By Slimdil
Northumberland,
United Kingdom 
Sweet Corn Query!! Pardon my complete and utter ignorance about growing sweetcorn. Attached is a couple of photos of the corn as it is at the moment. What is it growing at the top? Is that the male bit that has to polinate the female bit (for want of a better description!!). Some of the plants seem to be growing something further down the main stem betwen the stem and the leaf join - I can put a photo on if necessary - are these the actual cobs being produced? What should happen now? X certificate stuff?
30 Jul, 2011
Answers
The tasselly flower in the photo is the male flower. The cobs will grow in leaf axils (where the leaf joins the stem). You should find a female flower there around now. When picking corn on the cob, you look for the cobs from about knee level to shoulder level, if I recall correctly.
Where are you growing your corn? It is wind pollinated, so bees etc are no help. It's best grown in blocks, not rows (too late to change now...). Some people shake the tops of the corn around a bit, but I don't know if that actually helps or not.
30 Jul, 2011
Thanks for that. I have grown them in blocks rather than rows, so hopefully they will pollinate ok. I'll try to manually help them.
30 Jul, 2011
The cobs will grow, as Beattie says, in the leaf axils and will have 'silks' protruding from the tops. When these silks turn brown the cobs are ready to eat.
31 Jul, 2011
Hmm - I tried 'updating' my question to add another photo but it doesn't seem to have appeared. However, I think it's clear enough from this photo.
30 Jul, 2011