[Cake Lady]

I'm planning my planting for next year and was just wondering which sweetcorn varieties people grow and why?

This year i've grown mini pop and the birdseye one free from a facebook offer.  Birdseye ones look ok, about 2 foot high with a couple of cobs per plant but i've no idea what they are (not mini tho).  Mini pop havent really got going this year, maybe the weather hasn't helped.  The last couple of weeks I've been feeding with a homemade comfrey tea but that's it.

On a trip round the allotment last week i've noticed a couple of others have got some over 6ft tall looking very green and lush with several cobs, and some not quite that tall but still looking good.  Decided i would ask them which varieties and what they've done to help them along, but as yet haven't seen anyone to ask.  So I thought I'd ask on here as well!

[sowitgrowit]

I had the Birdseye sweetcorn and 'Earlibird' this year.  The Birdseye were in the garden and really, really struggled.

Earlibird (which I picked up on ebay - 25 seeds for about a pound I think) have been absolutely brilliant on the allotment.

The first one was eaten yesterday afternoon - I'd never eaten fresh, home grown sweetcorn before.  To say they were great-tating is an understatement.  A good size too.  Piccy here.

[sowitgrowit]

And here they are on the plot - about 5-6 foot tall, in a block of around 25.

[Cake Lady]

That looks amazing!  I've attached a piccy of mine (hopefully) below which looks pretty poor by comparrison, but hey its how we learn!

[sowitgrowit]

This is my first year on the allotment - I'm amazed at how they have coped with the poor weather to be honest. The ones from Birdseye are no more than about 18 inches and definitely no crop coming from them

[boldondig]

Sweetcorn Honeydew - sown 16 April planted out 26 May. Block of 15. Have eaten 8 cobs to date - they have been good - very tasty - have always picked and cooked the same day. Most plants have two cobs so I still have some to go at before I have to harvest the lot.

[mumofstig]

 I've grown Early Extra Sweet and I'm really pleased with it considering the weather 

[BabbyAnn]

This year I grew Earlibird F1 too - I had my first cob on Sunday and another on Monday    Lovely, sweet, very tender and small kernels (I did wonder if I had harvested it too early but they were definitely ready)  My plants are probably about 5 ft tall too.  I was late sowing them and while still in pots, was able to move them in and out of the greenhouse at home during the cold wet summer months until about mid-July when I knew if I didn't plant out on the plot soon, they'd get pot bound and not do much.  Luckily the weather started to improve not long after and then they really responded to the warmer weather and just missed the rains soon after flowering.  My neighbours on the other hand had planted their's out at the end of May/June and most are very poor in comparison, some still 9 inches high or so - I had an envious neighbour asking what variety I had grown, but in this case I don't think it was the variety but just sheer luck & the timing.

[JayG]

I can add Swift, Lark and Sundance to the list, with Swift being my current favourite - it consistently does well, even recovering from a very pale, stunted start in cold, wet June and much of July this year.

Eating freshly picked and cooked sweetcorn is such a sumptuous experience for me I'm not sure it's possible to tell which is best as I wallow in my blissful post-eating organism. (sp. ?    )

All the varieties mentioned so far have been F1 types - the key to getting the fast development qualities essential for success in our short summers (especially the last few!)

[Goosegirl]

This year I've grown Swift, due to recommendations on here. For the last two years, I have had crop failures  , so I planted 8 in the greenhouse and 3 outside. The indoor ones are about 6' high with 2-3 silks each; the outdoor ones were very slow in getting going, but now are about 4' high with 3-5 silks each. Guess what - we will have our first ones tonight.  . I await with bated breath as I sink my teeth into the jucy, butter-laden corns .....DROOL!

[Cake Lady]

Thanks everyone for your replies, something to go on for next year!

Anyone do anything special to get them to grow well or leave them to their own devices?

[sowitgrowit]

Thanks everyone for your replies, something to go on for next year!

Anyone do anything special to get them to grow well or leave them to their own devices?

I started mine off on damp kitchen roll, transferred to toilet roll tubes and then moved them outside once they had reached about 6 or 8 inches tall.

After that, they've had one (I think) feed with a comfrey-slop-solution.

[BabbyAnn]

Dig lots of compost or manure in the bed where the plants are to go - they need fertile soil.  I also plant mine deeper than the original soil level in the pot - this not only stabilises them and not fall over in the first gust of wind, but the added depth means they can throw out surface roots which help to take up water (another essential - more so in a dry summer than this year)

[angelavdavis]

I also grew Swift this year again.  They were very problematical with germination, but an email to Suttons seeds resulted in replacement packets!  I also chitted mine on damp kitchen roll and planted in large modules before planting out in the bed when 6 inches high.

They have produced the first cobs which have been delicious and are just producing their second lot. 

I also grew mini pop which are just about producing cobs now.

[boldondig]

The key for me this year , compared to previous years was to germinate the seeds prior to planting. As previously mentioned - stick them on damp kitchen towel and at the first sign of a shoot plant them into 3" pots then plant them out after last frost . I put a plastic cloche over them for the first few weeks - until the plants touched the cloche - to give some extra protection at the start. Fed them with wormery fluid after cobs started to form. It has been so wet that I have't watered apart from the feeding.