VegetableCorn
Pencil Cob Corn
Pencil Cob Corn is a distinctive open-pollinated variety named for its remarkably thin cob, which can be as slender as a pencil. This heirloom corn grows 72 to 84 inches tall and produces long, deep kernels that set it apart from standard sweet corn. Reaching harvest in 100 to 109 days, it thrives in full sun across hardiness zones 2 through 13, making it accessible to gardeners in nearly every climate. The thin cob is not merely a curiosity; it reflects a carefully bred corn that offers unique eating and storage qualities.
Photo © True Leaf Market
Growing Conditions
USDA Zone
2-13
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
Moderate
Soil
Well-drained, Fertile Loam With Organic Matter
Growth Stats
84 in
Height
TypeUpright
Spacing
10
Plant Profile
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
Moderate
Zones
2-13
Size
84in H x ?in W
Growth
—
Care
High
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Highlights
The pencil-thin cob is the defining feature that gives this variety its name and its charm. Rather than the thick, woody core of typical corn, Pencil Cob produces kernels that are notably long and deep, creating a higher proportion of edible corn to cob. This structural difference affects not only how the corn looks when you bite into it, but also how efficiently you can process and prepare it. For gardeners interested in heirloom varieties with genuine character and practical advantages, this corn delivers both story and substance.
Common Uses
Pencil Cob Corn serves as a sweet corn for fresh eating, with the thin cob making it particularly suited to straightforward preparation where the kernel structure and cob proportion matter. The deep, long kernels make it excellent for eating fresh off the cob, where the distinctive texture and kernel-to-cob ratio become apparent. It can also be dried for grinding into cornmeal or preserved through canning, with the thin cob potentially offering advantages in processing and storage.
Growing Timeline
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Care Instructions
Direct Sow
Direct sow seeds outdoors once soil has warmed and frost danger has passed. Plant in full sun in prepared garden beds or raised beds.
Harvesting
Harvest Pencil Cob Corn when the silks have browned and dried and kernels are plump and milky when pierced with a fingernail. This typically occurs 100 to 109 days after planting. Ears are ready when they feel full and the husks still retain some green color. Snap ears downward and slightly backward to cleanly detach them from the stalk.
Growing Calendar
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Companion Planting
Ecology & Traits
Edible
Scientific Classification
Zea mays
Family
Poaceae
Genus
Zea
Growth Habit
Upright
Native Status
L48 (I)PR (I)VI (I)CAN (I)
History & Origin
“Pencil Cob Corn belongs to a tradition of heirloom corn varieties developed and preserved through careful selection across generations. As an open-pollinated, non-GMO heirloom, it represents the kind of corn that farmers and home gardeners have saved seed from year after year, maintaining its distinctive traits through natural reproduction rather than commercial hybridization. The name itself documents the variety's most prized characteristic, suggesting a long history of appreciation for its unusual and practical thin cob structure.”