I have found about 8 to 12" apart works well and rows 2 feet apart. Also here is a tip my father taught me that works very well when the corn is about 1 foot high dig a 2" deep trench about 3" away from base of stalks and put in a line of straight nitrogen (33-0-0) do not put to much but a good little line will do. Do this just before a rain or planned watering. Then sit back and watch your corn jump about 2 feet taller it also strengthens the stalk. It acts almost like a miracle on how fast it works but be careful to much nitrogen or to close to plants will burn them up. I am sorry I can't tell you exactly how much nitrogen to put I just have a feel for it because of what my dad showed me.

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

I grow both Bodacious and Incredible, and am afraid to try anything else because they are both so incredibly sweet. I've been eating these 2 varieties since before they were available commercially - the seed corn companies used to give complimentary packets of sweet corn when seed corn was ordered. My dad first got both of these varieties this way (although I can't tell you anymore which company introduced either of them - probably Dekalb or Pioneer). Anyway, they are both amazing corn. Everyone I share it with says they can't hardly stand to eat anybody else's corn. In my opinion, Incredible is slightly sweeter for eating fresh, but Bodacious is better for freezing. The Incredible doesn't hold its flavor quite as well in the freezer (although it is still, well, incredible, even at that). They are both very very sweet. There is also a 10-day difference in maturity date, which makes it easy to get corn spaced out. The Incredible is an 85-day corn, and the Bodacious is 75-days. I plant it all at one time, and have automatically spaced harvest. Then plant more at 2-week intervals for a total of 3 plantings. As with all very sweet varieties, it takes a warm soil to germinate it, so you really can't plant much before May 20th or so in my area (near Omaha). I think I will try starting a few inside this year, though, just to have some fresh corn a little earlier. Somebody talked about that on a thread this summer. I had never considered doing that before.

This is my first attempt at corn. My stalks on average are about 6 feet with the diameter of the stalks only about around as a quarter. Every stalk has an ear of corn, but when feeling them they are not fully formed. I pulled one yesterday and it was sweet, yet not fully formed and of course small. About 3 weeks ago I searched the internet to find out when corn is ready to harvest. One site said when the silk turns brown and the corn starts pulling or angling away from the stalk. Mine are doing that and some of the husks are now browning. They get plenty of water and sun so based on what I've read here, it was my error not to fertilize more. I'm thinking I should go ahead and harvest what I have. I don't think I'm going to get anymore and I don't want what I have to rot. What say you folks?