Select your climate zone Australia - cool/mountain Australia - sub-tropical Australia - temperate Australia - tropical New Zealand - cool/mountain New Zealand - sub-tropical New Zealand - temperate United Kingdom - cool/temperate United Kingdom - warm/temperate What is my climate zone?

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
P									P	P	P

(Best months for planting Sweet corn in Australia - cool/mountain regions)

P = Sow direct in garden where they are to grow.

October: After risk of frost

• Harvest in 11-14 weeks.
• Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed.
• Best planted at soil temperatures between 16°C and 35°C.
• Space plants: 20-30cm

Frost tender Plant in 4 by 4 blocks to encourage germination Pick when the silky threads on the cobs turn brown or black. Part the top of the leaves and test for ripeness by pressing a grain with your fingernail. If it is milky, it is ready.

Early varieties ripen quickly and are sweeter when just picked.

Avoid planting coloured maize ( for drying) near sweetcorn as they will cross-pollinate and spoil the cobs on both.

Culinary hints - cooking and eating Sweet corn

Pick and cook within an hour. Remove the silks and outer leaves.
Best flavour if microwave about 4 minutes per cob.
Can be barbequed wrapped in foil
Cook large amounts in a stock pot until test soft.
Sprinkle with black pepper and dip in butter.

Your comments and tips

11 Apr 10 chris (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

i grew my first bunch of corn last season but was not very succesful i grew them from a punnet that i brought.... this year i will plant by seed would it be better to plant direct or sow in seed trays? :) x

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18 May 10 dave (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

i have found it best to plant your corn from seed the seedlings dont seem to like to be transplanted they are almost sertain to die.plus i always soak my seeds in tepid water overnight to encourige germination.

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19 May 10 Wayne (Australia - temperate climate)

I found exactly the same - corn seedlings from the garden shop invariably die or do poorly. Much better to start from seed.

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30 May 10 Diana (Australia - temperate climate)

Corn don't transplant well. Direct sowing is much better.

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10 Apr 10 louise (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

Ihave grown corn for the first time and am delighted I grew from packet seed straight into the ground and as they became young plants separated each one and sowed into rows I watered and watered they need constant water upkeep now they are ready for eating the tails are brownish in colour and i had about three coblets to each stalk purely organic didnt have to keep the bugs away . the trick is water everyday

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02 Apr 10 Geoff (Australia - tropical climate)

when cooking my corn I just wrap it in baking paper with the ends twisted & cook it in the microwave for 2 & a half minutes, cooked & still has a nice crunch to it,a dash of butter if you want but straight up is good for me.

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23 Mar 10 bob stratford (Australia - temperate climate)

boil corn for 10mns with a pinch of sugar but make sure the corn is cold before you add to the boiling water this will stop the natual sugars from excaping, place on a plate and smear butter and salt you carn't go wrong.

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23 Mar 10 aaron (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

Most of the produce has been eaten by insects. Is there any organic base spray to combat this?

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26 Feb 10 Barb (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Hey Jason, your corn sound fantastic! I had a bad time with corn this year - male flowers came out in a heat wave before the female tassels were out and massive winds blew pollen away. So yield was down, but still v yummy! I'm tempted to stick in another crop now - hopefully not too late in the year.

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11 Feb 10 T (Australia - temperate climate)

Having grown baby sweetcorn for the first time, the silks are red in colour at the moment can someone inform me when is the right time to pick baby corn, is it the same rule as normal corn? where the silks should be brown?

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