Grow your own Sweetcorn

The great thing about growing your own sweetcorn is the crop can be eaten fresh, or dried to create popcorn. Sweetcorn requires a long, sunny growing period, so it’s best to sow seeds in a seedling tray and place them on a sunny windowsill. Once spring arrives, the seedlings can be transplanted into the garden.

Planting tips :

• Plant sweetcorn seedlings in a sunny area of your garden in rich, well-draining soil. Sweetcorn is a hungry plant, and will fare best if you rake in fertiliser regularly during the growing period.
• Plant seedlings 45cm apart, 2.5cm deep. For best results, plant in rows to help the plant to reproduce by means of wind pollination.
• When roots appear at the base of the stem, cover them in soil and mulch. When the plants get tall they may need to be staked to protect them against strong winds.
• Sweetcorn is ready to harvest when the tassels at the top of the cob are dry and a milky white sap emerges when you pierce the kernels.
• For homegrown popcorn, store ripened cobs in a dry, ventilated area. Your popcorn kernels are ready when a kernel dropped into hot oil pops almost immediately.