Allotments 4 All
Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: fbgrifter on September 20, 2005, 21:24:35
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which variety of sweetcorn would you reccomend for sweetness of taste AND weather resistance?? i figured those in the know should be harvesting theirs now!
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Marshalls "Xtrasweet improved" every time.
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Don't know about 'normal' sweetcorn but I grew the mini stir-fry size corn this year. Variety 'minipop' and they are great. The kids were eating them like sweets!
Will watch with interest though for planning to grow some full size cobs next year
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My great experience goe to two varieties - the supersweet Ovation F1 AGM and tenderweet Lark F1. The Ovation gave great cobs in 2003 (the hot one) but only one per plant and pretty so-so last year. Actually pretty dreadful last year - got a small bagful of niblets and no usable corn on the cob.
This year (again a bit so-so) I grew the Lark and got multiple cobs: would have been even better had I watered them as some were pollinated but not very plump but those that worked were fantastic and we ate loads of them before they even got near the freezer!
Both are sugar enhanced and you don't have to sprint to the pot or freezer once you've picked them. Ovation you have to grow away from other varieties but Lark you don't. Both are nice tasting - Ovation perhaps has the slight sweet edge, but Lark's much easier to bite into. Will grow Lark again next year.
moonbells
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Looking through the show section the ones called "Conqueror" look very nice.
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Not really in the know, and it's the first year I've grown them, but I'm having good results with both 'Indian Summer' and 'Two's Sweeter' right now.
Most plants have two cobs, even though they were slow to get started (due to me not really knowing how to grow them) ;) , and the taste from both is absolutely delicious.
Of course, all I have to compare them to is shop bought stuff, but even so.....
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Apart from choosing varieties, I've found that if you earth them up around the stem from when they are about a foot high, you get better results.
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Thank you jennym, I will remember to do that next year. I only grow Kelvedon Glory because I grow so many, about 100 plants, and so buy a grower's pack from Kings.
Derekthefox :D
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Prelude, it's very good
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Because of success last year (Mr Fothergill's Supersweet) this year I grew two different super sweet varieties from Kings and tho they have turned out well they are not quite as abundant or consistently large as Mr Fothergill's so next year I'm back with good old Mr F.
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i find sweetcorn minipop the best loads for sale on ebay thats where i got mine from
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thanks for all the recs and advice....now to order...
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Can't remember which variety I grew the first year with the plot - it was wonderful, though not sure about eating 10+ cobs on one evening while clearing the patch!! Think there were 16 plants..
Last year, went with VidaVerde - Ashworths? Harvested in total 6 kernels (or so)!!!
This year, went for Double Standard - still not harvesting, though the cobs are there.
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I grew Kelvedon Glory this year - really really tasty. Most where completely full of plump kernels. Only a couple of cobs were blanks - the ones on the edge of the block.
Two years ago (all the plants died last year) I grew a variety that I can't remember the name of (might have been sundance?) it was also delicious. I have a theory that homegrown sweetcorn cannot taste bad to me!
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You are definitely right there Aqui, sweetcorn fresh off the plant cannot be beaten for taste. I used to barbeque them for my breakfast some mornings when on the plot, delicious!
Derekthefox :D
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F1 Earlibird was all harvested a month ago. Incredibly sweet and stays so for a week after picking. I go fo the early type in case of a bad summer.
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You are definitely right there Aqui, sweetcorn fresh off the plant cannot be beaten for taste. I used to barbeque them for my breakfast some mornings when on the plot, delicious!
Derekthefox :D
How do you bbq them? The thought of bbq'd sweetcorn is mouthwatering :) I've only ever boiled them. I'm planning to grow them next year. I've found a sunny sheltered spot for them and have just about managed to get out the roots of some very established apple mint. Manure on now to rot in over winter. Bought my seed from alanromans - two's sweeter. 2 packet of 25 seeds for £1 :)
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Same as you would to grill them. Either drizzle with olive oil or rub with softened butter and over the BBQ they go until just bronzing - a sign that some luverly caramelisation has started..yum.
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And I've got to wait a whole year to try bbq'd sweetcorn!!! I'll have to get some from Tesco's in the meantime ;)
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Had a chew of a stalk as well - even that tasted quite nice. Felt a bit like a panda.
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I BBQ them still wrapped in their leaves. They come out lovely and moist.
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I was so proud of myself growing 9 plants of sweetcorn and plucked a cob yesterday and ate it today (boiling method) with butter.
Have to say it was not up to my expectations, far too sweet for me, although I did eat all of it, I preferred the purchased stuff :o where did I go wrong ???
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Had a chew of a stalk as well - even that tasted quite nice. Felt a bit like a panda.
Crikey, you mad person. That must take some eating!!!!!
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I was so proud of myself growing 9 plants of sweetcorn and plucked a cob yesterday and ate it today (boiling method) with butter.
Have to say it was not up to my expectations, far too sweet for me, although I did eat all of it, I preferred the purchased stuff :o where did I go wrong ???
<grin> that's the whole point - you get sweet corn not starch corn if you grow it yourself. And they are very sweet indeed these days!
If you like them less so, and you grew a normal not sugar-enhanced variety, then leave the cob in the fridge for a few days and it will go more starchy.
moonbells
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I can join this thread now having just harvested my first ever sweetcorn cob
:) Is there any form of initiation ceremony? If not, there should be ;D I'll do it myself then....Pretend fan fare ;D I HAVE SWEETCORN ;D
I grew a much sniggered at by lotty peeps variety called Early King from Wilko. it got killed off by frost so I had to start again. Slim cobs which wasn;t encouraging but nothing to go with the lamb for tea so had to harvest slightly plump cobs.
Absolutely gorgeous ;D I was making lots of noise eating this as it was so fab ;D As no veg for tea to go with lamb steak and OH refusing to buy veg, sent me forth to lotty to find food. Came back with beef toms, sweetcorn, red onion, lovely little squash, flat leaf Italian giant parsley, green peppers, carrots. A veritable feast. How much would that little lot have cost me from the shops :)
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Thank you Moonbells ;) I will try leaving one for a few days in the fridge for a few days and report back on my findings, although I did read that some varieties should be eaten same day for best results. ::)
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Don't fret, Roy, your poor wee taste buds have just been used to the blandness of the shop varieties - think they are harvested way before ripe and then probably irradiated to prolong shelf life but am sure you will soon adjust to "the real thing" - and of course some varieties are sweeter than others - supersweet. We can't get enough of them
Isn't it great, Wardy, being able to produce all that fresh veg - we have many weird and wonderful combinations - jsut because we can!
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Wicker I love it when I've got to do a concoction using what's available. The results are always dead tasy! I noticed last evening when I was harvesting my lovelies a lovely little round headed cabbage so I think that's tonight's tea with my own onions and some meaty sausages I've got. Not had breakfast yet and already thinking about tea :)