Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: backpain on October 07, 2008, 21:52

Title: Sweet Corn
Post by: backpain on October 07, 2008, 21:52
Hi, I was wondering where you guys are with your sweet corn? If you've grown it of course.  Have you harvested it yet?  How did it fair in the wet summer, and most importantly should I pick mine now before its too late?
I planted it late, so it's a little behind, but its looking quite healty. I suppose I'm just a little worried about the frost.
Title: Sweet Corn
Post by: Nogger on October 07, 2008, 21:58
:) hi backpain,my sweet corn wasn't so good but my brother inlaws was brill,if they have a nice dark and mucky looking beard i should give one a try  :wink:
Title: Sweet Corn
Post by: FCG on October 07, 2008, 22:01
Quick add on to this - anyone had any problems with smut?

Not THAT kind, but i like your style.
Title: Sweet Corn
Post by: richyrich7 on October 07, 2008, 22:04
No I never get any smut  :(

But on the up side my corn was great this year far better than last, all finished now.
Title: Sweet Corn
Post by: backpain on October 07, 2008, 22:07
Sorry FCG I don't follow the smut line.  Is that a fungle infection?
Title: Sweet Corn
Post by: FCG on October 07, 2008, 22:15
I'm tempted to try some corn, how well does it do in semi-shade?

Yes backpain smut is a fungal infection.
Title: Sweet Corn
Post by: Swing Swang on October 07, 2008, 22:18
I've never seen it on ony of my crops, but the mexicans consider it to be a delicacy and call it huitlacoche!

I'd be curious to know if anyone has risked a nibble!

Swing Swang
Title: Sweet Corn
Post by: digital_biscuit on October 08, 2008, 12:09
Not wanting to brag about my corn too much, but had a dinner party the other night so harvested 12 cobs! My life, they were awesome! And still have a fair few left on the plants!!

Prob one of my fave veggies i grow so i was well happy to get a decent crop!!! Although, i did have to plant 50 plants to get it!!
Title: Sweet Corn
Post by: Bombers on October 08, 2008, 12:21
50 plants DB that's a lot of corn! :wink: Your freezer must be overloaded :) I grew about 12 plants, and from most, I had 2 cobs. Very nice they were too! :D
Word of warning Backpain. I was really looking forward to the last of the corn last weekend, only to find I'd been beeten to them by 'Billy the Badger' :x
Title: Sweet Corn
Post by: Ropster on October 08, 2008, 13:02
I harvested mine about a month ago, its in the Freezer now
I had smut on one cob so I guess I was lucky it didnt spread
strange stuff that Smut
Title: Sweet Corn
Post by: corynsboy on October 08, 2008, 13:15
Afternoon all.

I planted Sweetcorn this year to take up some space on my new huge plot.  I planted 36 plants in late May 2008 and they took off like rockets.  I felled the sweet corn forest in late September after cropping the better part of 100 cobs since mid August.  These were my favourite crop of the year.

I used a F1 variety that I had picked up in a B&Q sale.  I planted them in below my forest of tomatoes (also planted to take up space in my first year).  Based on the size and height of my corn I'd say that they benefited from the tomato feed that trickled down the gentle slope to the corn.  I will definitely be feeding my corn with an organic tomato feed next year.  I think I lucked out a bit this year with the feeding, it must have made up for the lack of sun to some extent. Some of the cobs that I harvested in September were a little unfinished at the top but they all tasted great.  I've frozen plenty for the winter but nothing beats them fresh off the plot.


Pictures on my blog.  Please feel free to visit the link is below.
Title: Sweet Corn
Post by: gingercharlie on October 08, 2008, 13:21
harvested my 9 plants last week got a total of 38 cobs of them.first time of growing them this year ,so quiet pleased with the end result.
Title: Sweet Corn
Post by: Ropster on October 08, 2008, 13:51
38 cobs off 9 plants, Thats good, What variety were they ?
Title: sweetcorn
Post by: MARROW HEAD on October 08, 2008, 14:19
There is not enough sun for the sweetcorn to ripen. On our allotment, everybody's sweetcorn is fully grown, and the tops have gone brown, but the sweetcorn hasn't ripened. Sweetcorn is supposed to be aout 1 1/2 months late
Title: Sweet Corn
Post by: sheridal on October 08, 2008, 15:21
Well I felled my corn plants having thought I had got all the large cobs, only to find another 2 cobs hiding, which we really enjoyed eating. Also, the baby corn lower down, if I left them, would they eventually turn to full size cobs???
Title: Sweet Corn
Post by: senrab_nhoj on October 08, 2008, 16:06
Quote from: "Ropster"
38 cobs off 9 plants, Thats good, What variety were they ?


