Popcorn and sweet corn

[Jordan9682]

This year i want to plant sweet corn and popcorn in the same garden.
Can I do this? I've read that if you don't plant them atleast 250' apart "cross-pollination" can be an issue.
Is that something i should worry about? I'm not gonna keep my own seed.
And my the corn seed i have is supposed to be 60 some days till maturity, whereas popcorn is much longer
I was thinking i could have some space between them (a few rows of sunflowers and maybe 'taters)

Can I do this?

 

[Sonny580]

Its NOT a good idea to have them that close! the pop corn will ruin the fine taste of the sweet corn!---these newer sweet corn varieties are super picky about being with/near other corns and some of the sweet corn varieties cant be planted near other sweet corns, so you need to figure which is most important to you---pop corn or sweet corn! I quit planting pop corn years ago when the new sweet corns came into being, because thats what I wanted!---popcorn is only a buck or so for a big bag at the supermarket and saves ruining your good sweet corn!
Corn pollen can travel 6 miles so any corn in the close area can affect your corn to some extent but why take chances by putting it in the same garden? thanks; sonny580

 

[Jordan9682]

Thanks for the warning!

 

[TCJatko]

I'm not an authority, but I always thought cross-pollination was an issue for future plants. In other words, the current plant will have all the taste, smell, and characteristics of its parent regardless of pollination source. Cross-pollination effects will not appear until you plant the seed of the cross-pollinated plant, so you should be fine.

 

[nybirdman]

I made the mistake of planting sweet corn near field corn.....toughtest,nastiest sweet corn ever.

 

[Mickey_Fx]

You can run the risk of cross pollination in 2 ways. Distance and the other is time. As long as both varieties are not in the pollination phase near the same time, you should be OK. Think you would be OK if there was a 3-4 week difference for the varieties when they reach the pollination stage. That difference can be either or a combination of time to maturity or calendar time.

 

[djdicetn]

Personally, I'd go with some Silver Queen or Peaches & Cream(my favorite) sweet corn and buy popcorn at Krogers.

 

[mikehaugen]

Is popcorn even worth growing yourself? I am not asking sarcastically, I just can't imagine the taste really varying much from store-bought popcorn. I am not much of a popcorn fan though, so maybe it's just me.

 

[Jordan9682]

Same taste. Just a hobby

 

[DFB]

Harris Seed offers a sweet corn planting Guide
Compatible types without isolation

su: su
se: se, sy, SB
sh2: sh2, shA
shA: sh2, shA
SB/SG: SB, sy, se
sy: se, sy, SB

Information

 

[Sonny580]

I have tried the the 3 week wait on planting and by then the weather/hot, dry ground/ etc. and any corn wont pollenate very good under that kind of conditions,---dont know about other areas, but here it didnt work!---also the later you wait to plant the bigger the bug problem you will have and corn is hard to keep sprayed!---the heat is hard on the pollen too,--it burns the tassels and hurts the pollen. thanks; sonny580

 

[Jordan9682]

How bout seeding ornamental corn by sweet corn? I don't NEED to grow it, but I thought it would be cool to try it out and see what this "ornamental" corn looks like

 

[djdicetn]

How bout seeding ornamental corn by sweet corn? I don't NEED to grow it, but I thought it would be cool to try it out and see what this "ornamental" corn looks like

Jordan9682,
The more I read your comments, the more it sounds like you are simply "playing around" to satisfy your curiousity. If indeed you don't care whether the sweet corn is "edible" or not, I would suggest that you go ahead and plant sweet, popcorn and ornamental corn and satisfy your curiosity. You may end up with multicolor, inedible and unpoppable corn from all three varieties:0(

 

[Jordan9682]

I have a small garden, not necassarily "playing around" just would like to know if I can grow different corns near each other