Secrets to Successful Corn: Grow the Juiciest Cobs
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ต.ค. 2024
- Everybody loves sweet corn! Which is why it's so disheartening when there are gaps left gaping in our cobs' kernels, like unfulfilled hopes and dreams. It's sad. It's frustrating.
Thankfully, Ben is here to tell us what to do about it, so that we can have the corn of our dreams; full, juicy and oh-so-delicious!
For our other videos on growing corn, see Perfect Corn Every Time:
• 🌽 How to Grow the Best...
And Growing Sweetcorn from Sowing to Harvest:
• Growing Sweet Corn fro...
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When I was a little girl, my grandmother let me run around in the corn patch... now I know why! 🤣
I hand pollinate my sweetcorn. Living in the North of England you have to give it every chance! But I take a brown paper bag, put 2 or 3 tassels, still attached to the plants, into the bag, then agitate them. This way, the pollen falls into the bag. Then take a soft artist's brush, dampen the bristles, dip into the pollen in the bag, and stroke onto the silks. It's tedious, but every year I've had nearly 99% full cobs, so I can recommend it. This method has the added advantage that you can go back to tassels several times, which you can't do if you cut them off, and of course, you continue to get 'natural' pollen drop..
Brilliant!
Very good suggestion 💯
Thanks for sharing this!
Thank you for sharing this!
What a great suggestion, Ian
We are growing corn this year (Peaches and Cream) and practicing the "Three Sisters" approach. The corn is planted in a circle on a mound. Under the mound is a whole fish (herring in our case) and as the corn grows you plant some pole beans(that use the corn to climb up and put nitrogen in the soil) and finally a squash (that provides ground cover to keep off weeds). These three work in harmony. - Well we shall see this year. Last year we did the rows thing and had terrible pollination.
Great video thank you for your help.
Hope you get a great crop. I bet those herring keep things growing along nicely!
We love wrapping ours in tin foil and putting on the barbie. Great tips of the pollinating process.
I have 60 corn plants, planted in 5 blocks of 12 ( I am in Zone 7 in Oklahoma) 5-7 days apart. I put the corn transplants - I use toilet paper tubes for seed starters and a bulb planter to dig holes for the tubes to go right into the ground - and then the last two blocks are direct sowed seeds. This gives us several weeks of corn to enjoy , as long as I can beat the squirrels to them. :)
Another toilet paper tube recycler! Can't beat this method!
This year I decided to grow out some seed stock of Cascade Ruby-Gold flint (polenta) corn, so I started the seeds early on a wet paper towel in a plastic bag and planted the ones that sprouted (since the seed was 7 years old, I really didn't expect very many to germinate, but most of them did!) into a plug tray, later planting them out into the garden. The idea was to have at least a 4-week timing difference with my husband's Kandy Korn sweet corn, as both varieties are about 85 days and I didn't want the flint corn to cross-pollinate with and mess up the sweet corn. All went well at first, but a "freak" heavy snowstorm in late May (okay, not totally out of the blue, since this is Colorado's Front Range and we often get Mother's Day snowstorms) decimated the Ruby-Gold, leaving quite a few good-sized gaps among the 40-ish surviving plants. So I plan to hand-pollinate them when the time comes. Planted beans in the gaps so that the space wouldn't be wasted.
Smart move to plant beans in the gaps. Hope they all crop well for you.
Hello Ben and cute little Rosie!👋 I've been growing corn successfully for years and yet I learned something new from you today. Thanks!🙂
This year I'm just growing popcorn. I usually grow sweet corn too.
I'm growing Mini Blue and Japanese Hullless popcorn.
In our long growing season I'm blessed in that I can do 3 plantings of corn.
I'm already looking forward to next week's video.😀
Very satisfying to pop your own corn I'm sure - can't wait to try that myself some day.
Here on the west coast of British Columbia, Vancouver area - zone 8a, we are growing some Pink Popcorn (CN365). Growing it to dry on the cob then use for popcorn. First time with this variety.
