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First time growing sweetcorn

debs64debs64 Posts: 5,184
in Fruit & veg
Hi all decided to try growing sweet corn for first time this year. Any advice on which seed to buy? Or any other advice for a successful crop? Thanks. 

Posts

  • chickychicky Posts: 10,410
    We’ve had success with a variety called Goldcrest.  We sowed them early May (but April should be ok too).  Main thing is to plant them in a grid, not a row, as they are wind pollinated.  So if they are planted in a grid/square pattern you maximise your chances of the wind blowing the right way.

    We only got one (decent sized) cob per plant - so takes up quite a lot of room for not much crop.  However, really, really tasty fresh from the plant.  One of those things that you can really taste the difference with homegrown 🌽🌽🌽
  • debs64debs64 Posts: 5,184
    @chicky thanks for that, I am planning to try them in a small bed at the allotment just for something new. I have heard they taste good when home grown and I will have a bed spare as my lovely strawberries were all eaten by rats last year so the plants are going into my garden instead. Will give that variety a try. 
  • NewBoy2NewBoy2 Posts: 1,813
    https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1023977/how-to-stop-badgers-from-eating-my-sweetcorn

    I tried for 3 years and every season just as they were looking good the badgers ate them all and destroyed the plants.

    Hope you have better results. o:)
    Everyone is just trying to be Happy.....So lets help Them.
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I have tried lots over the years, my favourite was Sweetie, but then it seemed to disappear from my usual suppliers. This year I’m trying Swift as that has had good reviews on here. I think success is largely down to growing conditions, good soil, plenty of water and planting them in a block, not a row, to ensure good wind pollination. Sow them in small pots under cover first (I use 9cm ones) and sow around March/April. Plant them out when the weather has warmed up and they are at least 6” high, firm them in well and earth up a little around the roots when necessary. Oh and protect them from Badgers! 
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    'Swift' and 'Lark' have always done OK for me, but they all need a half decent summer to crop well in the UK.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • debs64debs64 Posts: 5,184
    There are foxes at the allotment but not badgers as far as I know 
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    Grey squirrels will steal whole sweetcorn cobs.  We lost most of the crop in an afternoon.  We usually grow Swift, and it only happened once.
  • debs64debs64 Posts: 5,184
    Looked around for gold crest with no success until I spotted them in my local Asda! Going to give them a try. It’s just for fun really I would be in trouble if I relied on home grown veg to feed myself. 
  • BraidmanBraidman Posts: 274
    .

    No one is able to harvest any cobs on our allotments, but we have lots of very fat mice, so nobody bothers any more.

    Same with peas, they dig out the seed, so it seldom gets a chance to germinate!

    Ah! the joys of gardening!
  • SuesynSuesyn Posts: 664
    We managed to keep the badgers from eating our corn last year by making the barrier more substantial but not many of the other plot holders seem to succeed. One lady told me that she only grows baby corn as they don't seem to like that. 
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