We didn’t have much success growing sweetcorn the last time we tried.

This year, with the new vegetable garden we put in late in the year, we had no choice but to buy plug plants to grow our own Sweetcorn. It has certainly boosted our confidence to grow sweetcorn from a plug plant’s stage of growth and I can highly recommend this route.

We bought 9 small plug plants from Rocket Gardens, the variety was called Sweet Corn (Sweet Nugget) and planted them in Early August.

We planted plants in a block (next to one another in 3 rows).

Sweetcorn is pollinated by wind so if you have a windy garden, this is a very good vegetable to grow. Our Vegetable garden is very windy hence why I think we have had great pollination with them. Some of the plants have at least 2 cobs to harvest on each plant.

How to Harvest your Sweetcorn

1. Wait until your cobs have hair tassels and the tassels turn Black. Ours were brown for at least 3 weeks before they turned black. Patience is needed here whilst the cob forms its sweet corn.

2. When your sweetcorn cob has fattened up and the tassels are black, it’s time to harvest. Hold the cob with one or two hands and pull the cob downwards and give it a little twist to detach it from the plant. You may need to hold the plant at the same time if it is wobbly.

4. Sweetcorn is best roasted as it retains the nutrients in the corn. Our sweetcorn were deliciously sweet and succulent.

3. Once the sweetcorn cob is off the plant, peel the husk leaves and tassels off the cob, if you are roasting or boiling the cob straight away.

Top Tips for Roasting Sweetcorn on the cob

• The simple and easy way to roast your sweetcorn is to cut the top and bottom off with a sharp knife. Carefully does it as the centre core of the sweetcorn is rock hard.
• Spread a little bit of butter on the sweetcorn and wrap the sweetcorn in foil to keep all the goodness in.
• Put in the oven for 30-35 minutes and then take out of the oven and unwrap the foil. The corn should have a clear liquid coming out of them when pierced, this is when you know it is ready to eat.
• Put the sweetcorn on its end, put a fork in the central core if you can to keep it still and using a knife slide it down the sides to pop the corn bits off the central core.
• Eat straight away.

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The Harvest Series

• January – We have Autumn Cauliflowers 
• February – Musselburgh Leek Harvest
• February – How to Harvest & Cook Cauliflower Romanesco
• May – Radish Harvest – Sow to Harvest in 4 Weeks
• May – Lettuce and Pak Choi Harvest in Late May and Early June
• June – Red & Green Lettuce, Radish, Broad Beans, Cucumbers, Logan Berries, Blueberries
• June – Lettuce, Peas, Radish and Baby Cucumbers.
• June – How to Harvest your Broad Bean Pods
• June – Harvests
• July – Broad Beans, Peach, Blackberry’s, Lettuce, Cherry Tomatoes, Sweet Peppers & Mini Cucumbers
• July – Beans, Carrots, Kohl Rabi and first tomatoes
• July – How to Harvest a Tomato
• July – Harvests
• July – Colourful Salad Bowl Harvest
• August – How to Harvest Spring Garlic
• August – Blackberries, strawberries, Baby squash, ball courgettes, Carrots, French beans, spinach, tomatoes.
• August – Harvests
• August – 1 Courgette, 2 Courgette, 3 Courgette and more..
• August – A Colourful Palette of Orange & Red Sweet Peppers & Tomatoes
• August – How to Harvest Sweet Peppers
• August – And Finally… The Italian Job – Tomato Harvest
• August – Blue, Black, Rasp and StrawBerries Harvest
• August – The Humble Chive Plant – How To Harvest Free Seeds for Sowing Next Year
• August – Mange tout, french beans, lettuce & blackberry harvest
• September – Mini Melons Harvest Themselves 
• September – Growing Butternut Squashes in a Large Patio Pot & Harvesting Top Tips
• September – How to Harvest, Dry & Store Onions
• September – Harvests
• October – Autumn Vegetable Harvest – Baby Pumpkins, Petty Pan Squash, Butternut Squash, Peas, Kale, Spinach and Spring Greens
• October – Harvests
• November – Harvest A Leek with Me
• November – Sow, Grow, Harvest, Cook Parsnips
• November – And finally the Sweetcorn Harvest
• December – Kale & Cauliflower Harvest