Summer of Corn
HappyEarth
7 Comments
Homegrown corn is such a treat – it’s so sweet, juicy and flavoursome. We’ve been planting patches of about 20 corn plants every month here since about October, which means we’ve been having a steady stream of corn to enjoy.
Corn loves warm weather, good rich soil and a fair bit of water. We’ve found corn is easy to grow from seed, and takes well to being transplanted from the seedling tray to the garden when they’re about 10cm tall. The weather has been quite wet and humid here lately, and it’s been amazing to see how the corn we planted out only 4 weeks ago has shot up into giant stalks of corn over 2 metres tall!
Not all our corn has grown this amazingly tall – most plants averaged about 1.5 metres in height. To ensure the cobs fill out with kernels properly we’ve planted the corn in patches of at least 15 plants, spaced only about 20cm apart. Each kernel on a cob of corn needs to be fertilised by pollen from other corn plants to form. If pollination doesn’t occur properly, you end up with bare patches without any kernels on your corn cob! The little silvereyes below are flitting about on the corn flowers.
We harvest the corn when the kernels have just turned yellow. Just peel away a bit of the husk to check. Our favourite way to enjoy corn is lightly steamed with a little butter and freshly cracked pepper. But we also love to eat them fresh and raw off the plant. This surprises a lot of people – but if you’ve never had fresh raw corn before, next time you have the opportunity give it a go!
Reader Comments (7)
I planted about 30 corn seeds in my veggie patch, but only 3 stalks grew :( And the tallest is only about a metre tall. It has started growing two cobs but I wasn't sure if they would pollinate, so I shook the flowery bit on top over the tassles. I'll have to check if there are cobs inside! I wouldn't say the veggie patch is very rich soil though - I really need to add some compost and plant some new veggies, but all the weekends lately have either been too hot or wet. Hopefully I'll get my chance soon! We've had a really wet weekend so hopefully the plants will enjoy that.
Oh, I want to grow my own corn to be able to eat it fresh off the stalk! Fresh, steamed, BBQ'd or grilled corn on the cob... you can't beat it!
Sorry to hear you didn't have much success with your corn Jamie. Corn does thrive in rich soil - we built our beds up with compost, worm castings and horse manure before planting out the corn. Also raising the corn as seedlings in trays and then transplanting them may overcome problems with pests eating the seeds as soon as they sprout up in the veggie bed.
We're with you Dixibelle - you just can't beat corn. Plant some out soon!
Yum, corn rocks! Like tomatoes, it's something that's really worth growing in your backyard. You just can't get the same freshness and flavour from store-bought at any price.
Corn straight off the stalk is wonderful. The people who get surprised by hearing this should be promptly offered a dose of fresh corn ;)
Unfortunately I had corn like Jamie.Will create a designated bed this year with all the compost and extra goodness in it.Ahh fresh corn brings back childhood memories of two little kids red with mud in corn fields in the middle of nowhere.
Thanks for those tips, I will try them out! We have more cobs growing now but they don't really seem to be working out - one with a brown tassel hadn't filled in properly. But it's a learning curve, I'm glad to have tried it. :)