Sweetcorn and the North/South Divide.

[Kirk]

It's really in East West divide.
Anywhere West of the Seven Channel is a failure.

[SelkirkAlex]

Jay-ell 3 ears with a fourth on a good year

[Thelma Sanders]

I've never had more than 2 ears per plant - what's the most ears you get per plant?

Usually 3 but only 1 or 2 this year because it was, and still is, soooo very dry

[Bluenowhere]

Kent. Growing for two years so far, good crop well pollinated in both years. Grow in block at 45cm spacing.

[Mark_Riga]

The most cobs I get per plant is 2 but I get quite a lot as plant a lot. May be a trade off between number of cobs per plant and spacing. I grew 50 plants (one packet of what ever it was) in a 4'x12' bed and got over 50 cobs this year. Ate some as they ripened and there are 30+ in the freezer. They are very sweet this year. It is usually a race between me and the rats to see who get them - I won this year. I like them on the cob so don't bother to take the kernels off. Just freeze whole and then cook in oven. Depending if defrosted or straight from the freezer the take 20 to 35minutes.

I would think that Cheshire is somewhere in the middle.

[Nerdofprey]

I'm in the Midlands and I had six plants that each produced one cob, they were nice but not sure it's something I will grow every year!

[burnie]

I tend to eat my cobs raw, so I have to grow my own to get that fresh juicy taste, I don't need dozens, so one from each plant is adequate for our needs. We rarely freeze anything I grow, the idea is to eat in season, so next year I will need to grow more brassicas rather than more Corn.

[1Bee]

I get 2 or 3 per plant which is more than enough for our needs! I like growing things that are tall and have impact, anyway, so I like to grow them even if a crop is a gamble.

[It never rains..it pours]

First year here and got roughly 2 full size cobs per plant along with 1 mini. Earlibird was better than northern extra. Noticably much nicer than supermarkets ones, seemed easy to grow, so intend to plant again next year. Earlibird and will swap northern extra for another maybe Invincible as recommended on here or another

After saying the above, it was a great summer here so who knows in a normal one

[Chippy Minton]

Cheshire / Staffordshire border. The sweetcorn grows on the Staffordshire side, up on t'moor. Last 2 years we've had success, 12 plants in 2 rows and get around 6 fully formed cobs and the rest (2 per plant) as baby corn. This year it is so sweet SWMBO can't eat it, but number 1 daughter wolfs them down.

[Gordon the gardener]

It’s maize for animals

I don’t grow it as I don’t really have the space. However all around where I live there are huge fields of it being grown every year.

It’s not sweetcorn it’s maize for animals, like it says in the heading

[bikermike]

I've put my name on the "grow well" side of the ledger, and I grow in the hill stations around London

Not sure if that's right. had a good season in 17 (grew 6ish plants 2-3 cobs per plant). In 18, I planted it too late and it grew very slowly in the dry and I think I had about 3 cobs off 6 plants. I also used old seed, so I'm ignoring 18 as lots of things weren't right.

I'll grow it again this year and see what happens

[Snoop Puss]

Sweetcorns vary not only in their designation as super sweet, tender sweet and all the rest of them, which are pretty meaningless to me, even though I once spent a day looking up sweetcorn genetics. Goodness only knows why, probably displacement activity.

Anyway, some grow more quickly than others. If you're up north or in marginal territory, or even somewhere like me where you can get in a late crop because temps stay quite warm up to late September, try a sweetcorn that is quick to harvest after germination. Earlibird is apparently 70 days. Lark, my favourite, is 75 days. Swift, according to another thread is 83 days (see post 6 here: https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...orn_82915.html). Might try Earlibird next year, just to see. Obviously the number of days might vary from those stated, but you're better off with a quick-growing one than another variety that needs longer if your conditions aren't ideal.

I get two cobs per plant. A third cob sometimes grows but is never worth eating on the cob, my favourite way of eating it. Maybe some varieties that produce small cobs (I've seen some that produce eight rows of kernels only) might put out more. But any cobs, even just one per plant, makes it worth growing in my book.

[Deano's "Diggin It"]

Lark is my favourite too!

And although not blowing my own trumpet, not bad at growing it either, a little demanding, takes up a lot of space, average 4 cobs per plant, but far, far more superior than supermarket stuff and grow it for no other reason than that, yet again a little return of superior goods rather than the rubbish you can buy is well worth the effort in my eyes!

Class it as a delicacy, a little like Aparagus!

Not a big return, but well worth the wait!

[casejones]

It does OK. This year was the best so far. Previously tried the sfg spacing of 4 per square foot. This year went 1 per square foot and I think that helped.

square foot spacing is different for different types of corn.

ext year will be an heirloom variety called Bantam and I'll see if I can save seed from it.

is the variety you plan on planting called "Golden Bantam"