DenverColorado
MadisonWisconsin
MilwaukeeWisconsin
VancouverBritish Columbia
SeattleWashington
LondonEngland
MontrealQuebec
BuffaloNew York
FargoNorth Dakota
TorontoOntario
OttawaOntario
PortlandMaine
SpokaneWashington
BurlingtonVermont
BillingsMontana
ManchesterEngland
CardiffWales
BristolEngland
WinnipegManitoba
HalifaxNova Scotia
Southern hemisphere
SydneyNew South Wales
AdelaideSouth Australia
AucklandNew Zealand
MelbourneVictoria
CanberraAustralian Capital Territory
HobartTasmania
BrisbaneQueensland
PerthWestern Australia

Swipe sideways to see the whole year →

Dates

CitySow outdoorsHarvest
Orlando FloridaJan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Tampa FloridaJan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Miami FloridaJan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Los Angeles CaliforniaJan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
San Diego CaliforniaJan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Honolulu HawaiiJan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Phoenix ArizonaJan 18 – Apr 4Apr 23 – Jun 20
Jacksonville FloridaJan 22 – Jan 9Jan 1 – Dec 31
Houston TexasFeb 6 – Sep 26May 2 – Dec 27
New Orleans LouisianaFeb 7 – Sep 26May 6 – Jan 7
Tucson ArizonaFeb 12 – Apr 14, Aug 5 – Sep 17May 10 – Jul 1, Sep 30 – Dec 8
San Jose CaliforniaFeb 24 – Aug 31Jun 16 – Dec 2
Austin TexasFeb 27 – Jun 8, Jul 6 – Sep 14May 15 – Aug 23, Aug 31 – Dec 2
San Antonio TexasFeb 27 – Jun 8, Jul 4 – Sep 16May 11 – Aug 23, Aug 29 – Dec 2
Las Vegas NevadaFeb 28 – Apr 23May 21 – Jul 9
Fresno CaliforniaMar 6 – May 13, Aug 12 – Sep 1Jun 3 – Jul 29, Oct 7 – Nov 19
Charleston South CarolinaMar 7 – Sep 9May 29 – Dec 6
Dallas TexasMar 9 – May 30, Jul 6 – Sep 7May 25 – Aug 14, Aug 31 – Nov 26
Sacramento CaliforniaMar 11 – Aug 29Jun 13 – Nov 18
El Paso TexasMar 18 – Apr 30, Jun 28 – Aug 31Jun 1 – Jul 16, Aug 23 – Nov 18
Memphis TennesseeMar 27 – Aug 24Jun 10 – Nov 11
Birmingham AlabamaMar 28 – Aug 26Jun 9 – Nov 10
Little Rock ArkansasMar 28 – Aug 25Jun 8 – Nov 9
San Francisco CaliforniaMar 30 – Aug 4Aug 10 – Nov 30
Atlanta GeorgiaMar 31 – Aug 22Jun 12 – Nov 7
Charlotte North CarolinaApr 6 – Aug 19Jun 16 – Nov 2
Raleigh North CarolinaApr 7 – Aug 18Jun 19 – Nov 3
Nashville TennesseeApr 7 – Aug 19Jun 18 – Nov 2
Tulsa OklahomaApr 7 – Aug 20Jun 17 – Nov 3
Richmond VirginiaApr 10 – Aug 16Jun 23 – Nov 3
Oklahoma City OklahomaApr 11 – Aug 20Jun 17 – Nov 1
Louisville KentuckyApr 12 – Aug 13Jun 25 – Oct 30
Washington District of ColumbiaApr 15 – Aug 13Jun 29 – Oct 31
St. Louis MissouriApr 15 – Aug 11Jun 25 – Oct 25
Kansas City MissouriApr 15 – Aug 10Jun 28 – Oct 25
Baltimore MarylandApr 16 – Aug 13Jun 28 – Oct 31
Philadelphia PennsylvaniaApr 22 – Aug 10Jul 4 – Oct 28
Albuquerque New MexicoApr 22 – Aug 10Jul 1 – Oct 27
