My Sweet Corn Reviews

[LittleJohnny]

We sell Carrots to the local grocery stores, and to help offset labor expense (hand harvest) I have been raising sweetcorn the past 4 yrs (5-7 acres).

Try "Vision F1" if you haven't already Its an augmented super sweet 74 day.
I'm just North of Spokane WA. The seed company suggests 55F soil temp for germination and with our cool clay loam soil I been having good luck planting shallow (1/2") every May 10th.
Good for fresh market and although we freeze it for winter, it is a little watery compared to some of the old breeds, but will hold its sugar for 30 days in the cooler if you can keep mold from setting in.

I think Vision is comparable to Illini Xtra Sweet in eating quality, everyone loves this corn and it actually has made a pretty good following of its own to where folks start griping when we run out.

Last year we had a lot of cold weather and several inches of rain on our first planting and although it took close to 3 weeks, it looked like practically every seed came.

 

[Ford850]

Gotta Have It: (78 day) Bi Color 'Augmented Shrunken' Not sure what that type is. Grown three summers. Thick plant about 6' tall that withstands our wind storms easily. Ears are 7-8 inches long. Very sweet and holds flavor for days in the refrigerator. I can harvest a patch over 2 weeks or so before it is too far along. Must have warm soils to germinate, if you plant too early or if the weather turns it won't germinate properly, I can't plant until mid June or so. Also needs a fairly shallow planting depth, about 1". Freezes well with very good flavor. Downside is it ruins you for store bought corn so you have to load up the freezer in the summer :laughing:

This is all I plant now. I've tried them all (well almost) and nothing compares to the taste of this. Even the stalks are better than others, withstanding a lot of wind. I used to be in the habit of only picking what I would cook within a few hours. With Gotta Have It, I can let it sit for days and it doesn't lose flavor. Even overgrown and "tough" ears are sweet and flavorful. My family has always been corn snobs, and the first time I took this to a gathering they couldn't believe the taste! I can still picture my brother's face after taking his first bite. He stopped eating, looked over to me, and said "What IS this stuff?" This corn is fantastic, but very pricey.

 

[ray66v]

I now grow nothing but Ambrosia. Everyone I supply corn to, insists it's the best. Which is perfect, because I agree.

I actually have people fighting over my corn, and my watermellons. So, I am definitely not going to change either, anytime soon.

 

[wolc123]

I always try and get a range of maturity dates, 65, 72 and 85 days or so. For my first planting, I put in the shorter date varieties. I always plan on loosing the first planting of the fastest maturing variety to the coons. By the time the next batch ripens however, I have moved all the local coons to that big corn patch in the sky, using box traps baited with peanut-butter coated marshmellows and my .22. Since the crash of fur prices some years ago, coons have made it tough on folks trying to grow small patches of corn. The good news is that they are very easy to eradicate from any local area, and no furbearer is easier to trap. One night (2) years ago I took (4) with a single box trap. I use "candy-corn" for the 85 day stuff, and sometimes "gota-have-it" for the 72. I just get whatever is cheapest for the 65 since the fast types usually are not as tastey or suitable for freezing, and the coons get most of it anyhow. I am in the same zone and usually plant first around May 15, then about every 2 weeks until the end of June. That keeps us in fresh corn from early July thru September depending on frost dates. For the later plantings, I just put in the 85 day stuff. I do like the taste of "candy-corn" and it holds its flavor and sweetness a long time after picking. The seeds are a little small however, and I have to adjust the sprocket on my planter to keep it from going in to thick compared to the other types I plant. "Candy-corn" is as sweet and tastey, fresh or frozen, as any variety I have planted and it has the added bonus of pretty, purple-tinted stalks and leaves. It also stand up real well in the heavy winds.

 

[ShenandoahJoe]

Never planted sweet corn before, but the Mrs has requested it, and so shall it be. Can I plant different breeds with different maturity dates in the same patch? Or do I have to keep them well separated?

