Where has the summer gone?

Another week of rain and slug protection for the demo garden. It’s strange how often the British weather never quite seems to create the ideal gardening conditions of hot, sunny days and gentle rains during the night! Let’s hope we get a break and have a late Indian summer come September.

When is my sweet corn ready to harvest?

We’ve had a few questions about this at the garden so here is a general guide:

When the silky tassels at the top of the sweet corn cobs turn dark brown, gently peel down some of the outer leaves of the cob so you can see the grains. The corn is ripe if the grains are pale yellow and when you squeeze a grain between your fingers a creamy liquid squirts out. If the liquid is watery then it isn’t ripe. When harvesting, twist off the cob from the main stem and cook straight away to get the sweetest flavour.

If you are growing mini sweet corn varieties these are picked while the cobs are unripe. Wait until the silk tassels show and the cobs have reached a decent size of about 4 inches and then harvest.