I just found out she also planted 'Jubilee Super Sweet (CN370)' corn with the Pink Popcorn. This could get very interesting come harvest time.
It certainly could. Homegrown popcorn would be fantastic. :-)
First year of growing sweetcorn so this is a bit of a godsend. Growing Lark F1 as it seems a bit of a balanced grow.
V educational and helpful 🙏🏻 Looking forward to brassicas 🤞🏻
I planted corn for the first time in years. But now I will go back and plant more now. It’s still been cool here so it will grow quickly. I like the Silver Queen corn. It’s so sweet.
Excellent information. I didn't know about the temperature. I am growing Peaches and Cream!
i always sow swift,had no problem ever,
Northern Xtra Sweet. Sh2 6B. 2nd year. Very pleased so far. Summers are breezy. 9 inch full ears.
Wow - good work!
I planted 12 and then 29 starts of Temptress F1 sweet corn in Chicago zone 5b in succession. I have grown it before with varying degrees of success. In-ground planting did not thrive as much as indoor plant starts (I have a propagation station and grow room in an spare bedroom). The outdoor seed starts also did not do as well. This year I started everything indoors. I even used kernels from 2019 and every one sprouted in a mixture of potting soil and coco coir (I poured boiled water over the potting soil to kill fungus gnats prior to mixing with the coco fibre). I planted them approx 10” apart. I live in a suburb, and parents love pointing to the corn when they take their kids on walks - I grow on the south side of my house in a garden that’s 5’ wide by 100’ long. I always enjoy your videos. Thank you for all that you do.
You're smart to do it that way. Corn likes really warm soil to germinate and grow well at the beginning. I'm in Z6a and I don't start mine until June and I'm in south-facing raised beds surrounded by pavers so I have a nice warm microclimate. I find the fast growth makes up for the late start, but I don't do succession planting but now you've got me thinking for next year, thanks.
How lovely that kids walking by get to see your good work. Here's to a cracking crop. :-)
Sweet Nugget is my variety this year!
Just harvested my first corn a few weeks ago (South Australia) and was really happy with the results. Had them growing in a small 2ft x 5ft raised bed and just wanted to see if it was possible. Out of the 14ish plants I got only like 5 or 6 edible cobs (about the size of the mini cobs in the freezer packs). while it wasn't much, it was amazing to watch them grow, hand pollinate them and try something I didn't know would grow in a small space like that. Would love to try again but this time in a proper block and actually the right season.
Your first corn crop sounds exactly like my first corn crop - including the bed size. In the years since I have worked out that the small cobs were mostly due to a lack of nitrogen as corn are heavy feeders. I now give mine regular doses of fish emulsion. It is always cheering to hear about someone catching the gardening bug. Happy gardening.
@@crankybanshee3809 thanks for the advice, don't think I'll do corn again until I get my own place and have a larger patch for it but I'll definitely remember to add some extra nitrogen to the soil.
Nice one Dylan. Hope you get a fuller crop next time you try it.
@@GrowVeg thanks, might be a while until I try it again. Love the video and thanks for all the help and advice you've given through your channel.
I’m learning something from you everyday yes I’m growing corn and plant 3 rows with about15 stalks in each row. But in the past I would only get half ears. I would take the top and put some of them on the silks. Now I will try your suggestion and let you know what happens. My corn is about waist high now. I’m 76 years old and still thanks to you still learning. Thanks again
We are all of us still learning - that's the real joy of gardening! :-)
Thank you for this Ben. I am in the Bay Area California and growing the 4 sisters. I will go out and shake the corn sister tomorrow morning.
Great stuff Rob. Hope they all grow well for you.
Trying my hand at a three sisters garden and block planted [3 blocks of 15 corn each] of Damaun KS Super Sweet Corn. I got the seeds from Baker Creek and I'm very excited to see how this goes! Happy Growing!
Do you have a cooking section, taking your food from the garden to the table? I so enjoy and appreciate your channel, thank you.
