Good Day,
You shouldn't have to cover the grass seeds, just keep them watered until the seeds sprout. If you are having the rain that we a getting here, east of Cedar Rapids, that should not be any trouble.
Good Luck!

ya its been raining here for a few days (Coralville) hehe. thanks for the reply :)

Don't know what the question is on corn. Advice on grass seed is spot-on, though it can help to compact the soil after seeding. Gets good soil-seed contact that way and conserves some moisture.

Corn is wind-pollinated, the ears fill best when planted in blocks. The plot you show appears small, you may wish to hand pollinate to ensure good ear fill. Corn is a fairly heavy feeder, it will likely benefit from a balanced fertilizer. Now is a pretty good time to plant sweet corn or ornamental corn. Anything maturing in 110 days or less should be OK. Wind might take its toll if the plot is unprotected, but most corn that tips over will continue to grow - albeit in an ungainly curve. But perhaps this wisdom, or lack thereof, is not what you seek.

hello bbriggs, thanks for the advice. i guess i just want to experiment this year before digging a big garden. i will not be needing lots of corn plants. just as much as this ground i dug would provide. based on what it says, i should plant in blocks 6-8 inches apart. i think this ground would do for 3 blocks of 3X3 :D

Hi there,
Your corn is going to need about 18" to 2 feet in distance, row wise that is. It looks like you'd have to plant it very tight. You need the air flow between the rows and sun to get to the leaves. If you plant it in this crowded patch, you will only get full ears on the outside edges. And that may not even happen. You may be planting just enough for a raccoon to wet his appetite. Once the fruit is starting to feel in good, they come in and raise havoc. You may not have any in the area where you live, but here on the farm we sure do. They love sweet corn!

Yes, the spacing is important - I'm a fool for missing that. Corn needs some room for sun and nutrients. Commercial plantings typically are spaced 30" between rows and 6-8" within rows. You can squeeze that down a little for the typically smaller sweet corn varieties, but I wouldn't go closer than 2' between rows and 4" within rows (and that's pushing things). You can also plant hills, but I have no experience with them. As for varieties, I really like the 'triple-sweet' ones, such as Incredible. Racoons can be a huge problem, they can level a patch overnight. I haven't had problems with them in years, don't know why. But what the heck, plant some corn and see what happens.

I'm with bbiggs, plant it anyway. If you have never gardened before, this will be a fun project. This is the best way you learn. Don't be discouraged and give up after one year. I think gardening is the greatest therapy there is. And I noticed I wrote "Once the fruit is starting to feel in good" How dumb, should have been, fill in good. I hope it doesnÂt have feelings.

hehe thanks all for the comments. well i guess i made a mistake. i planted the seeds (4-6 inches a part) and the rows like 8-10 inches a part. i will wait untill the seedlings appear and take about 1/3 of them out. so they can be apart in good ratio.
i just talked to my neighbor yesterday, and he said that last year racoons came and ate all his corn :D. i guess it is alright, the most fun part for me is actually watching the plant grow and fruting. and if i can have just one corn to eat i will be satisfied. The corn is to expriment this year with ground gardening. i've been with pots forever
my balcony is filled with trees (Meyer's Lemon, lime, tomato, strawberry, sunflower, peach, pear)