When I was a young boy, we would always put up corn in the summer. Of course, growing up in Louisiana, we raised field corn to eat, and I still prefer it to sweet corn. Field corn seems to go better than sweet corn with fried okra, purple hull peas, lima beans and garden-fresh tomatoes.
This was our main diet during the gardening season, plus lots of corn bread. My mother baked corn bread made with sweet milk. She also mixed up a hot-water bread which she fried. And she made a hot water bread that she baked. It was real dense and the crust was kind of white, not brown like regular corn bread. We called it "dog" bread, but I couldn't tell you why.
We had an old corn cutter that you ran the ear of corn over to cut off the kernels. This made good cream-style corn which my mother baked in the oven with butter. I assure you there is nothing better than field corn straight from the oven eaten together with hot corn bread (no sugar added, thank you) and the other Southern vegetables.
If you are contemplating planting sweet corn in your garden, keep in mind that it works best to plant your seed in a block rather than in a long row. This allows for better pollination of the silk so that the kernels fill out in the ear. Since the kernels are tightly wrapped inside the shucks, each immature kernel sends out a silk. When a grain of pollen falls onto the end of a silk, it actually divides into two parts. The first part drills a hole down through the silk and the second part follows and fertilizes the kernel. If this doesn't happen, the kernel doesn't grow and fill out. The odds of pollination greatly increase if the corn plants are surrounded by other corn plants. For this reason, long rows don't work very well unless you plant a number of them.
My mother used to talk about how many silks some varieties of corn had on them. She was usually complaining about it. In a sense, an abundance of silks is just another way of saying that a particular variety has more kernels of corn per ear. So remember, if you seem to be having to deal with a lot of silks, you probably have a bunch of juicy kernels to go with them. A clean hair brush rubbed gently over the ear of corn usually works well to remove the silks.
In our area, sweet corn can be planted from around the time of the average last frost and on through July, depending on the variety. The old adage that you should wait to plant your corn seed until the "oak leaves are the size of a squirrel's ear" is fairly safe. When we first moved here from Louisiana in 1985, I was used to planting sweet corn quite a bit earlier in the spring, so I had to relearn a few things. After several years of having to replant because of cool, wet weather, I got to where I never plant sweet corn before the last week in April. I sometimes wait even later, depending on the weather and my schedule. If the soil has warmed to 60 or so degrees, the corn seed will germinate and grow like a weed. So you may not lose much time by waiting.
I like to plant my seed approximately 1 to 2 inches deep, and about 10 inches apart. I mulch rather than till between the rows so I can plant my rows closer together. I space my rows about 24 inches apart. If you till between rows, space your rows to accommodate the width of your tiller. You will need to hill up around the young corn plants as they grow, and a side dressing of compost is recommended.
Some of my favorite varieties of sweet corn are Bodacious, Peaches and Cream, Silver Queen and Kandy Korn. I also like Incredible.
Standard sweet corn varieties will taste more like corn and will be less sweet than some of the newer varieties. Some well-known standard varieties are Golden Cross Bantam, Jubilee and Silver Queen.
If you like your sweet corn sweeter, then go with something like How Sweet It Is or Kandy Korn. And, if you like it really sweet, you might want to try one of the super-sweet varieties such as Early Xtra Sweet or Supersweet Jubilee. Some of these super-sweet corns are so sweet it is difficult to taste the corn, but that's exactly what some people prefer. To each his own.
If you have trouble with your sweet corn blowing over in a wind, you might want to try an early-season variety that doesn't get too tall. These are usually shorter-season varieties as well.
Harvesting your sweet corn is best done early in the morning in order to beat the heat. The silks should be dark brown to almost black. As the silks darken, test an ear every few days or so by pulling back the shucks and observing the kernels. The ear should feel full in your hand and if you pierce a kernel with a fingernail the sap should look kind of milky. If the kernel is firm and does not contain juice, you may have waited too long.
Picking corn when it is in the milk stage is very important if you are interested in getting the most flavor from your crop. When the bulk of the ears are ready to pick, harvest them right away. You can put them up or share some with your friends and family.
Over the next couple of weeks, there will be more ears coming on that will need to be picked as they mature. Pretty soon the stalks will begin to turn brown. The sooner you cut down the stalks and incorporate them into the soil, the better. Green stalks will add more nitrogen to the soil, while brown stalks will add more carbon.
Happy gardening!
Sam Byrnes is a Gentry area resident who has been gardening from his youth. He may be contacted by email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 05/20/2015