We don't often do cooking, except when talking about preserving food. This video offers some nice suggestions for using up green tomatoes, for example: th-cam.com/video/gGV_CiYLmV0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=80JfGXPSsFfoVpOA
Hi Ben! Here in the northwest corner of Washington State, zone 8b, I’m growing a container style corn called On Deck Hybrid in a 24” diameter canvas grow bag. I can remember my dad pollinating his corn in just the same ways you suggested! I’ve been doing it, too. Thanks for bringing back great memories of my dad and for the info on how temperature affects pollination - learning something new every day! ♥️♥️♥️
Every day is a learning day when it comes to gardening Lizz!
Peaches & cream and sweet corn here in Canada
When plants are young, if you can ssurround them with a transparent barrrier to stop the wind blowing in them, wind rock rips their shallow roots which in turn affects the plants production. A simple transparent barrier will stop this and speed your crop along...Steve...😁
Absolutely spot on advice. A number of stout canes around the block and a 2ft barrier of clear visqueen does the trick. Stick it together with polytunnel repair tape.
Thanks for that tip - my first planting got ripped up , very disheartening :( replanted now and covered all with fleece until they are established ... only in my third year of gardening so learning - transparent barriers for carrots too next time. Lots more protection required than I imagined ...
@@louiseprice6161 Keep your carrots as high as possible. and be sure to use a fine insect mesh to cover them, otherewise the dreaded carrot root fly will pay you avisit.
Growing our first crop ever! We’ll definitely put your tips to good use 👍
Cheers from Southern California! 🌴🇺🇸🌴
I germinated and planted some pop corn in pots. We will have to see what happens there. Lol . And ill be planting sweetcorn again see if i have better luck after germinating
I live in a very warm climate (coastal South Carolina, US) and we've been growing corn for 3 or 4 years (just a personal patch for 2, maybe 20 or 30 stalks). We did know to hand pollinate but did not know each silk needs to be pollinated for each kernal! Also, I was doing it wrong. I was kind of tapping on the tassels but not the stalk, and not using an entire tassel to wipe on the silks. We do often have spaces missing. We just got our tassels this year and are waiting on our silks! Thank you! Will try this! We love Silver Queen and are also trying Bantam this year.
So pleased this video may help - it should definitely improve kernel set. :-)
I am planting Seneca Sunrise, from Seed Treasures, and will help them with pollination as you have demonstrated. Wish me luck for a good harvest!
Very best of luck with your harvest Dawn - that sounds like a great variety you're growing.
Golden bantan en tasty sweet. I did shake those tassels but i think the tip from the borderer is great as well!
It is a great tip from The Borderer isn't it!
First time this year, i have the black corn, and the "strawberry popcorn"
Thanks for the tips, this is my first year growing corn. I've gone for 'Golden Bantam' growing in 95l fabric grow bags. 5 per bag 25 in total. Good germination rate.
Thanks for this informative video. It helped to solve my problem on pollination. Sending love from Sri Lanka
Thanks for watching - love straight back at yer!
I'm growing Sugar Buns corn again this year. Thanks for the ideas. Maybe I'll get better results this time.
Thank you 😊
Thanks for the tips. This year will be our second year growing corn so hopefully we will get more cobs this year. 🌽
I've had success with silver queen. I always hand pollinate to ensure nice fat corn cobs. I'm in zone7 Maryland
Growing sweet corn for first time this year thanks for the tips
Yep!
Cheers Jack!
I have been planting corn for years and sometimes the ears are not full so thank you for the info on hand pollinating. I will try it this year. I have a 12' x 4" bed, 4 rows 8" apart and they do great otherwise. About 1/2 the stalks have 2 ears. I am in Seattle area so I start them indoors in April. I hoop the bed with plastic and cover them until the end of June. Usually, I am eating corn by July 10th. This spring has been the coldest ever and I think I will be lucky to get corn by the end of June.
