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Has sweetcorn stopped growing?

tomhumftomhumf Posts: 65
edited July 2021 in Fruit & veg
My sweetcorn seemed to be going well considering its my first year growing it. I have one cob on each plant. A few weeks ago it seemed to stop growing though, they are around 3 to 4 ft tall,  cobs haven't got any bigger. The leaves are starting to yellow now so I guess it's dying off? 

Maybe I didn't water enough at a crucial point, or nutrition was a problem. I just used some chicken pellets and compost before growing. 

Should I just pick all the small cobs now and give up or hold out for possible growth? 

Posts

  • bcpathomebcpathome Posts: 1,313
    Sweet corn looks like that when the cobs are ready. Harvest now or risk losing your crop 
  • tomhumftomhumf Posts: 65
    I harvested a few. They aren't very yellow and lots of corns missing. Bad pollination I guess? Maybe I'll have them outside and closer spacing next year. They were about 1ft spacing in polytunnel. I did shake the tops a lot over the tassels though.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    The colour is irrelevant. Press a thumbnail into a kernel. If the juice is milky the cob is ripe. If it's clear it’s not ready to pick, but check daily. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





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