Harvesting sweet corn - when, how and then what?

Sweet corn harvest: harvest time, harvest signs and uses

Harvest time: Depending on the variety, between the end of July and October

Do you grow sweet corn to eat or do you want to obtain seeds? Depending on this, the sweet corn has to ripen for different times. In order to obtain seeds, the corn cobs on the plant must dry out. The outer leaves are then brown. This is mostly the case between August and October.

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Growing sweet corn: from sowing to harvest
Freeze sweet corn properly - and then what?
The seeds of sweet corn have these characteristics!

Many varieties can be harvested for consumption as early as the end of July. Late ripening varieties develop their correct degree of ripeness between September and October. Basically, it can be said that it takes 90 to 100 days from sowing to harvest. The cobs are ripe three weeks after flowering.

This is how you recognize the maturity of the pistons!

You can recognize ripe ears of sweetcorn by the following characteristics:

Threads (former styles of female flowers) are brown to black
The threads have dried up
Milk ripeness: A milky white juice emerges from the corn kernels

What is milk maturity?

You can test the milk ripeness by scratching a kernel of corn with a fingernail or a knife. If a milky-white juice emerges, it is time to harvest for consumption. If, however, a clear and watery juice emerges, the cobs are still immature. Once the cobs have hardened, it's too late to eat - the perfect time to harvest seeds.

How is it harvested?

The cobs are simply broken off the plant or cut off with a knife. You don't have to be careful with this. The sweet corn is annual and is composted after harvest. For seed production, the cobs are hung up to dry after harvest.