I have a block of 40 sweetcorn growing in my poly tunnel. They're coming up to 6 foot tall and all the mail flowers are opening right at the top of each plant. Problem is there are no cobs or side shoots at all forming below.
Don't ever remember this problem any other time I've grown corn outside. Any idea what's causing it?
I think it must be the variety. I can remember posting something similar a few years ago, and the cobs kind of developed suddenly almost overnight. The males do arrive first, my suggestion is to be patient and hopefully the ladies will soon put in an appearance.
It's the same with my sweet corn growing outside. Tassels showing first and even when they are just starting to produce pollen it looks like no silks on the plants. But like Digeroo experience, they seem to appear overnight :happy7:
The cobs cannot form until the flowers are pollinated so they always seem late. We had the best crop last year we had ever had but after one picking of 7 pods a badger went over the fence and cleared the lot in one go.http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/Smileys/Lots_O_Smileys/BangHead.gif
Quote from: laurieuk on July 22, 2013, 20:03:18
The cobs cannot form until the flowers are pollinated so they always seem late.
I think a few of you are missing the point... There are NO cobs to be pollinated, they have not formed at all. The male flowers are dropping their pollen everywhere but the trunks of the plants have nothing, no female embryonic cobs for the pollen to fall onto.
Every other year I've grown sweetcorn the cobs form as side shoots up the trunk of the plant. This year, nothing.
Well I never. Went into the ploy this morning and the female tassels have appeared in various places up the stalks overnight.
Don't ever remember them appearing as late as this in the corn cob life cycle. Oh well, panic over.
Glad they are getting their act together :glasses9:
Quotethe female tassels have appeared in various places up the stalks overnight.
:icon_cheers:
Before I've only ever grown them on the allotment which I didn't manage to get to every day. Now I've got the plot and the poly tunnel down the end of the garden I see them every day so maybe I just didn't notice the time scale before.