Garden Pictures Pictures by david (279 photos)

Hi. I see you grew sweetcorn outside. Did the corn ripen in time? We tried a couple of years ago in the big greenhouse but had mixed success. The corn certainly grew but the season was not long enough and they didn't quite ripen. We are going to try again, this time in the polytunnel and I was wondering if you had any tips or suggestions.

Hi Treeman. The sweetcorn was our best edible crop last year, despite the lousy weather. I'd never grown it b4, thought that even if I got the foliage it would look good. We planted only a block of 7 plants, but got 16 cobs in August! As a novice, I can't think of any tips. I would definitely keep it as an outdoor crop as the wind helps pollinate (although I still occasionally gave the stems a gentle shake). Yesterday, I dug in some fish, blood and bone, prior to planting out the plants in about 2 weeks' time. I also think that, as the plants have surface roots, some earthing up around their bases, and watering into the drills between, rather than directly around the plant bases, is better. This year, we have no less than 18 plants, so hoping for some real barbie weather come August/September (although I really enjoyed just picking the cobs and eating them raw there and then). Good Luck with yours this year!