Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Hampshire Hog on August 05, 2012, 21:25
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Hi All decided to try to grow more sweetcorn this year.
I have put in some 40 plants all growing pretty well but not all showing signs of corn cobs
despite having flower spikes. Am I impatient or do you think the rotten weather/lack of bees & insects is to blame?? ::)
Cheers HH
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my sweetcorns are doing well but they are very thin on stem.i believe because of bad weather.
good luck
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Mine is coming along very well. I ditched the 18" apart and crammed them in 6" apart :ohmy: Tassles are just starting to turn brown and I have three cobs on one plant.
They should be edible when the sprog, sprog's sprog, sprog's wife and sprog's dog descend toward the end of the month.
Cheers, Tony.
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Mine are half the height they should be and in a word, rubbish :(
Runners are the same :(
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the silks/cobs quite often leave you guessing cos they don't seem to appear until the last minute, whereas the tassels at the top are raring to go :nowink:
They usually do appear in time to get pollinated and turn brown, though :)
Mine would be better if we could please have a few days when it isn't so windy ::)
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Not seeing to much at the moment with mine, first year with them and have been a bit neglected :(
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Ive got 2 different varieties growing.
One lot is very healthy and flowering like mad.
the other lot isnt doing so well,looking a bit yellow so gave them a sprinkling of hen poo.
Should catch up in no time.
Lack of insects doesnt alter pollination as corn is wind pollinated,hence the planting in a block rather than a row,
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Sweetcorn Honeydew - sown 16 April planted out 26 May. Much better than last year - time will tell!
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Not as good as previous years. Flowers on half at best and all less than 3ft tall I guess a bit delayed by all the wet weather but I remain hopeful they will catch up with a nice warm dry spell.
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Last year I sowed and planted out Swift in two batches about 2 weeks apart, and because the first batch copped for sweetcorn-unfriendly weather the second batch overtook the first, in terms of height if not eventual yield.
Did the same this year and they all suffered from the cold conditions :nowink: - first batch are now quite sturdy but a bit shorter than they should be, and starting to produce male flowers, second batch still got some catching up to do.
A dryer and warmer spell is forecast from Wednesday which could be crucial, although I will be amazed if I get more than 1 good cob per plant, which seems to be about the norm for me (absolutely yummy though!) :happy:
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Well. Planted 4 inch apart. Nice and thick and male flowers just starting
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I have 8 plants, all 7 foot high and bearing 2-3 cobs each. Considering the poor growing conditions this year, and how the plants were struggling earlier on, I'm really pleased :)
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Last year was a disaster because I put them outside to harden off and didn't realise just how cold the weather had got in early May. The plants just didn't seem to respond after that and when still at 9 inches tall in August, I ripped them out in disgust.
This year I sowed later and also held them back in the greenhouse for as long as I could before they started to get pot bound. It was a good call because I have to say that my plants are doing so much better and healthier than those who planted out earlier. However, at only about 4 feet they are gearing up to flowering and the creamy tassles are all waiting for pollination - I just hope they can wait just a couple more days until we get the warm dry weather!
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Very poor this year - the plants are only about 18 inches tall - but will leave them where there are and see what happens. Very disappointing after having a really good crop last year. :)
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Like JayG, I'm growing Swift - a new one for me. I put 8 in the greenhouse and 3 outside. Last couple of years, different variety, have been a dis-aaster :wacko: and I had no cobs so am trying Swift. The outside ones looked a bit pale at first and didn't grow much, but now look well, are about 3'6"tall (not sure how tall these grow outside) and tassels are forming. The g'house ones - well, they looked really green and sturdy and are touching the roof, but some of the cobs have poked their heads above cover and are teeny with un-pollinated areas, even though I tapped them every day. There are plenty of silks showing still, so here's hoping. Interesting that those planted closer than usual are doing so well. They are greedy feeders so, as long as there's plenty of food for them, it is something for me to try next year.
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We're growing Minipop, bought as eight plug plants from the garden centre. Came on pretty well in our south-facing bay window and planted them out in early June.
Looked a bit straggly outside for a while, but are now quite tall and very sturdy looking. Flowers just beginning to appear and one plant has a cob forming :D
Next door on "The Big Plot" they are also growing about eight plants, although not sure which variety. Their plants look a lot more spindly than ours, but have been flowering for ages and each have about three cobs.
So hopefully we will both be enjoying some sweet, sweet corn soon!
