I understand that sweetcorn should be harvested when the juices are milky,
and when the stringy bits on top are brown and dry. However, my corns' bits
are stringy and dry but the cobs are still very small.

So, do I wait until the cobs are larger, or do I harvest now?

Thanks.

In article ,
Joanne wrote:
I understand that sweetcorn should be harvested when the juices are milky,
and when the stringy bits on top are brown and dry. However, my corns' bits
are stringy and dry but the cobs are still very small.

So, do I wait until the cobs are larger, or do I harvest now?

Now. They won't get bigger. The are probably small because of
the poor summer. Being brought up on maize, I like sweetcorn
rather riper than is the taste in this country. It won't get
too ripe to eat as sweetcorn gere, because we don't get enough
sun to ripen it properly.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On Thu, 16 Sep 2004 17:53:41 GMT, Joanne wrote:

I understand that sweetcorn should be harvested when the juices are
milky,
and when the stringy bits on top are brown and dry. However, my corns'
bits
are stringy and dry but the cobs are still very small.

So, do I wait until the cobs are larger, or do I harvest now?

Do the cobs have kernels on them? If not, probably not enough pollination
occurred (and it's too late for more pollen to arrive, since the silk has
dried out).

Are the cobs well-filled with kernels, but just small? Then maybe you have
a variety that produces small cobs.

cheers,

Marj
--
Mediterranean Garden Advice and Shop: http://stores.tiefert.com/garden/
Also: http://www.mindspring.com/~mtiefert/...gardening.html
In Sunset zone 14-mild

Being brought up on maize, I like sweetcorn
rather riper than is the taste in this country. It won't get
too ripe to eat as sweetcorn gere, because we don't get enough
sun to ripen it properly.

Don't they say it takes 100 days of sun to ripen corn?

--
Klara, Gatwick basin

In article ,
Klara wrote:

Being brought up on maize, I like sweetcorn
rather riper than is the taste in this country. It won't get
too ripe to eat as sweetcorn gere, because we don't get enough
sun to ripen it properly.

Don't they say it takes 100 days of sun to ripen corn?

That's about right, but I didn't know that they said it!

Nick.

In message , Nick Maclaren
writes
Being brought up on maize, I like sweetcorn
rather riper than is the taste in this country. It won't get
too ripe to eat as sweetcorn gere, because we don't get enough
sun to ripen it properly.

Don't they say it takes 100 days of sun to ripen corn?

That's about right, but I didn't know that they said it!

'They' being, if I remember right, US seed packets, yonks ago.


--
Klara, Gatwick basin

In message , Joanne
writes
I understand that sweetcorn should be harvested when the juices are milky,
and when the stringy bits on top are brown and dry. However, my corns' bits
are stringy and dry but the cobs are still very small.

So, do I wait until the cobs are larger, or do I harvest now?

It has been such a poor summer that it isn't too surprising they are
struggling a bit. I'd guess they are still not yet ripe even if the
strings are dry. Mine usually come ripe around the end of September.

Poor pollination might also be a factor if the cobs are short of grains.

You could always pull a couple and see how well they cook. Fresh produce
just off the plant always tastes sweeter...

Regards,
--
Martin Brown

In article ,
Martin writes:
| On Thu, 16 Sep 2004 23:56:52 +0100, Klara wrote:
|
| Being brought up on maize, I like sweetcorn
| rather riper than is the taste in this country. It won't get
| too ripe to eat as sweetcorn gere, because we don't get enough
| sun to ripen it properly.
|
| Don't they say it takes 100 days of sun to ripen corn?
|
| That's about right, but I didn't know that they said it!
|
| 'They' being, if I remember right, US seed packets, yonks ago.
|
| Our sweet corn ripens every year without any problems. Shouldn't you
| be sowing a variety of sweet corn that was specially developed for use
| in northern Europe? http://www.agri-saaten.de/english/mais5.htm

Reread the above again. Sweetcorn is corn eaten unripe. Field
corn as grown in northern Europe is also used unripe. Ripeness,
for a seed such as maize, is such that it will keep over the
winter and germinate the next year. I doubt very much that you
sow using the seed that you saved from the previous year!

Back in 1950, corn needed c. 120 days from sowing to full ripeness.
And that 120 days was assuming weather comparable to the hotter
and sunnier of our summer days. Modern varieties probably need
only 100, but the same applies. It is an extremely unusual year
when we get more than 50 such days.

If you attempt to cook ripe maize as sweetcorn, it will take ages
to cook, and be completely unpalatable. As I said, corn will not
reach that stage in the UK, as we don't get enough sun. Germany
gets slightly more, as may be seen by the superiority of German
wines to English ones.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 17 Sep 2004 09:39:12 GMT, Nick Maclaren wrote:

As I said, corn will not
reach that stage in the UK, as we don't get enough sun. Germany
gets slightly more, as may be seen by the superiority of German
wines to English ones.

That's why the German wines in the UK taste like they do. They are made
from maize.
--
Tim C.

"Klara" wrote in message
...

