tough corn question

[sharehome]

This is only my second year planting a veggie garden. Last year our corn didnt get pollinated enough as it wasnt planted close enough together.

This year is looked beautiful, great color we were all excited - but was really tough. I mean you could just about bite it off the cob. I thougt I hadnt cooked it enough - 5 mins as usual so I cooked it longer the next time and it still wasnt any better.

Any suggestions on what could have gone wrong?

Did I pick it too late?

Not enough water?

I am baffled

Sharon

 

[patandchickens]

Picked too late is a possibility. How long after tasseling, and how much non-brown part of the tassel was there?

Another possibility (maybe, depending on your situation) is, could it have crosspollinated with some other corn variety. Some types of corn have to be isolated from other types of corn (how's that for informative detail ) or you end up with starchy tough chewy dreck.

There may also be other causes, I dunno.

Better luck next year (I realize that is not much consolation THIS year for all the work and wasted space and hopes ),

Pat

 

[ams3651]

When you gently press your fingernail into the kernel it should have plenty of "give" without popping but should pop easy. My guess is you waited too long but this year I got good and tough out of the same field at the same time.

 

[sharehome]

well they were definetly cross pollinated.

We planted 2 varieties directly beside eachother.
after last years under pollinatation we went full out to make sure it happened.

That is too funny and I think we left it a bit to pick as the tassels were almost dried out they were so brown.

Oh well they say third times a charm - next year

 

[patandchickens]

Well, there are some kinds it is ok to crosspollinate, there are others it's not -- it has to do with the particular combination of varieties, what genes they have. You can look it up (most good seed catalogs tell you) before next year, in case that was part of this year's problem

Good luck,

Pat, admiring people with enough energy to clear/prepare/tend the garden space that corn requires