4 or 5 cobs a plant... oooo do tell what variety
Title: Sweet Corn
Post by: Bombers on October 08, 2008, 16:08
Quote from: "senrab_nhoj"
Quote from: "Ropster"
38 cobs off 9 plants, Thats good, What variety were they ?


4 or 5 cobs a plant... oooo do tell what variety


&/or what you fed 'em with!  :wink:
Title: Sweet Corn
Post by: mother hen on October 08, 2008, 18:57
Been a lovely day today so I felled 12 corn on the cob plants we have eaten anything that resembled a cob, quite a range of shapes and sizes !  Daughter did comment on how good they were, but she meant her and her brother for not moaning not the corn!  :(

Think we didnt get enough sun, will try again next year and give them a bit more space.

They made the plot look good anyway :)
Title: Sweet Corn
Post by: gobs on October 08, 2008, 21:03
Quote from: "senrab_nhoj"
Quote from: "Ropster"
38 cobs off 9 plants, Thats good, What variety were they ?


4 or 5 cobs a plant... oooo do tell what variety


Babycorn. :lol:
Title: Sweet Corn
Post by: Mike.white on October 09, 2008, 14:01
Quote from: "corynsboy"
Afternoon all.

I planted Sweetcorn this year to take up some space on my new huge plot.  I planted 36 plants in late May 2008 and they took off like rockets.  I felled the sweet corn forest in late September after cropping the better part of 100 cobs since mid August.  These were my favourite crop of the year.

I used a F1 variety that I had picked up in a B&Q sale.  I planted them in below my forest of tomatoes (also planted to take up space in my first year).  Based on the size and height of my corn I'd say that they benefited from the tomato feed that trickled down the gentle slope to the corn.  I will definitely be feeding my corn with an organic tomato feed next year.  I think I lucked out a bit this year with the feeding, it must have made up for the lack of sun to some extent. Some of the cobs that I harvested in September were a little unfinished at the top but they all tasted great.  I've frozen plenty for the winter but nothing beats them fresh off the plot.


Pictures on my blog.  Please feel free to visit the link is below.



That's a great blog!
Title: Sweet Corn
Post by: gingercharlie on October 11, 2008, 12:40
Quote from: "Mike.white"
Quote from: "corynsboy"
Afternoon all.

I planted Sweetcorn this year to take up some space on my new huge plot.  I planted 36 plants in late May 2008 and they took off like rockets.  I felled the sweet corn forest in late September after cropping the better part of 100 cobs since mid August.  These were my favourite crop of the year.

I used a F1 variety that I had picked up in a B&Q sale.  I planted them in below my forest of tomatoes (also planted to take up space in my first year).  Based on the size and height of my corn I'd say that they benefited from the tomato feed that trickled down the gentle slope to the corn.  I will definitely be feeding my corn with an organic tomato feed next year.  I think I lucked out a bit this year with the feeding, it must have made up for the lack of sun to some extent. Some of the cobs that I harvested in September were a little unfinished at the top but they all tasted great.  I've frozen plenty for the winter but nothing beats them fresh off the plot.


Pictures on my blog.  Please feel free to visit the link is below.



That's a great blog!



no not babycorn all good sized corns,never grew them before and as the variety i have no idea,it was just a f1 packet i got from wilkos.i grew them to 18 inches in the greenhouse before planting out,i never fed them at all just let them grow.
Title: Sweet Corn
Post by: yummy on October 11, 2008, 13:18
Ours were brilliant last year, but this year it has been a load of pants tbh. Most are not pollinated properly, or are nowhere near ripe yet and the plants are dying off now. We have eaten about 3 cobs.
Title: Sweet Corn
Post by: gobs on October 11, 2008, 16:08
Quote from: "gingercharlie"

no not babycorn all good sized corns,never grew them before and as the variety i have no idea,it was just a f1 packet i got from wilkos.i grew them to 18 inches in the greenhouse before planting out,i never fed them at all just let them grow.


Well, as far as I know, some open-pollinated varieties will produce 3-4 cobs. All hybrids, especially F1s were bred to produce one good sized cob and some 'prolific hybrids' to produce 1-2 cobs per plant, the reason being that these provide the best harvestable and marketable yields. That's not just machinery reasons, also due to pollination problems in many cobs and the more cobs the smaller the size nature of corn.

A lot of 'baby corn' is just corn suitable for growing on close spacing, these on close planting will produce 3-7 small cobs.

There are always the tillers, of course. Unless you counting these, it sounds a miracle. :shock:
Title: Sweet Corn
Post by: SnooziSuzi on October 11, 2008, 17:05
well next year I've decided to grow mine in a poly tunnel just in case it rains as much as it has the last couple of years.

I only really got about 5 useable cobs off 24 plants so was quite disappointed  :(   The best thing though was just before I felled them last week I found a couple of cobs which, althouh each were only about 20% polinated, and cooked them on my little camping stove.  Yum Yum  :chef: