Topic: Sweet corn question

[Digeroo]

How long approx does it take between the male tassels appearing and eating?

[laurieuk]

You cannot really put a time but usually they say when you can get a milky substance from the corn but I just wait till the fronds go brown and then have a peep to see if the the cob is complete. I have a very good promising crop this year although all the other plot holders tell me the badgers will have it first.I have just put a picture on my website.

[jesssands]

I planted corn for the 1st time this year. Sowed a whole packet and got 10 random plants. They do look the same as yours Laurie but half as tall. Got the tassel things (I thought maybe they had gone to seed or something!)

[Digeroo]

Nice pics

I have some looking not unlike yours and some a little further one.  I have one batch which has just started with the males the ladies are only just starting to put in an appearance, and three more batches which are even further behind.  My first batch was completely slugged.

I usually have eaten several batches by now things are very slow.  I rather wish I had put in minipop for the last sowing since they do not take so long.   Any variety can be eaten as minicorn, its just that the proper ones produce more small heads.  I actually like eating the side shoots removed from the base when they are young and tender.  Otherwise they will just become green manure.

[Kleftiwallah]

Something has been nibbling my tassles!  Not MY tassles you understand, the tassles on my corn on the cob.  Neatly eaten back to the ends of the leaves leaving behind something looking like a shaving brush!

Daughter in Law says these are the best C / C she has ever eaten,  it would be when there were seconds between picking and cooking. ;D

Cheers,    Tony.

[chriscross1966]

Something has trimmed mine too, but they've been out a while and the ears are forming up OK... IT all seems rather late though I should get a crop in a month or so...

[tricia]

I still don't know what scythed the tassels off my corn either - but today I enjoyed a second cob which was well-filled, if a bit on the short side! Not many of the cobs seem to have been pollinated before the tassels disappeared - just happy to get the few that did and glad that I waited.

Tricia

[Poolcue]

Ate my first Headstart sweetcorn yesterday,the tassels were brown so I stripped off some leaves,the corn was yellow so I pulled them off.They were lovely cooked within minutes of picking.

[Debs]

My sweetcorn has failed miserably this year & has only grown to about 2.5 ft & is hardly worth eating - so thought I might let it mature on the plant & remove cobs to dry out and keep kernels for planting next year.

Has anyone done something similar? Am wondering if the cobs would be best picked and 'hung in greenhouse' to dry out??

Debs

[gavinjconway]

Hi Debs - Your plan to save corn seed will fail.. corn has a specialised way to produce weed with different male and female plants with female tassles being removed etc. so dont even bother. Just eat what you can as baby corn if all else fails.. 

[Robert_Brenchley]

Corn is really susceptible to inbreeding, and you need at least a couple of hundred plants to maintain a variety. I wouldn't bother, and if the plants are as bad as you suggest, I wouldn't expect to get much seed off them.

[Debs]

OK will look to see if any is useable otherwise will bin it

Debs

[goodlife]

Debs..what ever you won't use..just chop into smaller pieces, stalks, husks, cobs..all...spread (or dig in) the pieces on soil that you won't use this winter and let them rot..all that stuff will do good for your soil and is valuable 'carbon' souce..(stuff that makes your soil darker).
It is not wasted.. ;)

[gavinjconway]

Debs..what ever you won't use..just chop into smaller pieces, stalks, husks, cobs..all...spread (or dig in) the pieces on soil that you won't use this winter and let them rot..all that stuff will do good for your soil and is valuable 'carbon' souce..(stuff that makes your soil darker).
It is not wasted.. ;)

Good comment goodlife...

[laurieuk]

The badger won in the end, we had a couple of really good feeds but when I went to get more the badger had been there before me. He managed to climb over the wire and ate every cob, it was some of the best tasting corn I have ever had.




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You cannot really put a time but usually they say when you can get a milky substance from the corn but I just wait till the fronds go brown and then have a peep to see if the the cob is complete. I have a very good promising crop this year although all the other plot holders tell me the badgers will have it first.I have just put a picture on my website.

[5rod]

hi all
yer this year its taking forever, got 36 corn all large
but will not turn yellow, i decided at end of the month
to throw away if still not turn yellow(frist time ever in
sussex for me.

[gavinjconway]

Nooooo  eat the 5rod..  I'm eating some that are still on the white side... no probs..

[laurieuk]

Hi 5rod,
Some varieties of sweet corn do stay white rather go the normal yellow. I would try one and see what it is like before getting rid of them all.
Laurieuk

[cornykev]

I pulled 7 cobs last Thursday not all fully formed at the top of the cob, but all edible.      

[GRACELAND]

mice got most of mine this year  if you recall last year i put a picture of my corn crop   this year not worth it