Very impressed you're usually eating corn by mid-July - that seems very early to me. I'm sure this year's plants will catch up soon enough.
Growing corn for the first time: Golden Bantam! Very useful tips, thank you!
I'm growing Dakota Black and Mountain Morado corn! I'm actually experimenting planting a fence-line with those, beans and black hulless barley along the edge of the forest here. I'm hoping for it to all get tall and pretty enough to cover the fence line, so that the dogs spend less time bothering the local wildlife, while also getting at least SOME harvestables.
Oh I think you won't be sorry! I love my Morado! They do well in cooler climates, better than most other corns.
@@thesqueedler Fantastic! Thanks for your insight! I'm in upstate New York, so I'm excited that I picked wisely 😁
What a great but simple video Ben. My last years corn cobs were no good which I put down to poor pollination so I will definitely be using your tips this year, thanks Ben, Ian
Cheers Ian, hope you enjoy a great crop this year.
I'm growing Conqueror F1 which I've grown for the last 3 years with good results, I always grow in blocks. For me the only trick is more about making sure you keep an eye on it regularly when the tassels start to darken to get it at its best point to pick, like you say, bursting with a fingernail to make sure its creamy and then ready. Sometimes when your busy you can miss it and it can just go over, like I did one year. All the best, John.
Hope you don't miss it this year John. The best treat of the year I reckon.
Thank you .... this video was most useful.
i wish i saw this last year 🤣 i planted my in a row and i was wontering y so little things was inside, when i asked the say i didn't "water" it a lot 🙄
Growing Maize Morado, purple corn again this year. We made delicious tortillas from it last year. Hoping to have enough this year to make chicha morada as well as masa. The purple corncobs themselves have so much pigment they are almost black. You can dye cloth a nice dark purple color, and I rescued a stained cream turtleneck by overdyeing. I hand pollinate just to be certain to get everything.
I bet those purple corncobs look impressive. :-)
Growing honey and cream sweet corn this year. The last time I tried growing corn in my little 4 ft by 4 ft raised bed, I grew a native American flour corn variety called painted mountain. I got decent pollination, hope this year turns out well also. I will definitely do some tap tapping on the corn stocks to help pollenate though! Thanks for the tip!
Thanks for watching. I hope this season's crop turns out well also.
That was some useful info, very interesting
I never handpollinated my corn but this year I will do it. I planted it in a bloc! The variety of my corn is Sweet Nugget. First time this variety.
Thanks for the great tips from you and your watches,
Great, simple techniques. Thank you. We are trying Japanese hulless popcorn this year along with sweet corn.
Whatever you do, don't grow them close together. They might cross pollinate and could ruin both crops.
I learn so much of you!! thank you!
That's really super to hear! :-)
Growing peaches and cream sweet corn this year. Great video!🌽
I am growing corn for the first time this year! Butter and Sugar!
I'm growing peaches and cream . I love this one. It is for short seasons and I can sow it twice, here in Quebec,Canada.
Your information listed in growing corn is spot-on. I wish I had known this six years ago when I started growing crops. I killed a lot of corn to learn how to grow it.
I have 3 varieties. Sweetness (68 days), Stowell's (80-100 days), and Glass Gem (120 days). Since they all mature at different rates, so I don't worry about cross pollination, and I can get a nice variety of corn for the season.
I have grown Stowell before, that is a huge plant 😎.
A great way to avoid cross pollination. Some great varieties there too. :-)
I'm going to grow Allure sweet corn this year.
Thank you for sharing this video Ben. I grew sweetcorn last year (a few miles south of you) and I did hand pollinate, but only once. The cobs were amazing straight on the BBQ in their husks, but only 50% were fully formed. I shall try pollinating every day this year and will let you know how I get on. I'm growing "Lark" again as it was ripe just at the end of the summer holidays.
Hope it all goes well Christina. Lark is a great variety. :-)
Growing Sweet Silver King Corn, love your videos. Straight to the point
Cheers Maggie! :-)
Okay, how many people out there are still rolling their corn on the stick of butter? 😁
Is there any other way?
