Upright Sweetcorn!
This month our growing expert Chris shows us how to properly support & protect sweetcorn crops before an early Autumn harvest…
Most things in the veg garden are looking very good this year and one crop that has excelled itself with the warm sunny conditions is sweetcorn.
I have tried a new cultivar (for me) this year called Golden Gate F1, which germinates at lower temperatures and grows much better in the UK climate then my old trusted cultivar Lark for which seed is increasingly difficult to get hold of. Golden Gate grows fast when compared to Lark, Swift and Wagtail, I would even say it grows twice as fast, but the growth produced in the warm sunny conditions has resulted in the plant going through its growth stages very quickly with huge leaf canopies formed which could then cause problems if the weather conditions changed.
Unfortunately, I made a huge error and watered it on August 3rd a day before storm Floris arrived. A combination of wet soft soil and strong winds meant that the crop could not support itself and it was very quickly flattened. The plants were just showing the male flowers which also meant that the supporting ‘prop’ roots had not formed probably the worst growth stage for a storm to hit it!
The purpose of the ‘prop’ roots is to give additional stability to the plant as the cobs are forming. They seem to be produced much more reliably when crops are direct sown rather than transplanted (as mine are) as planting too deeply seems to affect the number produced.
So, I had a very flat crop and the prospect of no sweetcorn this year but he general rule of thumb with sweetcorn is that if the crop has not stood fully upright again after about four sunny bright days it will remain flat and at that point a little intervention is necessary to ensure a good crop. Fortunately, the majority of my plants did recover and are now standing proud again, despite some slightly bent stems! A few plants on the outer edges did however need some additional help in the form of staking.
Staking is quite a simple process, a three foot long cane is tied at an angle pointing into the prevailing wind direction and simply tied to the sweetcorn stem about 14 inches from soil level. For additional safety when picking also add a cane cap.
Once the ‘prop’ roots are formed, you can in the majority of cases take the cane away as the plant should then be self-supporting again, but I just leave in situ until the plant is cut down later in the autumn. Despite the setback in early August the crop is now about 8-9 feet tall with cobs now forming nicely which should be ready to harvest in a few weeks weeks.
Chris Jones
Based in Shropshire Chris has many years experience both in growing projects of his own and passing on his expert outdoor knowledge to others through growing and gardening societies. Keep an eye on our blog posts and newsletters for his seasonal articles to keep you well informed on all things outdoors.
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