Kitchen Garden Forum

When should sweetcorn be ready to harvest? I live in the North East of England so it has not been warm at all this year.
They are very large and the trussles are going brown but when I peeled the skin back they still look white, does this mean it has been a failed harvest or do you think they may yellow up later?
PaV

Hi PAV

I'm in N.E. Scotland and grow sweetcorn in a polytunnel - outdoor attempts are not usually sucessful up here. I'm just back from checking them - the trusses are brown and the corn is yellow - I reckon a couple of days before they are ready.

I think that you have to be patient, hope for warm weather and wait for them to ripen. What variety are you growing?

To be sure of success I would suggest investing in a greenhouse or tunnel next year - worked well for me for over 20 years with no failures.

Good luck

Hello PaV
You can tell if sweetcorn is ready quite easily by peeling back a little bit of husk at the top of the cob and pressing your finger nail into a kernel. A milky fluid will be there if the cob is ready. If the liquid is clear the cob isn't ripe yet but if a milky paste comes out the cob has gone too far but is still edible.
Colour is not the best judge of readiness. Some varieties have very pale even white kernels when ripe.
John

PS. Remember not to add salt to the cooking water for boiling the cobs. It will just toughen them up. Also don't peel the cobs until you are ready to cook them.

Thank you both for your replies