[mumofstig]

Yes you did the right thing - anything to help 

Sometimes in the  morning as the sun dries the pollen, when you shake them you can see a cloud of pollen falling WOW!

A grain of pollen has to land on every strand of the silk in order to get a full corncob.....why did nature make it so difficult 

[cadalot]

Great, it was the little clouds of pollen that I was watching fall, and I was trying to get as much coverage on the corns as possible. It's that cloud that I now no longer see when giving them a shake, so I'm assuming the tops  are all pollen free now?

[mumofstig]

Yep 

[JayG]

I know this will probably sound a bit 'mad scientist' to some, but having realised that Sheffield summers aren't usually long enough to be certain that staggered sowings will always work in terms of helping to improve overall pollination, I have tried watering and feeding some rows in the block more (or less) than the others in the hope of avoiding them getting to exactly the same stage at the same moment. 

(OK, possibly a little bit mad, but reasonably low risk!    )

[mrswashi]

Oh dear.
I haven't been shaking!
I just assumed (stupidly) that because the cobs were growing that all was well, didn't realise that all might not be.
Am off to lottie before camping tomorrow to give them a little wiggle 
TA everyone
Mrswashi

[JayG]

Fear not Mrswashi - it's very unusual for there to be no breeze at all, and that's all it takes to shift the pollen from the tassels to the silks on outdoor sweet corn - it's very windy conditions which can cause problems by blowing the pollen clean away, and you can't realistically do much about that (rain isn't helpful either, but not a serious problem unless it rains continuously throughout pollen-shedding time.)

[Ma Lowe]

Hmmmm I may have the  very windy problem on my site as there is mostly a strong wind that blows right across the plots a lot of the time. I did however put a wall of fleece up around then corn when first planting them so hopefully this will stop too much of the wind blowing across them however I did not know about shaking them to pollinate so I will wait with baited breath to see how many edible cobs I actually get seeing as most of them have 3  on each plant. Tassels are turning a dark brown so hopefully not long now  by the way I don't like them all this is for hubby 

[mumofstig]

Tassels brown or silks brown?

The tassels are at the top and shed the pollen - the silks on the cobs need to collect it.
If the silks are turning brown then all is well

[Ma Lowe]

Tassels brown or silks brown?

The tassels are at the top and shed the pollen - the silks on the cobs need to collect it.
If the silks are turning brown then all is well

I apologiese for the mistake  it's the silks turning brown not the tassels at the top 

[tosca100]

Fear not Mrswashi, I have grown sweetcorn for the first time here in Bulgaria and we get very little wind in the centre of the country, if we do get any it means we are in the middle of a storm. But not only is this huge maize growing country, but our little block in a village garden is magnificent and we never shake, we don't go near it really as it is out of sight, by a huge hedge, at the end of the garden. It is worth the worry I think, our neighbours gave us some recently thet was inedible, tough and bitter and sticky. Our's is aweet and plump and very tender Yum.

[Gryphon]

Wow, love the photo. I hope that mine turns out as good

[fatbelly]

The corn displayed by Tosca shows how much difference good weather makes to Sweet Corn.
In 6 years on my plot only once have I had a really good crop and that year was a lovely Summer.

[tosca100]

Ironically this is the worst summer Bulgaria have had for fifty years, hot and long, yes, but the rain and humidity is something that is alien to them and they have lost 25% of the crops this year. But it is soooo good for our corn.

[New shoot]

You will send our orange friend JayG green with envy with that picture Tosca 

A certain sweetcorn crop in Sheffield is watched like a hawk, as orangutans are rather partial to corn you know   

[JayG]

  I suppose the next thing is you're going to tell me it's quite unusual for humans to sleep on the patio next to their sweet corn patch to monitor pollination and make sure nothing untoward happens to them?