Barefoot x
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Sorry if this is bad news but minipop is the kind you stirfry!
Bred especially to produce mini corn - this variety produces 3-5 cobs per plant and should be picked before the tassels appear.
Tender cobs can be eaten raw or cooked.
Plant closely at 8in/20cm spacing.
•Baby Corn!
quote from - http://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/sweetcorn-mini-pop-seeds-pid2579.html
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My sweetcorn was very slow to get going but the last week of sun we had worked wonders and the cobs seem to be forming nicely . :)
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Sorry if this is bad news but minipop is the kind you stirfry!
quote from - http://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/sweetcorn-mini-pop-seeds-pid2579.html
Yep, that's what we eat the most :) Although, will admit to not doing my homework re harvesting - seems we don't have to wait for flowers/ pollinating etc, so can probably harvest the first cob now :)
Might have a go at growing the full size version next year, for a change and as these seem to have done well
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Yep, that's what we eat the most :)
*big sigh of relief* :D
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Sorry if this is bad news but minipop is the kind you stirfry!
quote from - http://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/sweetcorn-mini-pop-seeds-pid2579.html
Yep, that's what we eat the most :) Although, will admit to not doing my homework re harvesting - seems we don't have to wait for flowers/ pollinating etc, so can probably harvest the first cob now :)
Might have a go at growing the full size version next year, for a change and as these seem to have done well
I made the mistake the first year I grew these of leaving them too long before harvesting and they were inedible! Am giving them another go this year.
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Mmmm may try those next year, I love baby corn!
My sweetcorn plants aren't as tall as they usually are, but all but one have cobs forming, and a few have 3 cobs on one plant. Hope they turn out okay!
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I have 8 plants, all 7 foot high and bearing 2-3 cobs each. Considering the poor growing conditions this year, and how the plants were struggling earlier on, I'm really pleased :)
What variety are they Aelf? (at 7' tall I'm assuming they're not Swift, unless I've been doing something really wrong for the last 3-4 years!) :unsure:
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Hi JayG, I'll have a look for the packet when I get home, can't remember the variety off-hand but I don't think they are Swift.
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I've got 7 plants - most of them have cobs on (some plants have a 2nd cob forming). Tassles are starting to go brown but they are not very tall and the cobs don't look that big.
How do you know when they're ready?
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Sorry if this is bad news but minipop is the kind you stirfry!
quote from - http://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/sweetcorn-mini-pop-seeds-pid2579.html
Yep, that's what we eat the most :) Although, will admit to not doing my homework re harvesting - seems we don't have to wait for flowers/ pollinating etc, so can probably harvest the first cob now :)
Might have a go at growing the full size version next year, for a change and as these seem to have done well
I made the mistake the first year I grew these of leaving them too long before harvesting and they were inedible! Am giving them another go this year.
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Same here.
So far the plants are about two feet tall but no sign of any cob growth yet. Watching carefully :unsure:
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I decided this year that I didn't really want any sweetcorn, so I'm just growing them for the lovely feature they make in my garden, a beautiful mass of six inch high greenery... Well, that's what I'm trying to convince myself of anyway...
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I decided this year that I didn't really want any sweetcorn, so I'm just growing them for the lovely feature they make in my garden, a beautiful mass of six inch high greenery... Well, that's what I'm trying to convince myself of anyway...
:lol: :lol:
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Getting there slowwwwly.....
The small one on the right is a result of a co-planter bending the plant to within an inch of its life >:( :).
(http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p564/Wavertree/a0c24e96.jpg)
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mine have finished producing pollen and it doesn't look as if many cobs have been pollinated, it's just been to windy :(
So I'll just have to wait and see.
On a plus note the winter squash growing through them seem to have set a few squashes, fingers crossed for them as well ;)
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I have grown Prelude from Edwin tuckers for the second year running and as you can see they are doing very nice. :)
(http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/rr66/penman26/Sweetcorn.jpg)
This was last thursday and now the silks are turning nicly brown. So hopefully another 2 weeks or so I should be eating them ;) :)
Malcolm
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I have 8 plants, all 7 foot high and bearing 2-3 cobs each. Considering the poor growing conditions this year, and how the plants were struggling earlier on, I'm really pleased :)
What variety are they Aelf? (at 7' tall I'm assuming they're not Swift, unless I've been doing something really wrong for the last 3-4 years!) :unsure:
The variety is Sundance F1 (actually the remains of last year's packet as I hadn't intended to plant any this year!)