My family slathers butter on a slice of bread, then rolls the corn on the bread.
@@pawlah1 Basically, no but sometimes a person needs to live alone to get away with it. I can see why Frog in Progress evolved to slathering a piece of bread. Wish I would've thought of that when my cringing husband was still around. 👍
Well, yes of course. My entire family often dedicates an entire stick for corn rolling.
I’m growing Sweetcorn and Hopi Turquoise Corn (Dent Variety)
I’m growing three corns this year, hopefully one of them will be good this year
Last year was my first attempt with corn, in the school's polytunnel, planted in small blocks near doors and hand pollinated, mixed but still delicious results and good bean support too. Can't repeat thos year but definitely in future. Thanks for confirming what I had to work out from scratch. Great channel. I'm in Scotland, btw.
Great stuff Chris - glad you managed to got some cobs for all your efforts. I bet the kids loved seeing it grow. :-)
brilliant - i now feel ready to do this!
Nice one Paul!
Great video on corn growing. I also grow corn this year - field corn. Thank you for sharing your good experience
Hope you’ve had a good harvest. 😀
@@GrowVeg I hope so. Thank you so much for your reply.
My block looks exactly like this, I cant be more exited (Golden Bantam)
We're growing glass gem corn! This video was very helpful; we didn't know any of this!
I am growing Silver Queen here in Northern New Mexico. This is my first attempt at corn. We have had a good monsoon season for a change as we are in a megadrought situation. Thank you for the pollination tips! I will definitely use them.
So pleased you’ve got some decent rain.
I have been growing Honey Select Corn for years. It is definitely the best hybrid sweet corn out there. I have a bit easier trick for hand pollinating that works really well too. I just go out in the garden each day once the tassels are ready and give each plant a gentle shake. Most of the pollen drops down instead of away from the corn and you can bend the stalks slightly to ensure that it lands on the cobs around the edges too. I also use mineral oil once the pollinating is complete to ensure I don't get any nasty worms in the corn cobs. I just use a syringe and place a small squirt of oil on the top of the drying silks. Then I mark the ones I have done with a marker. Last year I tried my hand at an open pollinated corn variety called double standard. It was fabulous but you did have to eat it as soon as you picked it unlike the Honey Select that I could actually harvest 2 days earlier and still be very tasty. The Double Standard variety is supposed to keep in the field well but mine didn't last that long. This year I will try and save the seed from this variety. Cheers.
Great techniques there Annie, thanks for sharing. :-)
Straight to the point as always - THANK YOU!
Thank you! I’m growing Ambrosia this year.
Wow! I had no idea. Thanks. Always learning 😁
I giving corn try this year I sow seeds in the green house get them started and now growing in a large pot.
Silver Queen planted here in South Carolina. No tassels yet, but soon!
I'm growing minipop sweetcorn. Since it is harvested when the cobs are tiny there are no problems with fertilising & I get to eat them before the badgers do. Raw minipops at the allotment, can't get fresher than that 🙂
Sounds divine Caroline!
I have a variety called “ gotta have it” sweet corn from Gurneys planted in a raised bed. 32 seeds fit. This is my first time doing this after I watched your video about it. I live in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate NY so they’re only just beginning to pop up. Glad to know how to help them pollinate. Thanks for sharing your info!!
Hope you enjoy a great harvest Vicki. :-)
Great content as always. I'm attempting both growing rainbow sweetcorn and in 4.5litre containers this year. Doing amazingly well so far!
Nice one Mark - well done!
Excellent video with great information! Unfortunately I already planted my corn in rows, but now I know how to help pollinate them. Thanks.
I am growing a pink popcorn in the front yard and Bodacious sweet corn in the backyard. Just small plantings of 30 stalks each. I suspect I will have to net them, electric fence with concertina wire to fend off the big pests...squirrel, chipmunk and racoons. hahahah Thanks for the pollination tips !!
