Tony Fawcett’s tips for growing corn in Victorian soils and climate
Growing delicious corn can be tricky in parts of Victoria that don’t have the ideal climate or soil. So you just need to be garden smart with these tips.
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ONE of life’s most delicious pleasures is surely munching into a crisp, fresh cob of corn drizzled in melted butter.
Yet a surprising number of gardeners have difficulty growing sweet corn.
The reality is that growing it around Victoria can have its problems.
Apart from smallish areas, such as around Benalla and north near the Murray River, few regions have the ideal soil and climate to grow it well.
The rest of us must be garden smart.
HOW TO GROW
Sweet corn is a warm weather crop, best grown when daytime temperatures are above 15C.
It needs good manure-enriched soil (chook poo is a winner) and plenty of sun.
It is quick-growing so once it’s away don’t ignore it. Keep up plenty of water, liquid fertilise every two or three weeks and build up a little around the base of plants with soil or compost for support and to encourage further root growth.
For bigger, juicier cobs, strip away a few of the lower side growths. You will reduce crop size but it’s worth it.
Most importantly, know how corn is propagated. It’s wind, not insects, that supply the magic.
Wind is so important to propagation that in some parts they fly helicopters over commercial crops to get that pollen moving.
Don’t plant in single lines or you will minimise propagation. Plant two staggered double rows, or better still plant in one large block, with plants 30cm apart.
And plan a follow-up planting to lengthen cropping.
At this stage I’d be planting seedlings. Wait longer than the start of summer and it will be an uphill battle.
Once cobs start appearing, consider netting against bush rats and other marauding corn lovers.
WHEN TO HARVEST
CORN is best eaten young when the cob is slightly immature.
Wait too long and it loses that wonderful fresh taste.
Pick it when the tassels or silky “hair” on the top of the corn has shrivelled and browned.
If still uncertain, peel back a little of the husk at the top and dig a fingernail into the kernels. You should see a milky liquid. This shows it’s ready.
If the liquid is clear, you’re too early. And if there’s no liquid then you have waited too long and it is over ripe.
NEVER ENOUGH
A MISTAKE I often made was not planting enough. While overplanting can bring gluts of tomatoes and zucchini, corn is generally not a problem.
The season can be short. Warm weather is needed to get it going and just when you get a summer taste for it, the weather cools and it’s all over.
The biggest drawback is that at best you will get only three or four cobs per plant.
If you’ve only a few plants then a hungry family will knock them off quick smart — and kids generally love ’em.
Grow too much and you can offload some to friends and family. Corn is a lot easier to move on than zucchinis, that’s for sure.
Once picked, use promptly. Wait too long and they will be like those tired tasting excuses sometimes in shops.
For variety, grow a few heritage varieties. They’re often not as sweet as normal varieties such as Honeysweet and Early Chief but make a change.
WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK
DIVIDE and repot cymbidium orchids.
PLANT beans, cabbage, capsicum, carrot, celery, cucumber, eggplant, lettuce, onion, peas, pumpkin, radish, shallot, spinach, squash, tomato and zucchini.
COLOUR UP with plantings of ageratum, aster, begonia, celosia, cosmos, cineraria, cleome, dahlia, oriental poppy, petunia, phlox, salvia, statice, sunflower and verbena.
MORE
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PLAN TO TURN CHOOKS INTO FERTILISER
HOW A WERRIBEE BARRAMUNDI FARM DOUBLED CAPACITY DURING COVID-19
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