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How to grow Sweetcorn in the UK

Plant them in a block, not a line - the wind helps them make cobs.

• DifficultyA bit more care
• WhereBeds
• Grows to180cm
• Spacing45cm
• Time to first pickabout 14 weeks

When to sow, plant and harvest sweetcorn

Dates are for central England. Sow about two weeks later in the north and Scotland, and up to two weeks earlier in the south and south west. Get the dates for your postcode.

Starting it indoors

1. Fill a small pot or tray with seed compost
2. Push the seeds in (3cm deep) - a couple per pot
3. Water gently, then put them on a bright windowsill
4. Keep the compost damp but not soggy - check it every day
5. When they have 2 proper leaves, give each seedling its own pot

Planting it out

1. Toughen them up ('hardening off'): put them outside in the day for a week, bring them in at night
2. Dig a hole a bit bigger than the pot
3. Tip the plant out gently, holding the leaves, not the stem
4. Pop it in the hole, firm the soil around it, and water well
5. Space the plants about 45cm apart each way

Top tips for growing sweetcorn

• Plant in a square block of at least 9 (3 by 3).

Looking after sweetcorn

• Week 6: Water well when the tassels appear at the top

Soil and feeding

Rich, moist soil packed with goodness. These are hungry plants. Dig a hole (or make a mound) and fill it with manure or compost before planting, then feed every week or two once the fruit starts.

Pests and problems

• Mice: dig up and eat big seeds like peas, beans and sweetcorn
• Blackbirds & sparrows: peck seedlings, pull out onion sets and steal ripe fruit
• Squirrels: dig up bulbs and steal cobs and berries

• Start them indoors in pots, so mice and birds can't get the seeds
• Go on a slug hunt at dusk with a torch and move them far away

Harvesting and eating sweetcorn

When the silky tassels go brown, peel back a bit of leaf and pinch a kernel. Milky juice = ready!

How to eat them: Cook within an hour of picking - boil for 5 minutes and add butter.

Storing sweetcorn

Keeps 1 day - the sugar turns to starch fast!.

• Eat on the day you pick it if you can

Freeze whole cobs: blanch them (dip in boiling water for 4 minutes, then straight into icy water - ask a grown-up to help). Or cut the kernels off and freeze in bags.

Good varieties of sweetcorn

• Swift: Very sweet and ripens early - good for cooler areas.
• Incredible: Big, sweet cobs.
• Minipop: Pick tiny baby corn cobs - eat them whole!

Companion planting

Grows well with

• Butternut squash: 'three sisters': big leaves shade out weeds under the corn
• Summer squash: 'three sisters': big leaves shade out weeds under the corn
• Pumpkins: 'three sisters': big leaves shade out weeds under the corn
• Courgettes: 'three sisters': big leaves shade out weeds under the corn
• Runner beans: 'three sisters': beans can climb up the corn
• French beans: beans feed the soil that hungry sweetcorn needs
• Sunflowers: tall friends - plant them on the north side together so they don't shade the rest

Saving your own sweetcorn seed

Autumn, from a cob left on the plant.

1. Most sweetcorn is F1 and won't grow the same, so buying fresh is easiest
2. To try: leave one cob on the plant until the husk is brown and dry
3. Hang it up indoors, then rub off the kernels

Things to build for sweetcorn

• Cold frame:

Where to buy sweetcorn seeds

Thompson & Morgan · Suttons · Amazon

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Sweetcorn questions

When should I sow sweetcorn in the UK?

In the UK, sow sweetcorn indoors from mid April to mid May. These dates suit central England; sow about two weeks later in the north and Scotland and up to two weeks earlier in the mild south and south west.

When do I plant out sweetcorn?

Plant sweetcorn out from late May to mid June, once the last frost has passed.

When can I pick sweetcorn?

Sweetcorn is ready from early August to late September. When the silky tassels go brown, peel back a bit of leaf and pinch a kernel. Milky juice = ready!

How long do sweetcorn take to grow?

Roughly 14 weeks from sowing or planting until the first harvest.

Are sweetcorn easy to grow?

Sweetcorn are rated 'a bit more care' for beginners, and can be grown in the ground or a raised bed.