Sweet corn

[paddy1506]

Does anyone have any experience of successfully growing sweetcorn ?
My wife has a vision of us in the sunshine with freshly shucked ears sizzling on the BBQ. I think it'll rain. Whenever anyone mentions the word 'barbecue' a low pressure system develops instantly.

[Cutecumber]

I don't grow hundreds, but I get a crop, so I guess you could say it's a success.

There's nothing too tricky about it, as long as you put it in some good ground where it gets sun and not too much wind. Sow somewhere in pots where the mice can't find them, early April is about average, then plant seedlings about 12-14 inches apart in a block - i.e. not a long row - because the pollen is wind-dispersed. I do a 4 x 4 block, 16 plants. I only get one cob off each, but you could get four if your conditions are perfect.

I gather it can attract badgers (!!!) but in suburbia they stay away. Otherwise, I have had no pest problems - it's a lot easier than many vegetables for this reason alone.

There's nothing like a fresh-picked cob, it's soooo good.

Go for it!

[Newbie]

I grew them last year too (was my 1st year trying to grow anything edible) and got one cob off each plant and a few tiny ones which didn't have time to grow further before it got too cold. They tasted FAB, a million times better than the shop bought stuff.

[Seahorse]

I grew some last year in a big planter. Didn't do anything special (knowing no better, lol!) but the cobs were fabulous, 100 times sweeter and juicier than the stuff you get at the supermarket. We ate all ours standing next to the plants!

[samw04]

free plants

I happened by my mums copy of kitchen garden and in there you can get 16 free plants of sweetcorn swift for paying £2.95 p&p
Mr fothergill's (0845) 1662511
item 14085
offer no. F808KG2
its not avil online it doesn't say you have to buy anything else but its worth a go.

[Shelle]

Seahorse, what variety were yours? I had planned on growing some in a container, but then was told (cant remember by who) that it couldnt be done, so I had decided against it in the end.

How big was your planter and how many plants (did you grow from seed?) did you put in? You might have started me off again

Shelle

[momol]

Paddy,

I am going to grow some sweet corn this year. Last year did grow some baby corn. I presume they have the same requirement but the sweet corn need to be grown in block fo pollinations, set them at the south facing and feed them once per 3 weeks ( the Nitrogen should not be too high). I used the high potassium fertilizer. It will help if you mix the growing site with some manure 2 or 3 months before growing your sweet corn ( as corn are hungry feeder).
Hope it help and let us know how it goes...

Momol

[Seahorse]

Seahorse, what variety were yours? I had planned on growing some in a container, but then was told (cant remember by who) that it couldnt be done, so I had decided against it in the end.

How big was your planter and how many plants (did you grow from seed?) did you put in? You might have started me off again

Shelle

Gosh, I can't remember the variety but it would have been something very ordinary from Wilko or similar, as I hadn't discovered many of the great online seed houses at that point. I grew five from seed in a round pot about 18" across and probably about the same deep. They were in quite a sunny spot.

You'll have to ignore the blethering about knitting and baking but there are pics on my blog from last year that gives you a vague idea (pics #5 and #6):

In these shoes

[Sue]

I had a first time lucky success with it last year too. Remember being told that they liked good manured ground and lots of water. I grew them in a raised bed in the dampest part of the allotment and watered them hugely when it started to dry out and then layered the earth with wet newspaper covered with grass cuttings. This kept them nice and moist and they produced well.
I did try the three sisters thing but it didn't work very well, the squash traied everywhere except where I wanted it to go and the beans didn't do very well - think I didn't get my timings quite right.
Sue

[Protea]

The thing with sweetcorn is it needs lots of sun and lots of water. The last 2 years i've not been able to grow a good crop at all, but 3 years ago it was fantastic.

we either get too much sun and no water (2006), or too much water and not enough sun (2007)!!

If its dry you really do need to water them regularly. i make a little well around each plant in the soil to water into, saves watering the weeds and gives each plant a really good soak.

Try an early and late variety to extend the season, but it depends on how much room you have on your plot. You DO NOT have to keep different varieties separated (super sweets/tendersweets/etc), this is only neccessary if you want to save seed - it won't affect the taste

[rustylady]

Year before last my Swift was fantastic. Last year I couldn't even get Swift to germinate well. Grew Minipop - not impressed. Will try Swift again this year, the cobs were fantastic. Never tried growing in containers, wouldn't have thought you would have had enough space, but live and learn. Mine gets planted onto the allotment.

[Shelle]

Thanks for that, love the photo of "mum"!!

Still cant decide, as I am quite a bit north to you (although not as north as those in Scotland) and I dont get a HUGE amount of sun (whats that??) in the garden. But would love to grow sweetcorn. Think I may just run the risk and try one this year.

Thanks for your help

[sarahspatch]

I grew sweetcorn succesfully last year - it was the first time that I tried it, ground wasn't manured but I fed them with chicken pellets.
I was quite surprised how well they grew, got several cobs from each plant-think the variety was Swift.
Will definately try them again this year.

[HappyMouffe]

We grew sweetcorn for the first time last year, very successfully. The weather was rubbish, with lots of rain (of course) and little sun (of course) but got 2 cobs off most of our plants. They tasted wonderful!

We grew 'Tuxedo', which I will be growing again this year.

[pigletwillie]

I grow swift but have also grown lark. Both are excellent. Just hope for a half decent summer.