Considering I sowed my corn really late in the season (May/June 2022), planted them way too close to each other and way too close to a different type of corn (a sweetcorn 🌽) with risk of cross pollination – they’ve actually all done remarkably well!!

The sweetcorn was the first to produce tassels & silks (even though I didn’t know it was them – labelling you know 🤷‍♀️) so I was on it with helping it pollinate to avoid cross pollination as much as possible for when the second variety started their tassels and silks. This seemed to have worked as I’ve got 2 perfect harvests (at least in my mind 🥹) of 2 different types of corn, that were right next to each other.

I checked on them when they started to fatten up nicely and checking the nail dent method of getting a milky liquid out of a kernel, I started the harvesting process. Once they were all picked I striped the cobs of their outer leaves & silks, cut them in half and put them in zip lock bags into the freezer. At time of harvesting we weren’t ready to eat them yet and this way would preserve them well. We have enjoyed them over the winter in various meals.

Is there anything prettier than multi-coloured corn cobs? 🌽🌈💎✨

This variety is called Glass Gem and each cob has a different kaleidoscope of colours. Glass Gem is a flint corn which means it isn’t as nice to eat on the cob but more suited for grounding into flour or using it as popcorn 🍿

Normally you would harvest these once the plants have died back. Since I sowed mine so late in the season they didn’t get their full cycle from growing & producing  meant that drying had to happen indoors. I harvested them in October after a few dry days. I peeled them and strung up the husks to dry as well. Then I did the same with the leaves, and doing all this to hopefully make my own basket with it! I’ve no idea how to do this so watch this space 😆

Now that these cobs are peeled I’ll be curing them (drying out the kernels on the cob), once the kernels are hard I can pick them off the cobs & lay them out to dry further if needed & then they’re ready for storage. It’ll look lovely having all those colours in a glass jar!

Another thing I’m thrilled about is that these were sown from saved seed from last years harvest! Last time (2021) was a bust, wrong location, not enough water after transplanting, not enough light etc etc, so having these now, this year after so many no no’s with regards to spacing & risk of cross pollination – just wow 🤯🤩 Very very happy with this.

So, in conclusion;
🌽 Can you grow 2 types of different corn close together? – yes, tricky but yes it can be done.
🌽 Can you grown corn in not enough space? – yes, I grew 26 stalks (16 & 10) in a space of 60x550cm
🌽 Can you sow later than packets say? – yes, but that also means there’s more chance of cooler weather towards the end which could affect growth and drying times
🌽 Would I recommend doing all of the above? – definitely yes, experiment & enjoy the process ☺️ Have fun!