This is the supreme example of a home grown product tasting better than anything you can buy.
The instant the cob is pulled from the plant it starts to deteriorate and the sugars turn to starch.
Pull one (or two) and put in the microwave in a container with a top and microwave for one minute, turn over and heat for another minute.
Smear with butter if you want to ruin it, but they are perfect on their own. Plant to mouth must be less than an hour. 10 minutes if possible.
The above propagator (one side) contains sweet corn planted on 14th March 2007. The intention is to get 16 early plants which will go out under cover in mid April. I am taking a risk, but another 16 plants sown in mid April will be followed by another 16 in early May.
The speed of growth is obvious as the above photo was taken on the 25th March, 11 days after planting and the seedling has now been transferred to a larger pot.
The plants were transferred to a cold frame on 30th March and were planted out, in a frame, 4 weeks later
Last year July was a scorcher and the photos below show the incredible growth rate in favourable conditions. If we have a warm April and May, the early crop will do well, if not, the later ones should succeed, I am prepared to sacrifice a batch that is not thriving, another vegetable can be planted instead.
This cob was pulled on 25th July 2006, just 24 days after the flowers appeared. There is also a lovely pulling of blackberries. The time from sowing to eating in 2006 was 11 weeks and the stems and leaves were put on the compost heap and dug into the gound to feed some runner beans some few months later.
The above photo was take on 1st July 2006 and the male flowers are seen at the tops of the plants. They are planted in a block to allow the pollen to drift down onto the female part of the flowers. You can see the mulch of horse manure that I have added
Plenty of manure in the soil helps retain moisture as well as nourishing.I watered the plants at least twice week and fed with Miracle Gro once a week. The shot above was taken on 27th May 2006
Have a look at this page for a quick review of my plot. Click in this box to view it.
Planting out
The plants are about 1 month ahead of last year growing in a frame.
This is the first of three batches to be sown in succession to avoid a glut of 30-40 cobs, all ready at the same time.
Racing along, The plants are growing 2 or 3 cobs per plant and the fronds are drying already, unlike last year when there was one per plant.
I can only assume that as last year I planted on lightly-manured soil and this year was heavily manured that I shall reap the benefits. The months headway has been reduced, presumably due to the last three weeks poor weather.