Baby vegetables tend to be milder and more tender. Home gardeners can pick some of their crop as baby vegetables and leave some to mature. The tiny ears of corn in Chinese cooking are really just immature sweet corn. Any variety can be used although some varieties are listed specifically for baby corn. Sweet corn can be planted closer than usual at six inch centers and every other plant can be harvested for mini corn.
Timing is important for mini vegetables.
Harvest baby corn within two or three days of the appearance of the silks. To guide your timing look for the tassels on top of the plants. When the tassels arrive, the silks appear within a few days. Any summer squash varieties should be picked within 24 hours of flowering. Zucchini should be picked before it is more than four inches long.