Silver Queen
What's special about Silver Queen
The classic late-season white sweet corn. Tall 8 ft stalks; deep flavor, tender kernels. Requires a long warm season.
Growing this variety
Silver Queen follows the same growing basics as Corn. Variety-specific maturity above; everything else below applies to the whole Corn family.
Germination
Spacing & depth
How to plant
Plant in blocks of at least 4 rows × 4 rows — corn is wind-pollinated. Sparse rows = poorly filled cobs.
Grower's tip
Harvest when silks brown and a punctured kernel runs milky.
Soil preferences
Deep, rich, well-drained loam.
6.0–6.8
2–3 in of compost worked into the bed each spring; side-dress heavy feeders (tomato, squash, brassica) monthly with balanced organic fertilizer.
Watering
1–2 in per week — steady is more important than heavy.
Drip or soaker at the base. Mulch 2–3 in to hold moisture and suppress weeds.
Overwatered: yellowing lower leaves, cracked fruit, blossom-end rot from calcium disruption. Underwatered: wilting mid-day, bitter or misshapen fruit, blossom drop.
Prefers top-watering — Top-water (overhead or rain) — grains are wind-pollinated and tolerate wet foliage. Water deeply and infrequently.
Temperature tolerance
70–85°F (21–29°C) for warm-season; 60–75°F (15–24°C) for cool-season
55–65°F (13–18°C)
Warm-season crops (tomato, pepper, squash, cucumber, bean) are frost-tender. Cool-season (brassica, pea, spinach, radish) tolerate light frost, some (kale, spinach) sweeten after one.
Container growing
Possible with the right cultivar
5+ gal (19 L) for tomato/pepper/eggplant; 3 gal for compact bush varieties; 8+ in deep for greens
Look for 'patio', 'bush', or 'compact' varieties. Water containers daily in heat — they dry out fast.
Succession planting
Bush beans, salad greens, radishes, carrots: sow every 2–3 weeks. Long-season crops (tomato, pepper): one sowing per season.
Detailed harvesting
Pick fruiting crops young and often — over-mature fruit signals the plant to stop producing. Cut, don't yank, with pruners to protect the stem.
Post-harvest storage & preservation
Cure winter squash and onions in a warm airy spot 2 weeks, then store cool. Freeze most vegetables blanched. Ferment or can surplus.
Culinary, medicinal & other uses
Fresh eating, cooking, preserving. Save the biggest and best specimens as seed stock, not for the table.
Medicinal or traditional uses are shared for interest only — this is not medical advice. Consult a qualified professional before using any plant medicinally.
Seed saving
Depends on species — tomato/pepper/bean/pea are self-pollinating; squash/cucumber/melon/brassica cross via insects.
Self-pollinators need little isolation (10 ft). Cross-pollinators need 1/4 mile, hand-pollination, or blossom bags.
Let one healthy plant fully ripen fruit or dry pods; ferment wet-seed fruits (tomato, cucumber, melon) 3 days to strip pulp before drying.
Your zone's planting calendar
Pick your USDA hardiness zone and we'll estimate the key dates for corn in your area. These are regional averages — always check your own last-frost forecast before sowing.
My Silver Queen Corn notes
Silver Queen Corn seeds on hand
Track packets and loose seeds you already have. Private to your account.
Par level — leave at 0 for no alert. Anything below par shows on Seed Starting and your shopping list.
From your kitchen — grow corn from what you already have
Sweet corn from the grocery store is a hybrid picked at the milk stage — it won't grow. But open-pollinated flint, dent, or popcorn cobs from a market do work.
- 1Let ears ripen on the plant until husks are dry-brown and kernels are hard and dented.
- 2Peel back husks and hang cobs to cure another 2–4 weeks in a dry airy spot.
- 3Twist kernels off by hand into a bowl; skip the small tip and butt kernels.
- 4Store dry in a sealed jar. Sow after last frost in warm soil.
Storage: 2–3 years — corn loses vigor faster than most seed.
Order more seeds
Running low? Reorder from one of these seed stores.
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Other Corn varieties
Peaches & Cream
70 daysBicolor yellow-and-white sugary-enhanced (SE) corn. Sweet, tender, and holds sweetness a couple of days after picking.
Golden Bantam
80 days1902 heirloom yellow sweet corn on 5–6 ft stalks. Old-fashioned corn flavor; less sugary than modern hybrids.
Honey Select
80 daysAAS-winning yellow triple-sweet (sh2) hybrid — extra sweet and holds well after harvest.