Only certain varieties of sweet corn will have their flavor affected by a nearby field corn planting. These are the ones labeled "super-sweet," "sugar-enhanced," etc. That's why some of the advice above is incorrect -- though it would be true for "ordinary" vegetables (and non-enhanced varieties of sweet corn, for that matter). You could try timing your planting to avoid cross-pollination, but I wouldn't rely on starting indoors; direct-sown corn catches up quickly to transplanted. Or simply plant a variety of sweet corn that doesn't become starchy if cross-pollinated. Some people prefer these; their disadvantage is that the corn must be eaten very quickly after harvest, while the enhanced varieties can keep their sugar for days. Here is a link that might be useful: Sweet corn

"It is worth pointing out that virtually all commercial property that you didn't personally have hacked out of the woods was farmland not more than 50 years ago." More total nonsense. Why would anyone think that? It's totally perplexing. The fact is that it is not difficult in most cases to learn generally what has gone on with a property in the past, if one takes the time to familiarize with the history of a micro-region. Sure in many places a vacant parcel was likely part of some ag operation at some point in the past. The question is what operations, and how long ago? Corn culture anytime in the past 60 years? I would leave it right quick. In fact I agree with earlier statements that it isn't smart to live in the corn belt at all, unless you take special precautions about drinking water and what you eat and the air you breathe if farmers are spraying nearby. I winter in central florida, in a county that was the #2 in the country for commercial citrus for decades. The poisons and high salt fertilizers that have been heavily used over those years in this super-leaching sand are now in the water table and the lakes. Luckily we have been living on a hilltop property that saw little if any farming (so much for the idea that any property anywhere has had the same exposure to toxins), so the well-water tested ok for heavy metals. I'm glad I re-read this thread because I was about to make an offer on a lakefront property but now I will dig a hole near the lake and have the water tested, as well as the soil. When we had the soil test done on two properties here, one the hilltop and another lakeside that was in citrus for years, all the traces were similar except for copper, which was way high at the lakeside place. So much for the idea that contaminants like copper sulfate don't hang around for years. And this in region that gets well over 50 inches precip per year. Imagine soils that have been conventionally farmed with some hi-spray crop in 30 inch per year region.

There is no "one" variety of corn used to make a corn maze. You can use any variety of field corn as long has it has strong stalks, the height you want, and is relatively pest resistant. Reid's Yellow Dent is commonly used around here. Most any feed/farm store will carry several varieties and there are many online bulk seed suppliers. It needs to be intensively drill planted and having the ability to irrigate it helps too. Depending on the size of the maze you want to build 1 acrre, 5 acre, and 10 acre corn maze kits are available that include everything you need. Dave

It's much easier to start lemongrass from cuttings. If you have an Asian grocery nearby just buy a couple stalks and stick them in a pot of soil or directly in the garden. I've never had one that hasn't rooted as long as it has even a small amont of the base still attached.