 

[ray66v]

From Purdue farmers College:

1. Standard Sweet - su su*;
2. Partially modified types - at least 25% of the kernels
are modified as follows:
a. Synergistic or Sugary Supersweets - su sh2*,
e.g., Honeycomb, golden Nectar, Sugar Time,
and Sugar Loaf;
b. Sugar Enhanced or EH - su se*, e.g., Platinum
Lady, Silver Prince, Kandy Korn EH, Mainliner
EH, White Lightning, Earliglow EH, Golden
Sweet EH, Seneca Sentry, and Tendertreat EH;
3. Fully Modified types - su se* on all kernels, e.g.,
Miracle, Remarkable, Double Treat, Double Delicious,
and Divinity;
4. Single gene replacements for su - usually sh2*, e.g.,
Illini Chief Xtra Sweet, Crisp N’ Sweet, Candyman,
Early Xtra Sweet, Northern Sweet, Candy Bar,
Burpee Sugar Sweet, and Dinner-Time;
5. Multiple gene replacements for su - ae, du, and wx*
are combined to replace su, e.g., ADX Hybrids, and
Pennfresh ADX.
6. A relatively new type of sweet corn known as
"triplesweet" has both sugar enhanced (se) and
supersweet (sh2) kernels on the same ear, e.g.
Honey Select, Serendipity, Bon Appetit.


Cross-Pollination and Isolation Requirements

Corn pollen is carried by the wind from the tassels to the
silks. Different types of corn can cross-pollinate and
contaminate one another. All sweet corn types must be
isolated from other types of corn including field corn,
popcorn, and ornamental corn because their pollen will
turn sweet corn starchy. The shriveled characteristic of
sweet corn is dominant, so popcorn pollinated by sweet
corn will be sweeter and probably shriveled. The color
yellow is also dominant, so yellow corn that is pollinated
by white corn will remain yellow. However, white corn
that is pollinated by yellow will turn yellow.
Cross-pollination among some of the genetically different
types of sweet corn can have undesirable results. For
example, sweet corn types 4 and 5 must be isolated from
each other and from all other types of sweet corn because
pollen from the other types will make the kernels
starchy like field corn. In addition, pollen from types 4 and
5 can make standard sweet corn starchy. Types 2a and
2b will regress to normal sweetness when pollinated by
standard type pollen. Type 6 does not require isolation
from other sweet corn types. In order to preserve the
intended sweet quality of the corn you are planting,
isolation is recommended to prevent cross-pollination
with other types. Isolation can be achieved in several
ways.

Distance.

Since pollen is carried by the wind rather
than insects, distance can be used as an effective
barrier. A distance of 250 feet between different types will
result in some contamination, but not enough to materially
affect the quality of the produce. A distance of 700
feet should give complete isolation; however, complete
isolation is only necessary for scientific and plant breeding
purposes.

 

[Car Doc]

Gottahaveit is going to be my sweet corn choice this year haven't tried it yet I usually plant kandy corn and really have enjoyed it but thought I would try something new.

 

[Car Doc]

Never planted sweet corn before, but the Mrs has requested it, and so shall it be. Can I plant different breeds with different maturity dates in the same patch? Or do I have to keep them well separated?

I am no expert but I only plant one variety at a time with sweet corn, and it says on the specs usually not to plant any other variety's closer than 300ft.

So I would say no you will likely end up with field corn.

With that said though you can plant rows at different times say a week apart so you aren't harvesting all at once some people do that fwtw.

 

[LD1]

We always used to plant kandy corn. It was always our favorite.

Until one of the neighbors turned us on to jack-pot. It is an 84-day bi-color and is super sweet. Much larger and fuller kernals than the kandy corn. We have been planting it every since.:thumbsup:

 

[Car Doc]

Hey LD1 do you recon jackpot is similar to gotahaveit?

They sure look similar being bi-color and maturity wondering because I have not bought my seed yet just wondering now that you mentioned that?

edit: Well I said that but gottahaveit is 78 days not much difference I see by looking at my catalog still wonder about the sugar and frig life so on.