Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: JayG on July 30, 2013, 14:21
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I'm trying to forget about the member who posted a few weeks ago about having cobs nearly ready :ohmy: but they are my favourite crop bar none so I can't resist hopefully comparing notes with other fans out there any longer!
Mine are Swift, and although they have grown into sturdy plants quite quickly and without the usual "sulk" due to the cold, are starting to produce the male tassels at only about 2 1/2 feet high which is slightly shorter than usual for this variety.
This is the critical time - the usual worry that the female silks will still be powdering their noses and won't appear in time (they always do, but only just!) and of course that pollination time isn't too wet or windy.
(You may also note from the pic that my shallots still aren't ready, the parsnips are like triffids (or at least the foliage is :unsure:), the runner beans are full of flowers (a few baby beans set which you can't see) and that yes, the sweet corn are spaced more closely than I myself would recommend (I just can't help myself!) :blush:)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SRdFhZILyE4/Ufe58mvZaeI/AAAAAAAABr4/pftSZDTjLn8/s640/STA70007.JPG)
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This is my first year growing them, theplants are 4-5ft high, have had the male tassels for just under 2 weeks and have silks on all of the plants. Some of the plants have 2 sets of silks on opposite sides, one much higher than the other (don't know if this is normal?!). The cobs feel quite small but I don't know if they will get bigger.
My worry is seeing them through to maturity - I have lost over half to badgers/deer now. I have put up a temporary barricade to try and put them off but they are bound to get through...
(http://i1305.photobucket.com/albums/s559/Rachel_38/b1b04b55e4462784d30c7e184c5b5a72_zps386735a4.jpg)
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Some of mine have brown silks, which I am told means they are ready, but I picked one and it wasn't. :(
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This year we've tried two varieties namely Swift and Incredible. It's the first time trying Swift and the second time for Incredible. They're spaced well apart on two different plots to avoid cross-pollination but unfortunately a plot neighbour as some sweetcorn with 5 metres of our Swift so we'll have to see how that goes :(
Likewise our plants did not sulk this year when planted out. I'm not sure if that was the good weather, Richy's paper pots or a combination of both really.
Annoyingly the strong wind on Saturday night snapped one of the Swift plants and flattened the Incredible. I don't think I can rescue the Swift plant but can rescue all of the Incredible. I'm going to try and sort them out tonight.
Our Swift is almost the same height and at the same point of development as yours JayG. The tassels are out but the silks have yet to show. I'm sure the Incredible didn't do this last year so I was beginning to get a bit concerned and I'm just waiting to see what happens really.
The Incredible is much later than the Swift even though all the seeds were all sown at the same time. It's currently 4ft tall with no sign of tassel or silks. This variety was also very late last year but we did get 23 sweetcorns off 9 plants meaning some plants had 3 cobs. This is the reason why I tried Swift this year. I wanted to try and get an earlier harvest and I've seen so many threads on here where others "sing the praises" of Swift.
That's pretty much it really so far.
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My plants are only 3ft high and the male flowers are out on most, only got 2 females to each plant! Some which are slightly shadowed are only 2ft high! Will not make the same mistake next year
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Mine are like yours Jay but the tassels began to open a few days ago before the silks were showing. Now all the silks are out it wet and windy :mad: so who knows ::)
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How long (on average) should it take to get a cob from when it is first pollinated and the silks appeared? My silks and tassels appeared just under 2 weeks ago so wondering when I should begin looking more closely for ripeness
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When the silks on the top of the cobs are dark brown and withered looking, the cob should feel full/plump.
Peel off a few leaves (leaving cob attached for now) and stick your nail into a kernel. If the juices are clear it's not ready, so wrap the leaves back around it.....................if the juice is milky it's ready so snap the cob away from the stalk and enjoy asap :)
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Thanks. I have read that this is how I check - at the moment mine are still quite small and thin so I know they're nt ready. I just didn't know if I was looking at days or weeks for them to get to this stage
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I have two batches of Lark variety they are both 3-4 feet high the first lot have tassels and silks some stems have 2-3 'cobs' on them the second batch the tassels are just showing, the corn is the one thing I desperately want to work out so I have everything crossed
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I just didn't know if I was looking at days or weeks for them to get to this stage
I would say weeks rather than days, although that's partly because they are often in danger of running out of summer and by then the days are getting shorter and cooler.
Mine are considerably more advanced this year than in the last few (especially last year :ohmy:) which should mean there is plenty of time for them to ripen, although obviously some more hot sun would be very helpful too.
