Sweet Corn harvest failuare?

Question

This is the second year in a roll that I had a unsucessful sweet corn harvest. I grow about plants a year and by July the tassels come and about 20 percent of them have full tassels able to pollinate plants and the rest have small itty bitty tassels that cant pollinate the silks start forming about 2 weeks after the tassels come and I just never get any corn can anyone help me

Answer 1

The most common reason for sweet corn not producing cobs is lack of pollination - to ensure pollination, plant in short blocks of 3 or 4 rows rather than a single long row.  Other helpful tips for sweet corn are below:

Make sure soil temperatures are above 60 F especially with the supersweet varieties. Seed rots easily i in cold, wet soil.

Space plants properly. A final stand will have plants 8 to 10 inches apart and rows spaced 3 feet apart. Closer spacings result in yield loss due to poorly filled ears.

Provide adequate moisture. Water needs are greatest from tasseling to harvest but do not neglect watering during the early stages of growth.

Prepare a smooth seed bed and plant shallow, only 3/4 to 1 inch deep.

When plants tassel, watch for and record the date that about half the plants show silking. The crop will be ready for harvest in 15 to 21 days depending on temperatures during this time. To check maturity, open the husk and press a kernel. If it spurts milky juice, it is at the peak of ripeness. Many varieties produce 2 ears per plant. The top ear usually ripens a day or two ahead of the lower one.

Use immediately or refrigerate extra corn following harvest. The supersweets will keep longer due to a slower sugar-to-starch conversion. Freeze or can excess as soon as possible.

Suckers are common on many sweet corn varieties. They do not take strength away from the main stalk and should be left in place.

Corn requires a moderate amount of fertilization. At planting, band fertilize with a 5-10-10, side-dress when the plant is 8 inches tall and again when it reaches 18 inches with the same fertilizer.