[Riala]

My sweetcorn plants are now going yellow and straw like... is it time to give up on my corn and pull these plants?

Also, can I plant my wintering cabbage and spring onions directly into the soil where my corn was?

[dolby]

My sweetcorn has also been very dissapointing this year. Went down to the allotment last week and looked at a couple, Tassles had gone nice and brown and the cobs themselves looked a good size, but when I peeled them back the corn was v poor. The kernels had not fattened up at all, they were still white and the juices were still running clear. Thought I'd give them another week but just been down again today and no better. The only thing I can think is that they just havent had sufficient sun this year to rippen up properly.

[robbodaveuk]

I have grown a super-sweet variety this year, about 130 plants. Following advice on here I planted them 12 inches apart each way in a 10ft square block. Pollination was very good compared to last year when they were the standard 18 inches apart. I have had some lovely sized full cobs off them in the last couple of weeks although there are quite a few that have not grown to full size and are still on the plants, but I put this down to the lack of sunshine we have had this summer. Although I am happy with my results, I believe given a good summer I would have had a near perfect crop.

  Robbo.

[tode]

This is quite a useful sit:
http://www.sweetcorngrowingtips.com/index.htm

But at the end of the day, corn needs plnaty of sun + plenty of water.

[Riala]

I think we can all agree here in the UK, that water is something all our 'home growns' have had plenty of. *rolls eyes*

[mumofstig]

I think we can all agree here in the UK, that water is something all our 'home growns' have had plenty of. *rolls eyes*

The only water we had was from a hose .......until today

[Kristen]

I have had very good results with Swift F1 this year. They seemed incredibly early (01May sowing harvesting 20Jul, 01Jun sowing harvesting 14Aug onwards), and clearly are bred for that purpose - the cobs are born one leaf joint lower than the old conventional taller type, and the plant is that much smaller too, which I think gives them time to mature within our climate.

I'm curious to know what varieties folk were growing (and which had difficulty, which not) - I wonder if some of the failures are with the older-type taller / later varieties?

[JayG]

Last 2 years grew "Sundance" which failed miserably, although I noticed that some plants in the block were bigger (less tiny!) than others.

The penny dropped; this year my "Swift" have been brilliant (although not as early as Kristens); they have been virtually force-fed from birth which is what these hungry plants seem to need in my light sandy soil.

[dolby]

I grew Passion F1 (Fothergills) and as I said above have been v disappointed. I will have to give Swift a go. Does anyone else have any recommendations?

[Elcie]

My sweetcorn has been a mixed bag but that has been mostly to do with when it was sowed.  I sowed way too early for some of it and at about the right time for some.  I had some cobs which looked just like the supermarket ones and some that were half corn half nothing.  All tasted delicious though and I will definitely do again next year.

[Bombers]

I'm with you Elcie, It's WHEN you sow and the weather that makes all the difference.
 
I sowed my first batch 21/04



followed by a backup of the same on 9/05.



They were both treated exactly the same way. (earliest on the LHS)



Yet the earlier sowing were huge in comparison.  :blink:

[Kristen]

I definitely think it is worth avoiding getting carried away and not sowing too early.

Also, the harvesting period is little more than a couple of weeks, so no point sowing more than you can eat in two weeks.  Successonal sowings of Sweetcorn are a bit more difficult than other crops as they need to be planted in a block. Maybe 3 x 3 = 9 is enough to get good pollination? and then sow 9 plants every fortnight from 01Apr to 15June ?

The ones I sowed on 01Apr and planted outside were a lot more stunted than the same batch grown on in the greenhouse, and later sowings grown outside were taller too (All Swift F1):

Site	Sown	Planted	Height
Greenhouse	01-Apr	01-May	190cm
Outdoors 1	01-Apr	01-May	80cm
Outdoors 2	09-May	31-May	150cm

[darcyhen]

Hi,
I grew sweetcorn for the first time this summer. i think i had 12+ plants not sure what variety. Grown in a grid formation but maybe not tyhe best spot.

However, it seemed to grow well and the first cobs were fantastic. But subsequent cobs(lower down the plant) would sometimes only be half covered in juicy kernels.
Could this be due to lack of pollenation? As they are lower down? Someone mentioned shaking the flowers over the tassels? I assumed that pollenation had already occured as cobs were forming. Am i wrong and should i have helped nature?

They were soooo tasty that i will be growing them next year. Also had quite a lot of earwigs in cobs. Could they have caused any damage?

Thanks

michelle

[Yorkie]

It is indeed poor pollination which causes incomplete cobs 

I think the tassels take the pollen down to do the germination, so shaking is indeed often recommended.

Not sure of the likely extent of earwig damage though.

[darcyhen]

thanks, that does explain a lot. Next year i will try them in a different location, a little bit closer and will give nature an extra hand too.

thanks