Topic: A Maize ing

[markymark]

Anyone tried growing maize in the past?

Chap next to my allotment grows it every year, and uses a whole plot. He plants in rows about 2 ft apart and it grows about 8/9ft high! Looks like a scene from Oklahoma (the musical). I am sure if you walked into it, you could be lost for days!!

I tried some of the cobs and they were quite nice (mild sweetcorn flavour), but chewy. Think I will stick with sweetcorn again and hope I get to it all before the badgers do!  

[Mrs Ava]

oh...thought maize was sweetcorn..... :-/

[markymark]

So did I, but this chap (Max), who I think is from Zimbabwe says they used to eat a lot of it back home.

The seed is the same as sweetcorn to look at, but the plant is a lot bigger (almost like sugar cane) and the cobs are also bigger.

He also grows something like cabbage leaves which are on 2ft high stalks, bit like miniature palm trees?

I guess it's all legal..tee hee, mind you he is always smiling!!  

Congrats on passing your bike test ;D, just don't go on the A12, it's lethal!.  :(

[Mrs Ava]

aaaahhhh...the A12, the racetrack of Essex!   :o

[Beer_Belly]

My sweetcorn was about 6foot tall but my neighbours was about 15ft ! talk about Jack and the beanstalk !!

[ina]

Hi. I think maize just means corn and sweet corn is just a type of maize. In many languages the word for corn is maize, mais etc. In Holland corn is mostly grown for feed, when picked young enough it is good for us too but it tends to be a bit mealy or chewy. I did find out that the feed corn does not freeze well, comes out very mealy but the sweet corn does well freezing. Of course fresh is the best.

I had given up growing sweet corn since the mice thought I grew it for them. Next season I'm going to try it again with this little trick I read in Kitchen Garden. Slice a plastic bottle lengthways and fold it over the cob (slice side down so water doesn't get in). See if I can beat the mice to it.

[cleo]

I suppose it is basically the same,it`s just that sweet corn has been bred for it`s sweet taste as opposed to the need for mealie(sp?) flour.

Stephan.

[Mrs Ava]

I have never been able to grow sweetcorn successfully. (I am sure there are tooo many c's s's and l's in that!)  Mine starts strongly, but only ever gets a couple of foot high and never ever produces anything!  What am I doing wrong?   :-/

[Hyacinth]

I suppose it is basically the same,it`s just that sweet corn has been bred for it`s sweet taste as opposed to the need for mealie(sp?) flour.

Stephan.

Agreeing Stephan - my o/h lived for 10 years in then-Rhodesia - the staple was mealie-meal, and I doubt if things have changed much - Lish

[campanula]

maize and corn are essentially the same but a lot of maize is grown commercially as animal food. This is often tall and does not contain as much sugar as varieties that are bred for vegetables. I have eaten maize on many ocassions - in morocco, the young boys gather upmaize to 'do a fric'. This involves wrapping the cobs in extra green materials and gathering in a circle over a fire.much huffing and puffing later, the corn is literally bunged on the cinders to cook. When done, it is very toasty, quite crunchy and nutty and truly delicious (but it is possible sentiment has affected my judgement, watching my then 2 year old taking his place in the circle in a tiny berber village outside of Demnat (about 100k east of Marrakesh) Good times. Many of the older varieties of indian corn are now extinct, i believe.
I have also been told not to grow supersweet or sugar enhanced corn near 'normal' sweetcorn but not too sure why. Whatever, i will certainly be growing sweetcorn as itis one of the greatest treats imaginable to eat really fresh corn -something i have not done since childhood. I want no more than 5 minutes from plant to boiling water!
cheers, suzy
cheers. suzy

[john_miller]

The pollen from the non enhanced cultivars may pollinate the enhanced cultivars if they are too close. This would result in cobs with sugar content approaching that of the pollinator, i.e. you have spent extra money on the supersweet seed to get the same result as cheaper, 'normal' sweetcorn seed.