[Malturn]

I have grown Prelude from Edwin tuckers for the second year running and as you can see they are doing very nice.

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

[aelf]

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!) 

The variety is Sundance F1 (actually the remains of last year's packet as I hadn't intended to plant any this year!)

[JayG]

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!) 

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! 

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! 

[BarefootDancer]

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!  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

[mumofstig]

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 

[battygran]

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?

[JayG]

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! 

[mumofstig]

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

[arugula]

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....

[Cake Lady]

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 -    

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...

[Cake Lady]

Sorry, managed to quote the wrong post??

[mumofstig]

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 

[mumofstig]

Sorry, managed to quote the wrong post??

I hope I've fixed it for you 

[angelavdavis]

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.

[Cake Lady]

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! 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 

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