Cincinnati OhioApr 23 – Aug 8Jul 3 – Oct 24
Indianapolis IndianaApr 24 – Aug 5Jul 6 – Oct 22
Columbus OhioApr 25 – Aug 4Jul 7 – Oct 21
Pittsburgh PennsylvaniaApr 27 – Aug 2Jul 10 – Oct 20
Omaha NebraskaApr 27 – Aug 1Jul 8 – Oct 17
Des Moines IowaApr 29 – Jul 30Jul 11 – Oct 16
New York New YorkApr 30 – Aug 6Jul 13 – Oct 27
Salt Lake City UtahMay 3 – Aug 2Jul 16 – Oct 17
Cleveland OhioMay 4 – Jul 31Jul 16 – Oct 19
Chicago IllinoisMay 7 – Jul 28Jul 21 – Oct 16
Minneapolis MinnesotaMay 7 – Jul 22Jul 18 – Oct 9
Boise IdahoMay 7 – Jul 28Jul 25 – Oct 14
Detroit MichiganMay 8 – Jul 27Jul 20 – Oct 15
Boston MassachusettsMay 9 – Jul 28Jul 23 – Oct 17
Portland OregonMay 9 – Jul 17Aug 10 – Oct 17
Denver ColoradoMay 13 – Jul 24Jul 23 – Oct 7
Madison WisconsinMay 14 – Jul 18Jul 29 – Oct 9
Milwaukee WisconsinMay 15 – Jul 21Jul 30 – Oct 11
Vancouver British ColumbiaMay 15 – Jul 1Aug 20 – Oct 7
Seattle WashingtonMay 16 – Jul 2Aug 24 – Oct 12
London EnglandMay 16 – Jul 1Aug 22 – Oct 15
Montreal QuebecMay 16 – Jul 16Aug 1 – Oct 5
Buffalo New YorkMay 17 – Jul 21Aug 3 – Oct 13
Fargo North DakotaMay 17 – Jul 14Jul 27 – Sep 29
Toronto OntarioMay 17 – Jul 19Aug 1 – Oct 8
Ottawa OntarioMay 18 – Jul 12Aug 4 – Oct 1
Portland MaineMay 19 – Jul 14Aug 7 – Oct 7
Spokane WashingtonMay 19 – Jul 10Aug 9 – Oct 1
Burlington VermontMay 20 – Jul 16Aug 6 – Oct 8
Billings MontanaMay 20 – Jul 15Aug 2 – Oct 2
Manchester EnglandMay 23 – Jun 4Sep 17 – Oct 7
Cardiff WalesMay 23 – Jun 15Sep 12 – Oct 14
Bristol EnglandMay 24 – Jun 14Sep 13 – Oct 13
Winnipeg ManitobaMay 31 – Jul 2Aug 13 – Sep 21
Halifax Nova ScotiaJun 7 – Jul 2Sep 4 – Oct 6
Sydney New South WalesAug 8 – Apr 4, Jun 14 – Jul 13Nov 5 – Sep 15
Adelaide South AustraliaSep 5 – Feb 24Dec 15 – Jun 12
Auckland New ZealandSep 18 – Feb 14Jan 9 – Jun 10
Melbourne VictoriaSep 22 – Feb 11Jan 5 – May 29
Canberra Australian Capital TerritoryOct 14 – Jan 23Jan 18 – Apr 30
Hobart TasmaniaNov 6 – Dec 9Mar 13 – Apr 22
Brisbane QueenslandJan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Perth Western AustraliaJan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Anchorage AlaskaSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Birmingham EnglandNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.
Edinburgh ScotlandSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Glasgow ScotlandSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Belfast Northern IrelandNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.
Dublin IrelandNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.
Calgary AlbertaNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.
Edmonton AlbertaNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.

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