There are two types of sweetcorn that you can grow with Rocket Gardens – Sweet Nugget (pictured above) is your normal, corn-on-the-cob, and Minipop is a baby corn. They are planted and harvested slightly differently, so have a read of this before you choose which one to grow.
For both types, choose a sunny site with fertile, moisture-retentive soil – add plenty of compost, well-rotted manure or wormcast fertiliser. If you receive your plants early in the season, while nights are still cold or there is a risk of frost, it is best to temporarily plant in the punnets that they arrive in, or in small pots, and keep them on a sunny windowsill or in a greenhouse until the weather warms up a little.
Sweet Nugget - Corn on the Cob
Best grown in raised beds or a traditional veg patch as they grow to 2m tall. Plant 30cm apart each way and firm them in well.
Plant them in a grid (eg 3 rows of 3 rather than a single row) – this is because sweetcorn is wind pollinated, and the proximity of planting like this helps to improve pollination rates to ensure the kernels swell.
Wait until the tassels at the end of each cob turn black/dark brown before harvesting.
Minipop - Baby Corn
These plants are smaller, so plant 20cm apart in beds/pots/growbags.
Plant them in a single row – this is to avoid the kernels from being pollinated so that you get the immature baby corn you expect rather than developed kernels.
Harvest while the tassels are still blonde, and the cobs are approx 10cm long.