My Sweetcorn....????

[geepee]

I didnt know where to post this, so thought i;d start anew.
Aware we all like photos ,so whats to lose .

My Corn plants have grown well, first time growing for me .
Best ones have got 'Tassles' out top and a coupe showing silks.
Problem is ....Tassles are covered in Pollen but it doesnt appear to be landing on the silks, more on the Parsnips in the next bed, ...!!!!!
Will I get Cobs..???
Gp

[Jay-ell]

try shaking them when it isn't breezy

[nickdub]

If you're sure the silks are at the receptive stage, just snap off one of the tassels and brush it over them.

[geepee]

Thanks both.
Whats the 'Receptive' stage Nick >???

[burnie]

From my experience, the pollen doesn't release until the silks are out and ready for pollination, so each plant will get pollinated ok as long as the very fine pollen doesn't get blown away, the reason you grow in blocks is so that this is unlikely to happen. My last couple of years I've grown mine in the greenhouse, you would not believe just how much pollen comes from one plants tassels, I'm sure you will be ok, the pollen is produced for several days, so I wouldn't be inclined to snap the top off to brush the tassels, you would lose a lot of pollen that way.

[4Shoes]

I didnt know where to post this, so thought i;d start anew.
Aware we all like photos ,so whats to lose .

My Corn plants have grown well, first time growing for me .
Best ones have got 'Tassles' out top and a coupe showing silks.
Problem is ....Tassles are covered in Pollen but it doesnt appear to be landing on the silks, more on the Parsnips in the next bed, ...!!!!!
Will I get Cobs..???
Gp

Hi Geepee.
I had the same problem in the polytunnel. Got a Mushroom tray and gave the tassel a gentle shake to collect the pollen. Removed much of the "husks" that look like grass seed and then gentle shake of pollen over the silks. Cobs are looking good

[nickdub]

Thanks both.
Whats the 'Receptive' stage Nick >???

When the silks feel a little sticky to the touch, you can see the difference too as they go from smooth to a little damp looking (not growing any myself this year so I'm working from a rather imperfect memory here).

[geepee]

Thanks Nick.

[nickdub]

Thanks Nick.

You're very welcome - sounds like you're going to get a good crop - don't forget to keep an eye on them as the cobs get bigger - choosing exactly when to pick some can be a bit tricky.

[4Shoes]

Hi Geepee.
I had the same problem in the polytunnel. Got a Mushroom tray and gave the tassel a gentle shake to collect the pollen. Removed much of the "husks" that look like grass seed and then gentle shake of pollen over the silks. Cobs are looking good

I had to pollinate over best part of 2 weeks because plants were at different stages. Ended up missing 3 silks because no pollen left so I retained the tassels as long as possible.

I've not cut off the tassels nearest the door, but you'll be able to see rear tassels bowed over to next couple rows and the swelling sweetcorn now forming.

There are 12 plants in this clamp





NB. The mushroom tray is just a single use brown plastic tray you buy mushrooms, tomatoes and fruit in.

[geepee]

Hi Geepee.
I had the same problem in the polytunnel. Got a Mushroom tray and gave the tassel a gentle shake to collect the pollen. Removed much of the "husks" that look like grass seed and then gentle shake of pollen over the silks. Cobs are looking good

Sorry for the late reply 4 shoes.....thanks for the advice,
further to that, I cut down a 4 ltr milk carton and shook Tassles into it and collected husks (Anthers..?) and pollen ,then 'ladled 'the mix onto the silks.
Hoping this will do the job..???

How long do I wait now, and how brown must the silks be before I can harvest..???.
Gp

[Mark_Riga]

Well if you have the same problems as me, keep an eye out for mice nibbling them - its then harvest time! Mine were ready about a week after the silks went brown but some books say when they have just gone brown.
So you could check one a couple of days after they brown. Depending how many you have grown, you could pick one and try eating it, otherwise carefully peel back the leaves and check the state for the nibs. I had a packet with 52 seeds in which i planted out in a raised bed 12'x4' and got just over 1 cob per plant. A lot of the plants purported to have 2 cobs but the second was not pollinated often. Most are now in the freezer (some a bit nibbled). To freeze, I just trim them down a little and freeze whole with their leaves on. To cook, straight out of the freezer and then 20 to 25 minutes on a tray at about 180 in a fan oven.


The picture on the left is how the silks look when I pick them (but they will stay like this now till the nibs are rock hard) and the one on the right is the last of the cobs that I picked 2 days ago and it has been lying around in the kitchen. Unfortunately I had cut off the top of the silks and, as it is a second cob on the plant not very well pollinated. But you can see that the nibs are quite large and still a pale yellow and when I press then with a nail, are still quite soft. As final test I just ate it and it was delicious.

[Aberdeenplotter]

I don't often grow sweetcorn as we're really too far north for most varieties but I did sow some this year and ate the first cob raw in the plot on Monday. So yummy. I expect to be having a repeat exercise today

[Snoop Puss]

When the silks go brown and very dry looking, that's the time to start thinking about eating them. To be sure, peel back a bit of the husk and press a kernel with your finger nail. If the liquid looks quite clear and watery, they're not ready yet; if it looks milky, you're good to go. Happy chomping.

I'm very jealous, mine didn't grow well this year. Tassels but no silks...

[geepee]

Well if you have the same problems as me, keep an eye out for mice nibbling them - its then harvest time! Mine were ready about a week after the silks went brown but some books say when they have just gone brown.
So you could check one a couple of days after they brown. Depending how many you have grown, you could pick one and try eating it, otherwise carefully peel back the leaves and check the state for the nibs. I had a packet with 52 seeds in which i planted out in a raised bed 12'x4' and got just over 1 cob per plant. A lot of the plants purported to have 2 cobs but the second was not pollinated often. Most are now in the freezer (some a bit nibbled). To freeze, I just trim them down a little and freeze whole with their leaves on. To cook, straight out of the freezer and then 20 to 25 minutes on a tray at about 180 in a fan oven.
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The picture on the left is how the silks look when I pick them (but they will stay like this now till the nibs are rock hard) and the one on the right is the last of the cobs that I picked 2 days ago and it has been lying around in the kitchen. Unfortunately I had cut off the top of the silks and, as it is a second cob on the plant not very well pollinated. But you can see that the nibs are quite large and still a pale yellow and when I press then with a nail, are still quite soft. As final test I just ate it and it was delicious.

Thanks ALL for your helpful information and to MR
Photos are always a big help.Gp