Every year I debate the wisdom of planting sweetcorn. While it is always a tasty treat the plants take up a lot of space. Each plant only produces one or two cobs and then there is the problem of disposing of the plants once cropped. They are big and woody and not easy to add to the compost heap. I have finally invested in a shredder – a much needed expense – though I have not yet used it.

Sweetcorn is wind-pollinated and because the male flowers are produced at the top of the plants and the pollen drops onto the stigmas of the potential cobs below, you must plant a block of plants and not rows to ensure good pollination. You can see in the photo above two cobs from the centre of the block and one from the edge where it was not properly pollinated and the cob is ‘gappy’.

For some reason germination of the seeds was poor this year and I only got 20 plants from the pack. It meant a small black of plants. The dry weather has not helped and although I watered them as much as I thought necessary in June, after planting, the plants are a bit stressed and I only got one cob per plant. This is not a good harvest from an area of more than 2 sq m.

On the plus side, this year I grew ‘Ambrosia’ F1, a sugary-enhanced (SE) variety with white and yellow kernels. The cobs are a good size and look beautiful. We have been eating them over the past two weeks and most have been eaten raw. A friend brought their (8 year old) daughter to visit earlier in the week and she munched her way through one with gusto and delight! We have also roasted some in butter, making them sweet and chewy like vegetable toffee.

In the past I have usually grown ‘Lark’ which has done well but I think ‘Ambrosia’ is the one I will grow again next year. I am sure I will dither until April, as usual, thinking of what else I can grow in the plot, and then decide I want sweetcorn after all.

The warm summer has certainly suited the sweetcorn and I did add plenty of manure to the plot in spring – sweetcorn likes a rich soil with plenty of organic matter.

You need to pick sweetcorn at the right stage. When the tassels go brown, peel back some of the ‘leaves’ and push your thumbnail into a kernel. If the juice is milky the cob is ready to pick. If it runs clear the cob is either too young or very old and will be tough and not as sweet.

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