Sweet corn is simply delicious. You can use it everywhere. You can either eat it on its own with a bit of butter or you can use it in your food or your salads. The choice is yours. An old saying says: “Love what you grow and what you love will grow”. It applies everywhere.
Below we will give you tips on how to grow your corn, the different varieties that exist and top 5 corn recipes. You will choose which one is the right one for you or you could also combine and have more than one. Let’s have a look.
Sweet corn Varieties & Categories
There are different varieties of sweet corn. Which type of Swt. corn will you choose? It all depends on how fast you want them to grow. The size and the vigor of the corns is also something that you need to consider. Additionally, the height is important because if you leave in an area that is exposed to wind you wouldn’t want to have a tall variety.
There are different varieties and categories. There are 3 categories: the white hybrid seed, the bicolor hybrid sweet and the yellow hybrid sweet. Some of the varieties are the Aces, the Anthem Xr, the Cabo, the Ranier, and the Sweetness. These are some of the most well-known varieties, you will choose the right one for you.
1. The Aces
The Aces is a super sweet bicolor variety. It adapts very well to the soil and the climate and it has a good yield potential. The ears are from 8 to 8 ½ and they are quite easy to snap and they also have a green husk which is a great tip cover.
The kernel is amazing and the sweet corn has also dark green leaves. There are up to 18 rows of kernels. It needs 78 days in order to mature and the best regions to produce it are the Northeast, the Midwest, and the Southeast.
2. The Anthem Xr
The Antem Xr is another variety of sweet corn. What is great about this variety is that it is easy to harvest. It has the most 18 rows of white and yellow kernels, which makes it bicolor. The ears are large and they can reach 8”.
The ears are tender and they have a strong tip fill. This variety is covered with ample flags and dark green husk. It will take 73 days to reach maturity. It will grow best in the Midwest, Northeast and in Canada.
3. The Cabo
The Cabo sweet corn variety is bicolor too. It has small and tender kernels that are crunchy. The ears are 8” long and it needs 78 days in order to mature. The ears have got amazing tip fill. It adapts very easily the only thing that you need to do is to take good care of it.
4. The Ranier
The Ranier has ears that can be up to 8”. It is bicolor and it can adapt easily to the soil. You can snap the ears quite easily. Ranier has up to 18 rows of kernels. This one needs 73 days in order to mature. It grows best in the Midwest, in the Great Lakes and the Northeast.
5. The Sweetness
This variety has an amazing taste. The ears can have up to 16 rows of bicolor kernels. It needs 68 days in order to reach maturity and it has a great appearance and vigor. It will grow best from Mid to Northern latitudes. Finally, it has a solid tip fill and dark green cover.
4 Best Sweet Corn Recipes
1. Sweet Corn Salad
1. Sweet Corn Salad
Preparation & Total time: 5 Mins
Ingredients: Juice of one lime, 1/3 c. crumbled feta, 4 c. fresh or frozen corn (defrosted), 1 c. cherry tomatoes (halved), 1/4 c. (thinly sliced) basil, Freshly ground black pepper, 1/4 red onion (finely chopped), Kosher salt, 3 tbsp. olive oil
How To: In a large bowl toss all ingredients together. Season with pepper and salet, and serve immediately.
2. Grilled Corn on the Cob
Preparation Time: 5 Mins
Total Time: 16 Mins
Ingredients: 4 (shucked) ears corn, Kosher salt, Butter (for serving)
How To:
Step One – Preheat grill to high and heat for 10 minutes. Add your corns and cook (Don’t forget to turning your corns often, until charred all over, about 11 minutes.)
Step Two – Spread the butter over the warm corn and season with salt.
3. Casserole Baked Corn
Preparation Time: 10 Mins
Total Time: 1 Hour & 10 Mins
Ingredients: 1/2 c. butter (melted and cooled), 1/2 c. finely ground cornmeal, 2 eggs (large), 1/4 c. sugar, 2 c. frozen corn (defrosted), 2/3 c. whole milk, 2 8-oz. cans creamed corn, 1/4 c. cream, Freshly ground pepper (black pepper), kosher salt, 1/2 tsp. paprika, 2 tbsp. chives, for garnish.
How To:
Step 1: Preheat oven to 375°.
Step 2: Inside a Large Bowl, mix butter and cornmeal until smooth. Whisk in eggs, sugar, cream and milk until incorporated. Fold in creamed corn & corn, and season with paprika, salt and pepper.
Step 3: Pour into your baking dish and bake it (uncovered) for 1 Hour, or until center is set and top is golden. Garnish with chives and serve.
4. Corn Foil Pack And Honey-Lime Tilapia
Preparation Time: 10 Mins
Total Time: 25 Mins
Ingredients: 2 tbsp. honey, 4 fillets Tilapia, 2 ears sweet corn (shucked), 4 limes (thinly sliced), 2 tbsp. fresh cilantro leaves, 1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil, Freshly ground black pepper, kosher salt.
How To:
Step 1: Heat you grill to high. Cut 4 sheets of foil about 12″ long.
Step 2: Top each piece of foil with a piece of tilapia. Brush Tilapia with corn and cilantro, honey and top with lime. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Step 3: Grill about 15 minutes, until tilapia is cooked through and corn tender.
Soil and Planting
When you are ready to plant your Swt. corn you should make sure that the soil is well-prepared. When you dig the soil make sure to add compost and manure in every square meter. Water the soil very well at least 1 week before you start your planting.
You should plant them from 5 to 7 mm deep. They corns should be 25 cm apart from each other and you could plant from 2 to 3 seeds in each hole. It will start growing in 10 to 14 days.
When you plant them a good idea would be to create blocks with four or more rows. If you do that you will have a consistent production of kernels. Another good idea would be to plant new sweet corns every 5 weeks so as to have corns throughout the season.
Water and Fertilization
Due to the fact that the sweet corn needs a lot of sun and warmth in order to grow, water it regularly. Water the soil before you plant it and don’t water it again until the corn starts to grow. The seeds won’t rot if you follow this tip. Once it starts growing you should water it a bit more.
Apart from the watering, it needs to be fertilized too. You could use a general fertilizer because it grows quite fast. You could use it once per week. When the corns will grow 50 cm tall then you should definitely use compost and manure.
Harvest Time
The sweet corn will be ready to harvest at about 3 weeks. You will know that it’s the right time when the silk at the top will be brown. If you want to know when your corns are ready you could follow this tip. Use one fingernail and pierce your kernel.
If the juice that comes out of it is clear this means that it needs more days to mature. When you do it again and the juice is milky then it means that they are ready to harvest.
Most of your plants might have 2 or even more cobs. When you remove them twist the cobs downward and remove them. Once you take them you can either use them or store them in the fridge.
Protect your Harvest
Corn is the perfect food that is the reason why you should protect it from mice, slugs, snails, and birds. Mice will turn up to eat the seeds for this reason you should place traps. You will be able to notice the slugs and snails because of the slime trail. In order to avoid them use eggshell barriers, beer traps or even copper tape.
Birds and particularly pigeons can destroy not only the corns but also other crops that you might have. If you want to protect them use netting or even fleece to cover them. Scarecrows could be a good idea too.
Best 5 Tips How to Grow a Ton of Sweetcorn in One Raised Garden Bed or Container
Conclusion:
As we saw growing sweet corn isn’t as complicated as you might have thought. You just need to choose the variety or varieties that you would like to plant. Don’t forget to water and fertilize it. If you follow our tips you will have tasteful sweet corn that you will enjoy eating during the summer months.
