When to harvest corn

Harvest sweet corn at the milk stage, about 18 to 23 days after the first silk appears, or as soon as 15 days if day and night temperatures are exceptionally warm.

The window: Roughly 18 to 23 days from silk emergence to harvest (17 to 25 days by one source), with prime maturity possible in 15 days or less when day and night temperatures are exceptionally warm.

The kernels are in the milk stage.
The silks are brown and dry at the ear tip, or very dark brown to black.
When punctured with a thumbnail, the soft kernels produce a milky juice.

Timing varies by region and year; your local extension office is the closest authority.

Grounded in: extension.msstate.edu, yardandgarden.extension.iastate.edu. Every timing follows sentences verified verbatim on those pages.

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