Sweetcorn (Zea mays var. saccharata)
The kernels have a high sugar content and less starch. The immature kernels are eaten as a vegetable, either cut from the cob as loose kernels, or as whole cobs that are boiled and eaten straight off the cob.
There are some subtypes of sweetcorn:
- "su" is traditional sweetcorn, which isn't super sweet, but still sweet. I prefer those varieties, but others like the sweeter types better.
- "se" (sugary extender) contains more sugar and stays sweet some days longer.
- "sh2" (shrunken/supersweet) contains roughly twice as much sugar as "su".
Sweetcorn can have seeds of different colours, just like other corn types. For historical reasons yellow sweetcorn is most common, but there are also white varieties and other colours.
Sweetcorn that is crossed with other maize types isn't as sweet and more floury, so you need to keep a distance between your sweetcorn and other maize types.
Sweetcorn is harvested at the milk stage, when the kernels can still be easily broken and contain a white fluid. Often this is just after the silk has dried completely and become brown, which is usually around 20 days after silk emergence. Carefully open the leaves around the top of the cob and look if the kernels are at the milk stage. If the kernels are still greenish or not plump you'll have to wait a few days.
Sweetcorn needs a higher soil temperature when sowing. At least 15 °C.