Zea mays 'Mergoscia'

Sowing maize:

Sow maize in full sun after soaking the seeds in warm water for 12 hours. In the garden, sow in May in well-warmed soil (at least 12°C (53.6°F)). You can install a tunnel over early sowings until the temperatures warm up enough. You can start sowings in buckets, indoors, as early as April, and plant them in May-June in the garden. Only sow one variety at a time, or two varieties with staggered flowering: maize hybridizes very easily and you wouldn't harvest the variety you sowed. If your garden is less than 200m (656ft) from a maize field, you will need to protect your crop during flowering.

To sow in rows, dig furrows 3cm (1in) deep, spaced 70cm (28in) apart. Sow thinly. After germination, thin to 25-30cm (10-12in) on the row. If you are only sowing a small number of plants, sow them in a square rather than one or two long rows, pollination will be better ensured.

To sow indoors, place 2-3 seeds per bucket in seed compost, mixed with a little compost. Then plant the best-developed plant.

Maize cultivation:

Maize likes rich soils: add manure or compost during its preparation, in the previous autumn, to enrich the area intended for sowing. The roots are shallow, so hoeing should be very superficial. To promote anchoring, mound up the maize when it reaches 20cm (8in), then 40cm (16in) in height. Water regularly if it doesn't rain (once a week), and cover the soil with mulch to retain moisture (grass clippings, straw...).

To facilitate pollination, when the female flowers (located two-thirds up the stem) turn beige, shake the plant. This way, the pollen from the male flower (located at the top of the stem) will fall onto the female flowers.

The corn borer caterpillar, a destructive maize pest, sometimes burrows through the stems, causing them to break. As a preventive measure, shred crop residues before using them (compost or mulch). Practice good crop rotation by not growing maize in the same plot for 3 or 4 years. In case of severe infestation, you can spray a solution of Bacillus thuringiensis.