[VirginVegGrower]

Can anyone guide me to a couple of sweetcorn varieties that are tasty and sweet please as I have not grown this before.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Kristen]

I grow Swift.  Our lunch guests are amazed every year I have never tried anything else for comparison though.

If there are other plots near you then grow the same as they are growing (club together to buy the seed, or choose the same variety) as if they cross-pollinate it will spoil the cobs (despite what it suggests to the contrary on the packet).

[Mark-S]

I grow Swift.  Our lunch guests are amazed every year I have never tried anything else for comparison though.

If there are other plots near you then grow the same as they are growing (club together to buy the seed, or choose the same variety) as if they cross-pollinate it will spoil the cobs (despite what it suggests to the contrary on the packet).

This is absolutly spot on.
the same is true if you are ina an area where farmers grow Forage Maize.  If you are unsure - wel basically if its growing in farmers field it is 99% likely that the species being grown is forage maize.

[Azazello]

I've just ordered some Golden Bantam Improved seed - seems to be a well-regarded sweet corn.

[bazial]

I have growm LARK for 3yrs now ,very good in both taste and the amount they produce,plus you get no cross pollenation ,
              Barry

[Mark-S]

I have growm LARK for 3yrs now ,very good in both taste and the amount they produce,plus you get no cross pollenation ,
              Barry

Barry, how do you ensure get no cross pollination?

[realfood]

I sent this e-mail to a sweetcorn expert:-
I wonder if you can clarify for me if the extra tender types of sweet corn such as Swift F1 and Lark F1, require to be isolated from Sh2 types of sweet corn to prevent cross-pollination.

The reply is :-In order to achieve a perfect extra tender pollination then isolation is advised.  In practice however the odd cross-pollination between a standard supersweet and an extra tender is unnoticeable and therefore not necessary (it will only affect the odd individual kernel).

This largely corresponds with the results of my experiment, in that I did notice different coloured kernels on Swift and Lark because I was also growing Mirai White and this showed that there was some cross-pollination. There were also some harder kernels on Swift and Lark, which spoilt them.

So it looks as if T&M may have got it wrong in their catalog.

My advice is to only grow one variety of sweetcorn at a time, so that you end up with the sweetcorn that you were expecting.

[Yorkie]

@ VVG, the best varieties may depend on where you are in the country - could you please edit your forum profile to show your location?

In the north, the growing period is shorter than in the south, and therefore you need to be careful about long-growing varieties further north.

[mumofstig]

you can't really isolate varieties on an allotment site can you?
I certainly noticed no variation on the corn cobs  that grew last year

[Kristen]

I reckon in that instance it pays to club together and grow a single variety (assuming everyone can agree what that should be!)

I've taken Swift F1 for comparison, and a random choice of Suttons (Marshalls, Unwins, T&M, etc. generally similar price / qty)

Suttons  = £2.09 for 35 seeds = 6p each
Moles seeds  £2.30 = 250 seeds = 0.9p each
Moles seeds  £5.75 = 1,000 seeds = 0.5p each

[DD.]

I always get mine from Moles, can't beat the value. It's also worth noting that there is no postage charged on seeds.

Usuallly grow Swift, but thought I'd ty a change this year. Liked the sound of the write up on one of them, so thought I'd try them.  I can't remember for the life of me which one it was and the packet's come back labeled "ACX 7210".

[AndyRVTR]

I've never tried Swift... it certainly looks to be a popular choice though.... my choice this year is Northern Extra Sweet, apparently it suits a cooler climate, and is early maturing , so it might be just the one for me  

[VirginVegGrower]

I grow Swift.  Our lunch guests are amazed every year I have never tried anything else for comparison though.

If there are other plots near you then grow the same as they are growing (club together to buy the seed, or choose the same variety) as if they cross-pollinate it will spoil the cobs (despite what it suggests to the contrary on the packet).

This is absolutly spot on.
the same is true if you are ina an area where farmers grow Forage Maize.  If you are unsure - wel basically if its growing in farmers field it is 99% likely that the species being grown is forage maize.

Never knew all this - oh heck! Best consult my fellow lottie holders then - thanks so much for pointing this out. We should be OK on the farm front as only one side looks onto farmland and although we are right next to it, it's grazing land for the cows.

Thanks for sage advice - thank goodness I asked and also that you guys know.

[VirginVegGrower]

@ VVG, the best varieties may depend on where you are in the country - could you please edit your forum profile to show your location?

In the north, the growing period is shorter than in the south, and therefore you need to be careful about long-growing varieties further north.

I am in the Midlands; Derbyshire to be exact - not sure whether that makes me a South or a North.  Feels like North today...brrrrrrrr

[JayG]

@ VVG, the best varieties may depend on where you are in the country - could you please edit your forum profile to show your location?

In the north, the growing period is shorter than in the south, and therefore you need to be careful about long-growing varieties further north.

I am in the Midlands; Derbyshire to be exact - not sure whether that makes me a South or a North.  Feels like North today...brrrrrrrr

But we will still have to guess that next time you post if you don't add the information to your personal profile!