Nice video. I grow mainly SE/SYN hybrids and varieties that are crossed that are like 25%/75% combinations from Harris Seeds, USA. Generally 70 to 85 day corns in 24 to 30 inch rows, 12 - 15 inches apart in the row, 5 rows with 12 plants per row. Takes lots of nitrogen for good corn.
Another excellent video!!! Thank you so much 😊
Nice tips. 👌
Thanks for the tips! I’m looking forward to plant my Sweetcorn (Stowells Evergreen) in Spring.
Thanks for all the great tips. It's my first time growing corn, and this video was a big. help 🌽
I'm growing sweet corn for the first time this year. The name of it is Silver Queen. I used to eat it all the time when I lived in Virginia. I'm in Illinois now so wish me luck! This video was very helpful as your videos always are! Thank you!
Hope it grows well for you Cathy - enjoy!
Wow this is very helpful thanks alot
You’re most welcome. 😀
thank you Ben. Much needed. I planted several types of corn, eating, popcorn and broom corn. I was thinking about how many crops come from the grass family and then probably the biggest of all is brassica. And I was thinking that...I wish everything didn't come along and take a bite out of broccoli, cabbage, etc. Part of the yard has a dry "puddle", which I have decided to put a small amount of potting mix that will help it to stay moist and I plan on growing some brown rice and cress. I saw a video where they took brown rice purchased from the store and put it in a bowl and then planted those that sprouted.
Would be very interested to hear how your brown rice goes - keep me posted - sounds like a great idea.
I'm growing Early Girl Bantam thanks for sharing this information learned alot 😊 🌽 🇺🇸
I'm in Australia and growing Jolly Roger
Thank you for this video
I'm growing Bodacious Hybrid and Orchard Baby. Because of small space, I staggered the seed sowing by a few weeks to avoid cross-pollination. I will use your tassel-tapping technique; my cobs being full or partial has been hit-or-miss.
Smart move on the staggered sowing. :-)
Perfect timing! I just bought corn starts. Love you Rosie!
My partner built me a new bed , about 10x5' for my nicely developing sweetcorn in the greenhouse - Swift and Snobaby. Being an impatient so and so he bought about 24 more mature plants from the garden centre - Picnic - filling half the bed! Now I've planted my Snobaby at the other end. And in between I've got some green and borlotti beans. Courgettes at the front. Hopefully I will avoid cross pollination as the little ones are picked early and the beans will provide a barrier ?
No space for my Swift though so I am putting them in pots this year as an experiment, and way away from the others .
Yes, hopefully that should be fine if they aren't right next to each other. Keep your sweetcorn nicely watered! :-)
our first corn is sooo huge ! 🌽🌽
Nice work! :-)
Thank you for the tips!! I am growing corn this year for the first time!!!
I live in Italy and it was not easy to find the seeds for the SWEET corn (that you can eat) corn on the cob is not really a tradition like in Canada! ;-)
Hope you grow a great crop Sophia.
Corn planted. Very little rain. Sweet corn in Zone 9 Florida
It's a bad year in our area for corn. We only got half as much this year as we usually do.
Wishing you plenty of rain very soon. :-)
Hi Ben I love growing corn. I plant in a block and shake my plants, but have had patchy pollination in some cobs. These tips and your explanations are so helpful. I hope i can get lovely full cobs this year following these. My varieties are Swift F1 and Incredible F1. The Incredible plants are much bigger than the swift so far. Not grown Incredible before. Looking forward to seeing how they fare. Looking forward to your next video.
Those are two great varieties. I'm also growing Swift. Hope they crop well for you. :-)
Also don't forget you can freeze corn, there's nothing like coming into work with 10 cobs of corn. Take it to the break room, microwave it, take it back and you and your coworkers are eating fresh corn. And your own corn always tastes way better than the supermarket.
Thanks for all the comments. Yes, freezing is certainly an option - and sharing the cobs will win you friends all round I'm sure!
Great video and advice!