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My plants are the best I've seen so far, but not very tall and only just getting the odd tassle. The incredible only had 5 out of 40 germinate, and they are over behind the greenhouse.
Minipop and the other variety which I've forgotten the name ::) are in front of the greenhouse.
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Mine are like yours Jay but the tassels began to open a few days ago before the silks were showing. Now all the silks are out it wet and windy :mad: so who knows ::)
For the last 2 years I tried staggering the sowing and planting out by about 2 weeks to try to improve overall pollination - it didn't really work (especially last year :ohmy:) as the summers weren't good enough for the later ones to ripen well anyway.
Guess who sowed them all in one batch this year? ::) :nowink: ;)
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I just didn't know if I was looking at days or weeks for them to get to this stage
I would say weeks rather than days, although that's partly because they are often in danger of running out of summer and by then the days are getting shorter and cooler.
Mine are considerably more advanced this year than in the last few (especially last year :ohmy:) which should mean there is plenty of time for them to ripen, although obviously some more hot sun would be very helpful too.
That is very useful to know, thanks! Other than inspecting for animal damage I won't fret about them too much yet then.
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JayG how come you have your sweetcorn in one row? I was under the impression sweetcorn was a grass and thus wind pollinated so its better to plant them in a block? (3x3, 4x4 etc) I'm just trying to find all the info I can as I plan on growing it next year.
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Mine are Sweet Nugget and about 3ft high. The tassels have been out for a couple of weeks and the silks are appearing on each though the cobs are skinny at the moment. They aren't as big as my green-fingered neighbour's (I have to walk past his more than impressive plot every time I visit (cries)) but not bad for my first attempt I think. :)
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JayG how come you have your sweetcorn in one row?
They are in a double row - unless it's me that needs glasses :unsure:
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Looks like a square to me
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If only Reg Presley were alive today :( <sigh>. He'd know what shape it was. :)
Reg is one of the reasons sweet corn is my favourite crop to grow. I'll post some photos of mine tomorrow.
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My first time this year too, cant remember what variety though. they are about 3 foot high at the moment and the tassels are still hidden in the leaves. (no idea what to expect from them but the weathers getting hotter again thursday so hopefully it will stay that way for a while)
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I'm growing Lapwing and Golden Hind and their both about 4ft high with tassels beginning to go brown.
I looked up about cross-pollination to see how far apart I should plant the two varieties and the received wisdom seemed to be "400 yards"! If that's true then I'm going to get cross pollination from every other patch on the allotment site so I didn't worry, just planted them in blocks as far as was sensible.
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I'm really pleased with my sweet corn, especially as I was so late planting them out. They're not quite as good as your JayG but they're not far off, catching up. To my eye there's only a couple of plots with better specimens on my site and they do keep getting remarked on. Happy to say the least.
Basically, it's all about. Good soil and loads of water, it appears.
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JayG how come you have your sweetcorn in one row?
They are in a double row - unless it's me that needs glasses :unsure:
It's me wot needs glasses Mum! 8)
I know it doesn't look like it in the pic, and David Bailey I ain't, but there are actually 7 rows, 3 across (plus one for luck, nearest the camera - 22 plants altogether, about a foot apart in each direction.)
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My Fiesta sweetcorn, which is supposed to be a late maturing multi-coloured variety, are doing better than the Double Standard at the moment :wacko:
I can't wait for the crop either JayG, so whichever is ready earlier is fine by me 8) :D
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I usually grow extra early,tender and sweet i think thats what its called,but its never ready before september up here in cumbria.Its pollinating at the moment but weve been getting some heavy rain so who knows how it will turn out.
When i plant out i usually hoe a little soil wall around them so i can dump a load of water on if its dry and the wall holds it in as it seems to like a lot of water.
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I usually grow extra early,tender and sweet i think thats what its called
"Early Extra Sweet F1" (?) - a super sweet variety ready in September.
I'm growing Lark - unfortunately my first batch of germinations was a disaster and it was well into June when I decided to try again. Germinated well, potted on - then the heatwave hit. Not complaining as this actually encouraged them to grow very quickly and I wish I'd had a time lapse camera set up to see them doubling up in height every day. Finally planted out 3 footers at the plot about 10 days ago once I'd emptied the first earlies bed, with high expectations as I noted everyone elses on the site were about the same ... I just hope I'm not disappointed.
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Mine sounds like they are behind everyone elses :wub: i'll keep my pics under wraps then
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Swift are about 4 ft tall with the tassels just starting to show, nice thick stems :)
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Sweet corn - Honeydew - Germinated early in the airing cupboards - put into pots in a cold frame - then planted out at the end of May. A week or so before picking I reckon......
