Regional
(2008-07-23)
Listen Now:
FORT COLLINS, CO
(KUNC) -
Sweet Corn
null
The golden rules for growing sweet corn are:
Isolate super sweet corn varieties by planting them at least 25 feet apart.
Plant corn seeds twice the width of the seed deep and no deeper.
Keep corn plantings moist until the seedlings bursts through the soil.
Fertilize: corn is a grass and a heavy feeder.
Watch for the silk on the ears. When half of the plants have silk showing mark the date on the calendar.
Harvest sweet, delicious ears 18 to 22 days after the half silk date. The day marked on the calendar.
Refrigerate the corn as soon after harvest as possible.
Now what's the difference between all of the sweet corn varieties? The main difference is how sweet they are after harvest.
Normal sweet corn varieties are marked with `su' after the name. Cross-pollination doesn't affect them. They have moderate degrees of sugar right after they are picked. Within eight or ten hours that sugar changes to starch. Normal sugary or `su' corns should be harvested and eaten immediately.
Sugar enhanced corns are noted with `se' or `eh' after their name. Sugar enhanced varieties are sweeter and more tender than normal corns. Isolation to prevent cross-pollination isn't necessary with sugar enhanced corn. These are hybrid varieties bred with a gene to hold their sweetness. Refrigerate sugar-enhanced corns after harvest. They're sugars won't change to starch for three or four days.
Supersweet corn is also called shrunken varieties. Their seed is usually wrinkled and small. They are noted by `sh2' following their name. Supersweets need to be isolated. Normal or sugar enhanced varieties will cross-pollinate them if they are within 25 or 30 feet. Then the supersweets become super-tough and super-starchy. The genetics of supersweet corns make them twice as sugary as other corns. They hold their sweetness for 5 to7 days in the refrigerator.
It may be difficult to find out what type of corn the supermarket has. Ask the produce person. Or buy corn at a farmer's market. No matter what type of corn it is, it will be the freshest.
All of these varieties and rules can be confusing. But the main things to remember are to keep your corn in the refrigerator and the sooner you eat any corn, the sweeter it is.
tomthrogmorton@mywdo.com
© Copyright 2012, KUNC
