With our warmer summers, the cultivation of sweet corn is becoming more popular. It is
even grown commercially in many parts of Cornwall. This delicious vegetable only reaches
perfection when there has been plenty of hot sunny weather. Sweet corn is highly nutritious
and corn on the cob is a great favourite with children. It can be an extremely rewarding experience
growing sweet corn and it tastes far better than corns brought in the shops. Botanically speaking
the sweet corn is a member of the grass family and the kernels you eat are the seeds.
Sweet corn loves an open sunny site, due to its shallow root system it would benefit from some
shelter, as they are easily blown over. A mature sweet corn can reach heights of 2.4 metres,
so when locating a site consider the shading to surrounding plants. Sweet corn will grow in almost any type of
soil, but prefers a light, sandy and reasonably fertile one. Ideally it should be grown on a site manured from
a previous crop, fresh manure will make the plants produce more foliage than good ears of corn. An ideal
ph level would be 6.5.
Seeds can either be sown out doors in their final position, or under glass transplanting them later.
For indoor sowing around April, they should be sowed in 7.5cm pots filled with good quality seed
compost. Put 3 seeds per pot, about 2 cms deep, moisten the compost and cover the pot with a
sheet of glass until germination begins. Providing the temperature is high enough (at least 16 °C)
they should germinate within 6-12 days.
When the seedlings are large enough to handle, remove all but the strongest one from each pot.
When the risk of frosts have past the young plants can be planted outside into their final location.
Prior to planting, the plants should be hardened off outside for a week, bringing them back in the glass
house in the evenings. They should be planted 35-45 cms apart and space the rows at least 60-90 cms
apart.
Liquid feed is beneficial, at regular intervals from pollination to harvest time, do not be tempted to
over water.
A common mistake is to leave the cobs on the plants for too long, generally the cobs should be ready three
weeks after the silks have appeared. You can test one of the kernels for readiness by piercing it with your thumb nail.
If a creamy milk spurts out, the cob is ready for picking, if the liquid is watery the cob is still unripe and if little or no
liquid appears it is over ripe.