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They are well on boldondig,how big are the plants when you plant at the end of may?
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At the risk of boring some on here who have read my previous posts on this subject, I planted my corn in the greenhouse last year along with dwarf French beans and both were a real success, so done it again this year. Only having one long bed in there, last years were in two blocks of four - one block at each end of the bed. This year, they are in the middle of the bed in two rows of four. My Swift corn tassels are now well touching the middle of the glass panes of the roof, so plants are about 5' 6"" tall. When the tassels start to show, I tap the stalks daily with a garden cane to aid germination until there is no more pollen. This releases a cloud of fine pollen onto the bit where the silks are, even if the silks aren't showing initially. After giving myself a good dusting down and blowing my nose, I give them a good watering and feed weekly. Last year, I had fully-pollinated cobs - yum! Better than growing toms where I don't seem to get the taste I want, despite everything I do.
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Mine are all around 3ft tall with the tassels showing and the silks starting to appear on a few of them. This is my first year on my plot and first attempt at growing them so I am hoping for some beginners luck with them!!! :)
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There you go Maxie - taken 10 days later - you can work it out from there.
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Gutted. Went down tonight and birds have stripped all the outside cobs through the sturdy netting wall. Cheeky blighters. Lost about a third of our crop. I'm not happy.
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Fiesta multicoloured sweetcorn on the plot with funky purple cobs starting to form 8)
(http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m198/suec_02/Plot%20pictures/IMG_0766_zpsd3f5be75.jpg) (http://s104.photobucket.com/user/suec_02/media/Plot%20pictures/IMG_0766_zpsd3f5be75.jpg.html)
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Gosh, they really are funky! :ohmy:
I see they are also netted - you are making me nervous NS, especially as this morning I had a staring competition with a grey squirrel sat on top of my shed which is near my sweet corn (although it may not be me he was staring at! :ohmy: ;))
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:lol: He was looking over your shoulder checking that sweetcorn out ;)
Mine is a pretty flimsy structure of bamboo canes and netting to keep the muntjac deer off. They eat the cobs and bite out the growing tips of the plants otherwise. Luckily they don't seem to like pushing through netting, even if its not that secure :) The squirrels round our way are far too well fed on bird food from the neighbouring houses to bother with venturing into allotments much.
This is on in our area tonight and according to the clip I saw this morning features a cemetary in Reading. Looked very like the one next to our site which is pretty much left to the wildlife. I may get to see our sweetcorn thief later ::)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b037xm6b
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Me, squirrels, and sweet corn have co-existed here for years without any problems - I think it's a matter of how hungry they are, and whether they get that Eureka Moment and suddenly realise what they've been missing all these years! :wacko:
Luckily Muntjac aren't a problem in this part of Sheffield, but I suppose you should never say never. :unsure:
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:lol: He was looking over your shoulder checking that sweetcorn out ;)
Mine is a pretty flimsy structure of bamboo canes and netting to keep the muntjac deer off. They eat the cobs and bite out the growing tips of the plants otherwise. Luckily they don't seem to like pushing through netting, even if its not that secure :) The squirrels round our way are far too well fed on bird food from the neighbouring houses to bother with venturing into allotments much.
This is on in our area tonight and according to the clip I saw this morning features a cemetary in Reading. Looked very like the one next to our site which is pretty much left to the wildlife. I may get to see our sweetcorn thief later ::)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b037xm6b
It is my first year growing here and my corn has been attacked. From the damage done it was suggested in here it could be badgers but speaking to a couple of people on the plot they seem to think muntjac deer as they have been seen on the plot. I have made a very temporary barricade of wooden pallets and water barrels in the hope it puts them off (I wasn't holding out much hope). But if netting like that is enough to put them off I will probably do something similar next year and keep hoping that my obstacle course works for a few more weeks!
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Werks fer me RJR :)
Just bamboo canes pushed into the ground and cheap netting stretched round them and tied on. Few bricks round the bottom and that's it. I plant my squashes and courgettes in there as well, as the deer like the young leaves on those.
There are badgers in the cemetary next door, but they don't seem to venture into the site. Then again they are surrounded by back gardens and I know a lot of people put food out for them. Badger damage is usually pretty substantial as they just bulldoze everything to get what they want. Deer pick through and eat just the bits they fancy ::)
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In that case it definitely sounds more like deer than badgers - nothing else was touched other than the 'nearest' cobs and they were attacked quite viciously with big bite marks etc. Luckily they seem to have left everything else alone - even my courgettes and squash but I will bear it in mind. I am the end plot with 'woodland' next to me and through that a small stream so I am prime target for the wildlife I think!
