Kitchen Garden Forum

Please forgive the dumb question:

Is it ok to plant different sweetcorn varieties next to each other, or could it cause some problems. For example, if I want to plant babycorn such as 'snobaby' next to normal sized corn, could it cause a problem?

Hi,

Its not a dumb question at all. Sweetcorn can cross pollinate and you may possibly end up with a horrible crop. Try to aim for different cropping times to avoid disappointment.

Good luck

If I were to plant different varieties how much distance should I use to separate the different types?

Morning Mr-c, now i'm just going on what they always say, about you should always try and plant Sweetcorn in a block for better pollination....So going on this fact alone, i would have thought if you could leave a couple of yards between the plants, that would suffice.

Just a thought.

I agree with OH, I would just make it as generous 'couple of yards' as possible

Common sense would dictate that cross-pollination between varieties is only something to be mindful of if you are planning to save seed. However, for reasons which I have so far not completely understood, with some varieties of sweetcorn, particularly the super-sweet varieties, pollen from other varieties can spoil the quality and flavour. Staggered sowing is the suggested solution — that is, sowing and planting at different times. Which is all very well where sweetcorn is grown in a climate which suits it rather better than ours: here, there's a very narrow window for raising sweetcorn in our usually rather short summer. You might, though, be able to stagger your sowings with the baby corn since it is harvested when immature, which suggests that it doesn't need as long a period to grow as other types.

Sweetcorn is wind-pollinated and the pollen is capable of blowing over considerable distances, from neighbouring fields of maize, for instance. You may need to leave more than a few yards between varieties for them to be isolated, especially on a windy site.

I guess the best thing would be to plant them several meters away and make sure one is not down wind of the other....
Thanks

Snag is that wind has a habit of changing direction.

If you want to try two different varieties of sweetcorn, as has been suggested, give as much space as possible between the two and like lots of things we do on the veg patch sow or plant them and hope for the best.

What applies to one plot, or to one season, is sometimes completely the opposite on another

I only grow one kind at a time - my favourite is Lark which is a tender sweet, fast growing for the north and not as sickly as the supersweet varieties.

Another alternative would be to grow one variety in the greenhouse or polytunnel - making sure you shake the male pollen bearing tops to distribute it on the female silks.

Dear Mr C,
according to the blurb in the Moles seed catalogue there are 5 types of sweetcorn grown at present - these are:-
1) Normal sugar type (su)
2) Sugar enhanced (se)
3) Super Sweet (sh2)
4) Xtra (extra) tender (sh2)
5) Superseedware (sh2)
It then goes on to say that the sh2 varieties (3, 4, 5) should be grown separately from other types to avoid cross pollination which can cause a reduction in quality and flavour.
From what I have read in the catalogues they will tell you which varieties will be in which catagory.

I personally do not grow sweetcorn but I imagine the best method for you to have as long a harvest season as possible would be to get a big packet of one or two varieties from the same cob type and start sowing fortnightly from say mid-April (indoors, outdoors from mid May) about 20 seeds at a time with the last sowing being mid June (midlands northwards) and the beginning of July for those south of that. Plant the blocks next to each other so that they aid pollination. If you choose an "early" and a "mid-season" variety there should be plenty of overlap to give a continuous harvest. The final sowings may not come to fruition but if we have a mild Autumn then there is always hope.

The difference between early, mid-season and late is relative. If three varieties were all sown on the same day variety A may crop say 100 days from sowing, B at say 120 days and C from say 140 days; so A is called early, B mid and C late.

Regards Sally Wright.

Thanks, that's helpful.

That is a really clear answer Sally thanks for taking the time to check it out.

I've tried quite a few different varieties but always go back to the tendersweet "Lark", some of the others are coarse and taste more like animal feed and I find the supersweet too sweet. It is quite compact too so doesn't need as long a growing season which suits my northern climate.

Other varieties probably do better down south.

Sorry I'm repeating myself and I don't have shares in Lark

The time of harvesting sweetcorn for a number of plot holders on our site tends to be governed by when the rats or field mice decide it is ripe enough for them and start stripping it.

Man against beast oh it is such a Lark !!

Dear PS,
why do you think I don't bother hmm? But do include the two legged rats and the tree rats as well.
Regards Sally Wright

I see the original question by Mr Cecil has been picked up and answered by Anne Swithinbank on page 21 of the April issue of KG