Plant record

Sweet Corn

Zea mays

Corn wants company. Plant it in a block, not a lonely little line.

Rankspeciesderived
GenusZeaPoaceae
Species anchorZea maysThis record is anchored to a stable botanical name, then adjusted for square-foot garden decisions.
Library score76/100strong garden record

Garden timing

Direct sow blocks after soil warms.

Succession rhythm: about every 14 days.

Plant intelligence

Good for compact blocks and repeat plantings.

foodsuccession

Lifecycle: annual

Habit: garden crop

Record score

76/100strong garden record
Taxonomy confidence94Zea mays in Poaceae; 2 cached source references.
Square-foot usefulness944 per square with none support.
Timing and care depth711 planting window, 60F minimum soil, 2 cautions.
Species and variety drill-down400 variety or cultivar options attached.
Annual flower intelligence70Food crop with companion context.
Source readiness82Ready for 4 external lookup paths.

Species identity

This record is anchored to a stable botanical name, then adjusted for square-foot garden decisions.

ScientificZea maysFamilyPoaceaeLookup namesSweet Corn, Zea mays

Garden decision matrix

Square-foot fit4 per square
94Good for compact blocks and repeat plantings. Support: none.
Season behaviortender
71Direct sow. Repeat about every 14 days.
Care loadheavy water
64Plant in blocks for pollination. Heavy feeder. Soil minimum 60F.
Bed ecosystem rolefood, succession
70Food-first crop with companion context.
Variety depth0 options
40Use quick varieties for repeat sowing and slower varieties for the main crop.

Companions

pole-bean, winter-squash, cucumber

Cautions

Plant in blocks for pollination.

Heavy feeder.

External enrichment

Cached name: Zea mays. Optional lookups can compare GBIF, iNaturalist, Perenual, and Trefle without changing the reviewed garden record.

Open enrichment JSON

Data layers

FVF reviewed cachecachedSpacing, timing, variety, companion, and FVF notes used by the planner.
GBIF and iNaturalistlive no-keyNo-key taxonomy, common-name, and community context checks through the enrichment route.
USDA PLANTS downloadsreferencePeriodic identity, distribution, native status, and conservation reference layer.
Perenual or Trefleoptional keyOptional species images, care data, cultivar/synonym cleanup, then cache only reviewed fields.

API source score

Perenual API88/100optional key: Flower and ornamental drill-down, plant photos, care flags, toxicity, bloom data. Limit: Requires an API key and plan-aware caching, so it should enrich records without blocking the app.
Trefle API84/100optional key: Scientific names, subspecies, varieties, hybrids, synonyms, and broader botanical cleanup. Limit: Requires a token and should be treated as a reviewed import layer, not a live page dependency.
USDA PLANTS downloads82/100download cache: Standard names, plant symbols, distribution, native status, and conservation flags. Limit: Best consumed as periodic downloaded data instead of one-off runtime requests.
GBIF Species API78/100live public: Accepted scientific names, synonyms, family/genus cleanup, and occurrence context. Limit: Not a gardening advice source; pair it with local square-foot growing data.
iNaturalist taxa API72/100live public: Common-name discovery, taxon IDs, and regional biodiversity context. Limit: Observation data is not the same thing as garden suitability or crop timing.

Michigan State University Extension

Michigan vegetable-garden timing, frost awareness, and practical garden planning.

Source reference

Cornell Vegetable Growing Guides

Crop-specific vegetable growing guidance.

Source reference

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