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Swift. Keen as mustard! First sowing ready in 10 days max. Second sowing not far behind.
The only trick to getting them right is sowing them early enough, and potting them on. Don't let them get root bound and keep them going.
Totty
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My corns are rocketing skyward, must be seven feet! (but then they are planted in a two foot high raised bed).
Cheers, Tony.
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Swift. Keen as mustard! First sowing ready in 10 days max. Second sowing not far behind.
The only trick to getting them right is sowing them early enough, and potting them on. Don't let them get root bound and keep them going.
Totty
I'm confused as to what the photo is of.... Is it extra root bits growing out the stalk? Is this a sign they are healthy plants?
Sorry for all the questions!
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In Greece they always hill up sweetcorn, like we do potatoes to keep all the roots covered - it also helps to anchor the corn if it's windy ;)
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I have two patches, both in exactly the same bed preparation ...ie.. covered and rotted down couch, bindweed, dandelion etc from the rest of the plot 2 years ago. No other fertiliser in preparing the beds :-
Picture 1... Golden Bantam sown in heated propagator 12 May planted out 26 May
Picture 2... Incredible sown in heated propagator 30 May planted out 9 June
The GB is now very handsome and between 4 to 7 feet tall in front of the greenhouse and started tassles a week ago, and silks are now starting. The flower and pollen smell divine.
The Incredible at the back of the greenhouse are roughly 3 to 5 feet, but no tassles as yet ... a week away at least.
Looks like I have succeeded this year ( wind and pests apart ) in staggering the crop with the Incredibles consistently a couple of weeks behind. Should be plenty of time though and hopefully will give a longer harvest.
The interesting thing as can be seen in these two photos is the effect of 2 courgette plants planted on the margin of the Incredibles. The corn above the courgette is a foot or two smaller than the rest of the patch and has far lighter green foliage. Obviously the 2 courgettes are competing for nutrients.
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Interesting observation Seaside - you probably could have compensated for the competition with extra food and water but it does illustrate why the "3 sisters" combination of sweet corn, climbing beans, and squashes doesn't seem to work very well in the UK, given that they have to put up with less than ideal weather as well as the competition from each other.
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Sweetcorn doing well this year now standing a little over 6ft producing 2 cobs and swelling nicely,not bad for 39 p from Aldi :),planted out June 6th
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I've got 2-3 cobs per plant (wheeeeeeeeeeeee!) but they are still very skinny.
Any tips on helping them along?
They had a comfrey/seaweed feed last night as a treat, and the bed had a bag of rotted manure added before they went in.
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I've got 2-3 cobs per plant (wheeeeeeeeeeeee!) but they are still very skinny.
are they pollinated cobs, or that's how many have grown on each plant?
It's common to get three cobs growing but only get one pollinated/edible cob per plant ::) so I don't count them til I can eat them :lol:
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I've got 2-3 cobs per plant (wheeeeeeeeeeeee!) but they are still very skinny.
are they pollinated cobs, or that's how many have grown on each plant?
It's common to get three cobs growing but only get one pollinated/edible cob per plant ::) so I don't count them til I can eat them :lol:
Oh. *cast down face*
I've never grown them before. They have huge amounts of foliage, should some of it be removed to help the pollen float down? And how can you tell if they are pollinated or not?
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I have been known to cut off any leaves directly covering the silks, but that's because I'm obsessed with home-grown sweet corn (so it's OK! :lol:)
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Thanks - will arm myself with secateurs tonight!
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If there is large flat leaf directly above a silk, I tend to bend it right down so the pollen can drift down to the cob, rather than cut them off ;)
The silks have been pollinated if they start to turn brown, but you can get cobs that are partially pollinated and look like this when you strip the leaves off
(http://www.producershybrids.com/media/3-300x225.jpg)
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Dry with just a gentle breeze today, so after a few wet and windy days I'm hoping this will be the day a lot of the silks get pollinated, although some of my plants still don't have their first silks yet, never mind the 2 or 3 some folk are reporting. :unsure:
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Noticed a couple of silks on all but one of my swift, like you jay, hoping this dry spell, with a little added shake here and there gets them going :)
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I may have been a bit drastic with the secateurs this morning... ::) The plants look even more like they have alien antennae!
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Munching our way through the cobs now. We are amongst the first on site to have cobs ready. Mini ones yet to set, but are huge this year.