Being brought up on maize, I like sweetcorn
rather riper than is the taste in this country. It won't get
too ripe to eat as sweetcorn gere, because we don't get enough
sun to ripen it properly.

Don't they say it takes 100 days of sun to ripen corn?
So about 3 years then?

In article ,
Martin writes:
| On 17 Sep 2004 09:39:12 GMT, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:
|
| | Being brought up on maize, I like sweetcorn
| | rather riper than is the taste in this country. It won't get
^^^^^^^^^^^^
| | too ripe to eat as sweetcorn gere, because we don't get enough
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^
| | sun to ripen it properly.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
| |
| | Don't they say it takes 100 days of sun to ripen corn?
^
notice: no "sweet"
| |
| | That's about right, but I didn't know that they said it!
| |
| | 'They' being, if I remember right, US seed packets, yonks ago.
| |
| | Our sweet corn ripens every year without any problems. Shouldn't you
| | be sowing a variety of sweet corn that was specially developed for use
| | in northern Europe? http://www.agri-saaten.de/english/mais5.htm
|
| Reread the above again. Sweetcorn is corn eaten unripe.
|
| Yes! and who mentioned maize?

On second thoughts, try reading the above for the first time. I have
marked the sections you particularly need to note. When you jump
into the middle of the thread, it is a good idea to check that you
know what is being talked about. Klara and I were talking at a
slightly less naive level than you assumed.

| I assumed that the original poster was not trying to grow ripened
| maize, but sweet corn to eat.

If you had read the original posting, you would have realised that
I was saying that it never gets BEYOND that stage in the UK. If
you had understood what Klara was posting, you would have realised
that she was talking about something slightly different from what
you assumed.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article ,
Martin writes:
|
| If you had looked at the point I made my comment you would see that it
| referred to using US seed.

Sigh. Yes. We were aware of that.

| Maize does ripen in northern Europe if the right hybrid is used. The
| fields of the Netherlands and Germany are full of the stuff.

And it is used unripe, though not AS unripe as the sweetcorn we
eat. You will find that the seed for the corn grown at the far
north of its agriculural range is grown further south. Think
about it.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article ,
Martin writes:
|
| | Maize does ripen in northern Europe if the right hybrid is used. The
| | fields of the Netherlands and Germany are full of the stuff.
|
| And it is used unripe, though not AS unripe as the sweetcorn we
| eat.
|
| I see zero mention of it being used unripe on the google sites
| relating to the growth of maize in Europe.

Well, I do, though I can see why you don't. Obvious indicators
are the words 'silage' or 'forage' - those and other such terms
state clearly that maize is being used unripe - or they do if
you know how it is used.

I will leave finding suitable indicator words for ripe maize as
an exercise for your homework.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
Martin writes:
| On Thu, 16 Sep 2004 23:56:52 +0100, Klara
wrote:
|
| Being brought up on maize, I like sweetcorn
| rather riper than is the taste in this country. It won't get
| too ripe to eat as sweetcorn gere, because we don't get
enough
| sun to ripen it properly.
|
| Don't they say it takes 100 days of sun to ripen corn?
|
| That's about right, but I didn't know that they said it!
|
| 'They' being, if I remember right, US seed packets, yonks ago.
|
| Our sweet corn ripens every year without any problems. Shouldn't
you
| be sowing a variety of sweet corn that was specially developed
for use
| in northern Europe? http://www.agri-saaten.de/english/mais5.htm

Reread the above again. Sweetcorn is corn eaten unripe. Field
corn as grown in northern Europe is also used unripe. Ripeness,
for a seed such as maize, is such that it will keep over the
winter and germinate the next year. I doubt very much that you
sow using the seed that you saved from the previous year!

Back in 1950, corn needed c. 120 days from sowing to full ripeness.
And that 120 days was assuming weather comparable to the hotter
and sunnier of our summer days. Modern varieties probably need
only 100, but the same applies. It is an extremely unusual year
when we get more than 50 such days.

If you attempt to cook ripe maize as sweetcorn, it will take ages
to cook, and be completely unpalatable. As I said, corn will not
reach that stage in the UK, as we don't get enough sun. Germany
gets slightly more, as may be seen by the superiority of German
wines to English ones.

Normalised to equal cultivated areas, English wines win far more first
prizes at blind tastings than German wines do.

Franz

"Janet Baraclough.." wrote in
message ...
The message
from Klara contains these words:


Being brought up on maize, I like sweetcorn
rather riper than is the taste in this country. It won't get
too ripe to eat as sweetcorn gere, because we don't get enough
sun to ripen it properly.

Don't they say it takes 100 days of sun to ripen corn?

You can get corn bred for cool northern climates to ripen in a
shorter
growing seasons; it's worth searching them out. I've grown it
successfully in west Scotland where a hundred days of sun in one
summer
would be a miracle :-)

What did you do with the ripe mealies? Do you realise that it is only
eaten in the form of samp (English). stampmielies (Afrikaans), or
maize meal porridge? Where in the UK are there mealie meal mills?

Franz