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I have 8 plants, all 7 foot high and bearing 2-3 cobs each. Considering the poor growing conditions this year, and how the plants were struggling earlier on, I'm really pleased :)
What variety are they Aelf? (at 7' tall I'm assuming they're not Swift, unless I've been doing something really wrong for the last 3-4 years!) :unsure:
The variety is Sundance F1 (actually the remains of last year's packet as I hadn't intended to plant any this year!)
Ah! I remember it well! :nowink:
Grew Sundance about 6 years ago and finished up with weak plants about 3 feet tall, which was also about the time the penny finally dropped as to what hungry plants sweetcorn are, and how nutrient-deficient sandy soils can be! ;)
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I made the mistake the first year I grew these of leaving them too long before harvesting and they were inedible! Am giving them another go this year.
Picked our first Minipop cob last night :) Spotted that the tassels were starting to turn brown, so was a bit worried that we'd left it on the plant for too long....
But, although the cob itself was quite small, it tasted great, so we were quite pleased. Each of our 8 plants has about three cobs forming now, so will keep a close eye on them.
This might sound silly, but.... I've never "unwrapped" a sweetcorn cob before! :wub: It was very exciting - like pass the parcel, with all the layers. And I didn't realise the mini ones were totally covered in the tassels - very alien looking!
Barefoot xx
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I have 8 plants, all 7 foot high and bearing 2-3 cobs each. Considering the poor growing conditions this year, and how the plants were struggling earlier on, I'm really pleased :)
Are they pollinated cobs or just 3 cobs grown? they don't count until they're pollinated and eatable ;) Some of mine have 4/5 cobs if I includethe tillers - but they won't all make edible cobs :(
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I have a block of nine planted about 14 inches apart in a raised bed with a couple of Dwarf French beans in the gaps between the rows. Don' know whether that was a bad idea as I now have tall plants with two or three 'cobs' each. The silks of some are turning brown although, like ponygirl, they are quite small and I have no idea if they will carry on growing now or how soon they should be harvested. Could the lack of sun earlier on account for their titchyness or could it be the beans do you reckon? They are called 'incredible' from wilko, - anyone grown these before?
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Apart from the cold and lack of sunshine this summer, poor pollination is obviously also a potential problem with sweetcorn - too wet, and/or too windy (or no wind at all!) at the critical time can spoil the crop. I suppose that having competition from anything else with such unsuitable weather won't have helped them.
Best thing to do is to have a look by making a small slit in the sheath about half way down - you won't stop the cob developing and you will be able to see how many kernels you've got, and whether they are ready (if they produce a milky juice when you dig a fingernail in they are ready, clear juice too early, thick cream too late!)
Not grown "Incredible" but I've heard they are a good variety, but won't be fundamentally different from other full-sized varieties in terms of growing.
Welcome to the forums! :)
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Incredible tasted lovely when I grew them, but i didn't grow them again because I had quite a few cobs that thought they were tassels, it was weird :blink:
So if yours have pollinated ok they will be sweet ;)
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Three out of five minipop plants about to produce a number of fruits all at the same time by the look of them. Can't be right, last year they produced in ones and twos.... ::)
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I have a block of nine planted about 14 inches apart in a raised bed with a couple of Dwarf French beans in the gaps between the rows. Don' know whether that was a bad idea as I now have tall plants with two or three 'cobs' each. The silks of some are turning brown although, like ponygirl, they are quite small and I have no idea if they will carry on growing now or how soon they should be harvested. Could the lack of sun earlier on account for their titchyness or could it be the beans do you reckon? They are called 'incredible' from wilko, - anyone grown these before?
I think the beans actually help fix nitrogen in the soil which the sweetcorn should love as well as providing a bit of shade for our very sunny summer - :tongue2:
There is a native american technique called three sisters where corn, beans and squash are all grown together as they are supposed to complement each other. I was watching this thread as I'm thinking of trying it next year, although i do believe the UK climate isn't the best for it.
The sweetcorn I've grown this year are quite pathetic, but then I don't think my soil quality was good enough and I was a bit late putting them in - seem to remember a bit of rain...
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Sorry, managed to quote the wrong post??
