Half pollenated sweetcorn?

[HeyWayne]

Popped in to the plot on Monday night - we were having fish for dinner, so I thought I'd harvest my sweetcorn as I'd heard it tastes bestist at it's freshest.

So, I peeled back the leaves of one cob and had a quick peek. Stuck my thumbnail into one of the kernals and it oozed a milky liquid. Great I thought!

Pulled three cobs off from the various plants (totalling 12) and drove back home again. Opened the first cob and look what I found...



Fantastic I thought, so I set about peeling the other two...

Hardly a kernel in them!

So I drove back down to the plot and had a check of the rest - I peeled them as I harvested them - chucking the leaves on the compost heap as I went.

By the time I'd finished I'd pulled every cob off the plants (leaving the pathetic little cobs at the bottom of the plants), and this was all I had to show for it...



I'm pretty sure I know why. When the plants had "matured" and the male parts were in full "bloom" it was really windy, and I suspect that the majority of the pollen was blown off and away from the lower female cobs (I think it's that way round?).

I think next year I'll plant thicker blocks (they were in a block of 3x4 rows), and try and site them in a less windy spot (not easy on my plot).

Am I right in my thinking?

[vicky]

I don't know! I had the same problem (tho not to your extent!) and thought they had not been pollinated as it was not windy enough! Vowed next year to shake the plants to ensure better pollination...

Anyone else know?

[rustylady]

Tap the plants on a still(ish) day. You want the pollen to fall on the silks below, not get blown to the next county. Mine were pretty good, though I did have a few of the late ones with only partial pollination. Guinea pigs loved them, though if you have the patience you can remove the kernels and cook them.

[HeyWayne]

Tap the plants on a still(ish) day. You want the pollen to fall on the silks below, not get blown to the next county. Mine were pretty good, though I did have a few of the late ones with only partial pollination. Guinea pigs loved them, though if you have the patience you can remove the kernels and cook them.

Oh, I tapped them alright, gave them a bladdy good shake on the occasion that I was there. Problem was, there didn't seem to be anything left to shake off. The wind had beaten me to it - only having the chance to get to the plot on the occasional evening and at weekends. I might try and grow some kind of "wind break" next season.

[terrier]

I you'st to grow sweetcorn with reasonable success in my previous garden that was well sheltered, but I've tried 3 times now on my new plot (very windy) and your's look brilliant compared to mine

[daylily]

Rather cold weather, I'd think.

[Two_Sheds]

Yep, too windy Wayne.
Mr Sheds has the same problem

[Kingfisher]

To get good pollination in your cobs you need to space the plants a lot closer than the books say and make sure they are in planted in blocks.They need very warm weather and a long growing season to do any good and also as other members have said to give the plants a good shake when the pollen is running,that way you should get a good crop.

It could also be the variety you have grown and also make sure they are fed well as they can be a hungry crop.

[Snadger]

Looks quite normal to me!

Sweetcorn doesn't HAVE to look like the uniform cobs you buy in Tesco's you know!

I bet it's still very tasty and with the summer we've had I was surprised I got any cobs at all.

The corn near the tip hadn't pollinated on mine but I always eat mine raw so this made a handy 'handle' to hold it whilst munching the majority then pushing what was left into the chook run for them to finish off!

I think all gardeners should be congratulated for managing to get ANY sweetcorn this past season!

[HeyWayne]

Yep, too windy Wayne.
Mr Sheds has the same problem

You after my job?!

It could also be the variety you have grown and also make sure they are fed well as they can be a hungry crop.

Conqueror F1. Never thought about feeding them! D'oh.

I bet it's still very tasty and with the summer we've had I was surprised I got any cobs at all.

Oh it was about the tastiest we've ever eaten. I've been "instructed" that I definitely need to grow it again (and more) next season...

[FoxHillGardener]

I think all gardeners should be congratulated for managing to get ANY sweetcorn this past season!

wahay, congratulations me! (and I thought it was a rubbish result - tasty though )

[Protea]

Sweetcorn pollination can be affected quite badly by temperature as well as wind (and sun, and water.....) although you're near me so its not like you're up in the arctic like some on here Wayne! Conqueror should have been OK, but its a late maturing variety so will have struggled with the lack of summer we've had this season, pollination may ahve co-incided with a cold snap (we've had plenty!). Try an earlier maturing variety next year.

suggestions: Earlibird - same type as conqueror (super sweet) but much earlier, i grow this one year after year and it has never let me down when i've grown it properly!

Or try a tender sweet (can be eaten raw as very tender): Swift is an early, Lark is a mid season. I've never had much luck getting swift to germinate but it may just be me! Lark on the otherhand grew very well for me this year and tasted lovely.

[Protea]

Oh, was also going to say, hedge your bets and grow a succession of varieties, such as an early, followed by a mid-season and then a late one just in case we get a good summer - you should get something to harvest then! And contrary to popular belief you can grow them next to one another, which saves space (its only if you want to save the seed that its a problem and as most of the modern varieties are F1 hybrids they wouldn't come true from saved seed anyway)

[daylily]

Oh, was also going to say, hedge your bets and grow a succession of varieties

The best advice for anything as far as I can think of.

[HeyWayne]

Excellent, thanks for that Protea!