Mixing Sweetcorn Varieties

[Farmer_Gyles]

I've read that we shouldn't mix varieties .... but I haven't done well with sweetcorn this year .... 2 of one variety, 5 of another, and maybe a few of a 3rd variety (if they survive) .....

Is it worth mixing them when planting??

[leonmc0708]

no the cobs will taste foul.

Grow em and pillinate them yerself with a fine paintbrush

keep em well away from one another.

[Two_Sheds]

no the cobs will taste foul

dinner >>>>> laptop

pillinate them yerself with a fine paintbrush

but then, you'd have to close the "bits" so that nature's pollinators don't get in there as well

keep em well away from one another

That's the easiest way, by far

[realfood]

It will all depend on which types of sweetcorn they all are. If they are all from the same group, they should be OK. If not, there could be a problem.

[Paulottie]

You have a bit of a dilema there...you need enough corn to pollinate one another but if you mix 'supersweets' with 'sugar enhanced' you will end up with hard kernals in your cobs... OP varieties might be OK but it is unlikely that you will have those as they are not widely sold.

What varieties have you got?..if not from same group then I should sow some more of something from the same group as the most successful you have...just incase we get a summer.

Maize is wind pollinated so very difficult to isolate

[Uber-Uncool]

Glad i read this, i have just planted 2 different varieities in large containers in plackytunnel. Will move one of them to another spot in the garden and hope for the best.

[Two_Sheds]

Maize is wind pollinated so very difficult to isolate

You can also shake the plants to release the pollen. It's often a good policy, because too MUCH wind is a bad thing, it blows the pollen AWAY rather than down the plants

[Farmer_Gyles]

thanks all ....
there are 2 Swift, 5 are either Incredible or Sweet Bounty, and the tray from B&Q is 'Extra Sweet'
if the B&Q ones recover, i will plant only those, but some are looking very poorly .....

only Incredible is listed on wikipedia ....
List of sweetcorn varieties - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
i wonder if different companies simply come up with a new name for the same varieties??

[Farmer_Gyles]

T&M packets sat Sweet Bounty is a "Super Sweet" variety and Incredible is a "Sugary Enhanced" variety and the two should not be mixed.
Suttons packets don't show the varieties, but their website lists Swift as a "Super Sweet" variety.
So should be ok to mix Sweet Bounty and Swift?

The "Extra Sweet" from B&Q has a Verve brand - can't find any other info ....

[Two_Sheds]

Is it worth mixing them when planting??

packets sat ... the two should not be mixed.

lol

always read the packets!

[Farmer_Gyles]

lol

always read the packets!

i know .... but .... i've never had problems with sweetcorn, and although i'd heard not to mix them, i'd never heard why or what happens if we mix them .... always thought of it like one of those "old gardening legends" .... and maybe the worst effect would be poor pollination ....

but now i know that mixing different *types* will make the corn taste like arse ....

and still not sure if it's ok / wise to mix varieties within a particular type ....?

[Paulottie]

Hi Farmer Gyles

It seems that you have got the idea. There is some spoddy info on Wikipedia regarding the various breeding types. Unfortunately it is quite American and trade names are often unclear/misleading/not comparable.... but it will explain the breeding to you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...corn_varieties

All I can say is we grow over 200 plants a year in electrified enclosure ((Badger probs) this year we have a plague of mice...having lost half the broadies slightly concerned to their fate)....but a few years ago I made the mistake of growing a mix and it was a real disappointment.

Wind pollination can be over a 1/4 mile. You can use plastic bags or waterbottles ( or a fortnightly gap) to isolate cobs...however it is a fag requiring immaculate timings and only really worth it if you wish to save the seed. I had very good results with Honey Bantam some years ago but isolating with bottles in my garden and not at the lottie... Companies have you believe it won't work! but cos of the bicolour kernals and quality i could tell and I found I had very little reversion, even tho it is billed as an F1....albeit bred in the 1930's and just tinkered with since) My F2 was just fine.

Just been out in the greenhouse sowing final 70 pots of 'Lark'....there's still time but now just need a hot September....good luck with it all.

[Farmer_Gyles]

the bottles thing sounds like a good idea that might actually work .... i'll only have about 16 sweetcorn anyway ....

what happens with reversion??

i've checked the sweetcorn, the list is:
2 sweet bounty (supersweet)
6 swift (supersweet)
9 verve extra sweet (unknown)

i'll plant out, maybe tomorrow, and see what happens .... i might get lucky and find the extra sweet are supersweet too ....

[realfood]

Swift is actually a tendersweet variety and produces kernals that are softer than other types. I now only grow tendersweet varieties. I can find no further information on sweet bounty and must assume that it is an ordinary supersweet variety.

It is a problem that sweetcorn packets give so little info on the type of the corn inside the packet.

[taff]

i know .... but .... i've never had problems with sweetcorn, and although i'd heard not to mix them, i'd never heard why or what happens if we mix them ...but now i know that mixing different *types* will make the corn taste like arse ....

That's my quote of the month

tea>screen