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There is a native american technique called three sisters where corn, beans and squash are all grown together as they are supposed to complement each other. I was watching this thread as I'm thinking of trying it next year, although i do believe the UK climate isn't the best for it.
if you do a forum search you'll find a lot of threads about '3 sisters', not many of them are complimentary :D
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Sorry, managed to quote the wrong post??
I hope I've fixed it for you ;)
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Well Swift has at last come true to its name and has produced two cobs per plant. Just waiting for them to ripen now. I will need to barracade them though as we have a badger who stripped our plants last year - leaving the stripped cobs all over the plot!
No sign of anything on the minipop sweetcorn yet.
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Sorry, managed to quote the wrong post??
I hope I've fixed it for you ;)
Thanks! Realised the quote bit is at the top of each post - not the bottom! :wub: Hopefully got the hang of it now!
if you do a forum search you'll find a lot of threads about '3 sisters', not many of them are complimentary :D
I've been reading the other threads and still have the urge to try for some reason. I think I just love the idea but it will need careful planning
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Three Sisters: I use this method for sweetcorn, climbing beans (Cherokee trail of Tears) and Butternut Squash. Works for me. If I see any beans starting to strangle the sweetcorn, I just unwind the bean vine and give it a beanpole to climb up.
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how do you get in there to do that, with the jungle of sweetcorn squash and beans. Or do you plant the corn much further apart cos I can't get to my corn easily - and that's without the beans :unsure:
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I've never seen a successful three sisters planting and would like to
SO
Picture please Kirpi :)
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Are they pollinated cobs or just 3 cobs grown? they don't count until they're pollinated and eatable ;) Some of mine have 4/5 cobs if I includethe tillers - but they won't all make edible cobs :(
Ah - that explains why my sweetcorn (Swift) grown in the g'house have several cobs per plant but some look like corn cobs coming out of their sheaths and producing tassels after silks. These must be the tillers, but have no idea why they do it. I do have 3 plants which I put outside and have caught up with the g'house ones amazingly well. I have one which has FIVE silks.
Fix quoted text.
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The original 3 sisters is nicely explained here
http://greenthumbpete.com/?p=39
corn and beans for drying and squash for winter storage ;)
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I have 8 plants, all 7 foot high and bearing 2-3 cobs each. Considering the poor growing conditions this year, and how the plants were struggling earlier on, I'm really pleased :)
Are they pollinated cobs or just 3 cobs grown? they don't count until they're pollinated and eatable ;) Some of mine have 4/5 cobs if I includethe tillers - but they won't all make edible cobs :(
Hi MOS, yes. all pollinated and swelling up nicely :) Just a matter of timing the harvest right so that I get them before the meeces do :ohmy: ::)
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I manage two of the three sisters but don't do the beans. I find the courgettes and sweetcorn work well together.
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Thanks for the advice JayG and mumofstig, but I fear it's too late as the pollen has been and gone, I peeped into a couple of cobs today and things are not looking good, as mumof stig said it has been windy here too. I think I will give it a bit longer but I'm not holding my breath!
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I have 18 plants with a total of 32 cobs. Hey, not bad for my first attempt! Took a quick peek at the largest cob yesterday but it hasn’t turned yellow yet. A couple more weeks I think.
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I have 18 plants with a total of 32 cobs. Hey, not bad for my first attempt! Took a quick peek at the largest cob yesterday but it hasn’t turned yellow yet. A couple more weeks I think.
The cobs do not always turn yellow - some are more a pale cream - if you pierce one of the kernels with your thumb and it exudes a milky fluid the cob should be ready. If left too late the cobs go starchy and are not nice to eat.
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I've planted a block of about 20 plants. They were badly slowed down by the bad weather at the start of the summer but look much better now, though small.
My question is, they are only about 2 feet tall but are starting to produce tassels. I can see them just forming at the top of the stems. If they start to flower while so small, does anyone think they'll produce a crop?
Thanks
Simon
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They obviously are quite small, but how small compared to how tall they should be does depend on variety.
As long as you get "silks" appearing and the weather isn't too awful at pollination time you should get at least 1 cob per plant, although they will probably not be as large as they would be if the plants had grown to full size and strength.
In the last few years I've rarely got more than 1 good cob per plant anyway, mainly because I'm now struggling to remember the last time we had a sweetcorn-friendly summer! :nowink:
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I have 11 plants planted 12 one disappeared -prob slugs or birds- with courgettes in the bed also, both seem to be doing well. They are close together - less than a 30cm rule I would say and all have cobs starting, very excited as not grown them before.