Sweetcorn

[piggsy]

I think I may have a strange plant then as one of my cobs is really quite high up, the rest look normal though I like to be different

[Cutecumber]

Just to put a spanner in the works...

I have found that brown tassels rarely mean that cobs are ready. I don't know why this would be, as everyone, and all the books, say that this is the sign. I now ignore the tassels and rely on the condition of the cob and the kernels themselves.

[piggsy]

Just to put a spanner in the works...

I have found that brown tassels rarely mean that cobs are ready. I don't know why this would be, as everyone, and all the books, say that this is the sign. I now ignore the tassels and rely on the condition of the cob and the kernels themselves.

Well I checked my brown tassel one and the corn was definitely not ready will just have to keep on checking

[Flummery]

Eaten some of ours. I think the term is, small but perfectly proportioned!

[wormlady]

Hi everyone
Ive got some minipops which are almost ready - tassles just starting to go brown, I think I planted them in May. However when I peeled back the skins there are hardly any kernals on the cob. Does this mean they havnt pollinated properly or have they not had enough nutrients? Also my regular sweetcorn which went out in late June is only 2 feet high - will I get a crop from it here in Yorkshire or did I plant out too late? Thanks peeps!

[Helenclare]

Minipops are picked as baby sweetcorn, you eat the whole immatue cob rather than the individual kernels, similar to the ones they fly in from all over the world in supermarkets. My minipops are over 10 feet tall!! only the cobs are mini not the actual plants. I think you pick them once the yassels appear but before they go brown? Not sur about that so I will have to wait for someone more knowledgable to come along and help out.

[scarey55]

Wormlady, I think I have the same problem as you but mine are full sized sweetcorn. This is my first time growing them and the plants themselves all seem fine. The cobs have brown tassels and the corn iteslf is creamy in the middle so I reckon that it is ready to harvest. My problem is that like you, the actual corn on the cob is not all over (see pics).
Hopefully some clever grapes will be able to put us right.

[shirlthegirl43]

Wormlady, I think I have the same problem as you but mine are full sized sweetcorn. This is my first time growing them and the plants themselves all seem fine. The cobs have brown tassels and the corn iteslf is creamy in the middle so I reckon that it is ready to harvest. My problem is that like you, the actual corn on the cob is not all over (see pics).
Hopefully some clever grapes will be able to put us right.

I think that the pictures show what happens when the corn has not been pollinated properly. I could be understanding it wrong but think each silk thread links to one kernel in the cob and each one requires pollination to give perfect cobs, hence the necessity to plant in blocks to ensure it all happens.

Standing by ready to be corrected as I haven't managed to harvest any cobs yet - mine have just started to flower so I hope the weather comes nice for them to do something!

[scarey55]

Thanks Shirl,
I think this would explain it. This is my first go at sweetcorn so I didn't want to have too many (only 8 plants) and I didn't plant them in blocks.
The plan is that next year the OH takes up part of the garden as his "lottie" so we should be able to plant a lot more in blocks, hopefully this will result in more corn ' cause I love it.
Good luck with yours too - still hoping for an Indian summer

[Alison]

I'd go with what Shirl has said also, hopefully mine will be OK. I too have only planted 8 plants but have them in a 3 x 3 block (with one missing in case you think I can't multiply properly!!!). The piccie below was taken a week or two ago when they first started flowering (please ignore the weeds, have been out with a hoe since then! ). Since then they've begun to produce cobs at the joint to the main stem, looks like about 3 per plant, don't know if this is normal as haven't grown them before. Mine are much shorter than a lot of other people are saying about theirs but seem healthy so it could just be the variety (which I can't remember as the packet is upstairs). Fingers crossed they'll develop OK as OH is depending on it after taking so long to persuade me to grow it at all!

[scarey55]

Hi Alison,
I think I should have planted my sweetcorn like yours, perhaps 9 plants though Your plants look very good, hopefully yours will have pollinated better than mine. Don't worry about the weeds, you should see mine, I've got squash all around the underneath of them and I can't get to weed them properly.
My plants themselves look fantastic, very healthy and there are about 3 or 4 cobs per plant - Now, if I had only got them to pollinate ... still, they taste good even if there are a few bits missing.

[shirlthegirl43]

My Swift is flowering and trying to make cobs despite being only 2 foot or so tall. My blue sweetcorn are now around 6 or 7 foot tall and I noticed flowers appearing yesterday. Fingers crossed I get some corn to eat. This is my second go at growing them - last year I didn't recognise the flowers and so didn't pay any attention to breezes and pollination etc so got nothing to eat! Mistakes are annoying but a good way to learn

Must say Alison, your corn looks way happier than my Swift do - they are tattered and torn - think the weather has been against the garden this year.

[Heidi]

With baby sweetcorn you need to pick them shortly after the tassels appear on the cobbs - i let mine fully form, as in the tassels are full out and then pick them, otherwise the cobbs will be very small.
And you don't want them to be polluniated, or wait for the tassels to go brown, otherwise i'd assume they'd be tough.

We've harvested about 15 or so baby sweetcorn and about 6 normal sweetcorn (Siesta variety). We've had the problem that the upper kernals haven't developed, but seem to have about 2/3rds of the cobb fully formed and they taste lovely!

[wormlady]

Hiya
So I think Ive left my minipop too late - I forgot you eat the whole cob - middle and all, d'oh! I did plant in blocks but I guess I should have taken more account of prevailing winds as I dont think they have pollinated properly, ah well, we grow and learn!

[Farmer_Gyles]

i am so glad i read this thread - didn't realise i had to unpeel stuff to see the sweetcorn - thought it came out when it was kinda ready!
will check it in the morning ........