1. Good Organic Gardening - January-February 2016

GROWING | Sweet corn
Sweet corn
Zeya mays
Words Jennifer Stackhouse
Sweet corn is a big, bold vegetable that’s sure to
be popular with all the family. If you’re planning to
grow a crop of sweet corn, allow plenty of room.
Not only does it grow tall, it’s also best grown in a block at
least a metre square. This is because sweet corn is wind
pollinated — planting it in a block maximises pollination
and produces well-filled cobs.
Sweet corn has its own language to describe the
flowers, fruit and the plant itself. The male flowers are
called tassels. The female flowers are known as silks,
which is also the name for the silky wispy filaments at the
top of each cob. The fruit is referred to as a cob and the
kernels on the cob as an ear. The cob has a husk, which is
the outer green “wrapping” that covers the juicy kernels,
which are the edible seeds. Shucking is the name given to
removing the outer husk. The stem of the corn is known
as the culm, as it’s a type of large grass.
Varieties
There are many sweet corn varieties available. Modern F1
hybrid varieties tend to be high yielding and very sweet.
They also keep longer than older varieties as they are
slower at converting sugar to starch. They may produce
yellow or bicolour kernels (a mix of white and yellow
kernels on each cob). Sweet-corn breeding has been
working towards producing sweeter and sweeter corn,
known as supersweet corn. Varieties with white and
yellow kernels are the top choice to grow for extrasweet
corn.
Older varieties usually produce just two cobs per plant
with yellow kernels but are more forgiving of fluctuations
in the season. A reliable variety to try is ‘Golden Bantam’,
which dates from the early 20th century.
There are also old corn varieties with blue kernels
(‘Hopi Blue’) and varieties with multi-coloured kernels
that may include yellow, white and purple.
As well as traditional sweet corn, there are other forms
of corn grown for different uses. Popcorn, as the name
suggests, is grown to make popcorn and is harvested
when it is hard. Baby corn is harvested while the cobs
are small and soft. Popcorn produces the best baby corn.
Maize is grown as stock food. It lacks the sweetness of
sweet corn.
Getting started
Sweet corn seed is large and easy to handle. It’s best
direct-sown where it is to grow. It likes a warm growing
period, so seed is sown during spring and summer with
harvests from summer plantings extending into autumn.
Before sowing, dig in organic fertiliser — but don’t
allow seed to come into direct contact with fertiliser.
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