I am very surprized that Honey Select didn't do well for you. Over the last 35 years, I have planted a lot of different varieties. What I grow now is Argent (white) and Honey Select. Some of the varieties I have planted are no longer available. I grow at least 1/4 acre eaach year.

One thing I have seen happen is that the seed you bought was not Honey Select. I know for a fact that some varieties labled such and such were not actually correct.

Ambrosia, se, bicolor.
I try 1-2 new varieties every year and Ambrosia is not easy to top. Bodacious, se, yellow is another mainstay in my garden (it's earlier then Ambrosia). Silver King, se, white, comes in 3rd.

I like Ambrosia very well too. Of course it is not possible to try all the varieties out there, but if you don't like Ambrosia....I would have to wonder if you really like sweet, tender, and flavorful corn....some people don't mind you...some like NK199..ugh.

Hi Doc,

Believe it or not, Silver Queen is great. I know we both can buy it at every corner market, but it's way better if you grow your own. Also, Peaches and Cream did very well for us last year.

Happy growin - Rd

I have a back yard garden. How much space is required to plant corn. How many corn plants should be planted to produce a good crop?

Gotta Have It is a hybrid but the best I've ever grown. JMO

Sun and Stars Hybrid, an Sh2 which is a Burpee exclusive, is, IMO, the absolutely best tasting sweet corn I've ever grown. Like all Sh2's, it needs to be started only in very warm soil, and can be fussy, but it's worth it. Ears are very large, about 9" on average, with about 20 rows of kernels. Flavor is extraordinary. However, I must warn you, I'm only really a fan of Sh2's, I can tolerate some SE varieties, but they just aren't the same. Many, many people feel just the opposite, and dislike Sh2's, saying they're too sweet and don't have "corn" flavor.

This year, I'm trying these new ShQ corns, "Mirai" and "It's So Delicious." I want to see if what the breeders are claiming is true, or its just hype.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Anyone have an early cold tolerant germinator that they like?

Early Sunglow is about 63 days and that's from planting time. It's not the best in the world but I did win 1st place with it at the county fair last year. Our fair in the middle of July and it's about the only one that will mature by that time. Ground temps don't have to be very high at planting time.

Ambrosia se can be planted early....I have planted it in late April here for July 10 harvest. Bodacious yellow can be planted then too. I like Incredible yellow best...need to wait a bit to plant that one.

Don't forget...one person's "preference" [this includes lack of knowledge] may be not so good to another person. Like Lucious or Legend varieties ...I yuck them!!

Wayne! Don't forget...one person's preference (this includes lack of knowledge). Back in my truck farming years, NK 199 was the only corn that would sell to wholesalers. It was good for 2 or 3 days to harvest and then set for a day or 2 at a local farm market. Very near feild corn texture and taste. It produced very large ears and I think that was the only reason people would buy it.

Thanks. I followed the majority and went with ambrosia SE+ homozygous) for my late season corn. Chose Polka a synergistic (SE/SH) for my early variety. Polka will germinate at am ground temps of 55 degrees.

Thanks for everyone's thoughts.

Just wanted to put in a plug for "How Sweet it Is". It's a white corn and is one of the early SH2 varities. However, like mentioned above, being SH2, it does need a warmer soil temperature to germinate.

Also mentioned above is a comment about each individual having a different opion on how sweet a corn should be. How true. My wife's grandmother thinks HSII is too sweet. My daughter on the other had, who grew up eating this variety, did not care for the SE varieties that I'd tried as an alternative.

You won't regret the Polka(70d) selection. If you like the synergistic selections as I am leaning toward you may want to give in to them for the entire season. Followup excellent bicolor choices are Charisma(74d)and Providence(82d).

I'll admit that the choice is highly subjective. I was raised on IoChief and Silver Queen, two huge eared varieties that my parents loved and I thought were better suited for livestock feed. But although my prefered corn for eating is a SH2 variety, I find that the isolation requirements and poor germination in colder soils make them harder growing choices. The synergistic varieties get my vote as both grower and consumer.

It isn't surprising that people are paying more attention to Kernel texture in their preferences. But while some would consider a variety like Incredible to be very tender, others might call it mushy.

So to help you to decide for next year I'd suggest that you visit a few farmers' markets in your area and purchase a few dozen ears from vendors who will reveal the names of the varieties that they offer. If you are drawn to one variety you can return and ask the grower more about that variety.

I'm going with 3 shQ types myself. This will be the first year I'm growing corn, so it's going to be a learning experience. Any/all tips gladly welcomed.

White: Devotion
Yellow: Mirai 002
Bicolor: Xtra-Tender 2170

Any recommendations for garden seeders that have the ability to distinguish between difference sizes of corn seed? The Earthway Precision seems to be the only home garden seeder I can find that you can push and that uses different seed plates. Are there others that can be pushed manually that may have a greater variety of plates than the Earthway? I was really surprised to see how much smaller the seeds are for the Mirai than for the other two varieties I'm growing, and I don't want to end up planting the Mirai too thickly because I've used the same plates for everything.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

John

A great early variety that we plant a lot of is "Temptation".

Grows like heck in the cold weather and a nice size ear that has great flavor. I don't know what we would do without it.

Ive heard that you need a lot of corn for it to do well with pollunation. So I have never tried it before. How much corn do I need to plant to get a crop out of it?

Dan, as you noted in your question, the concept of having "a lot" relates to the pollination of the corn. If you were to plant a single 100 ft row of corn some might think that to be a lot. Your pollination would likely be poor because the wind would probably blow across the single row and would then not transfer the pollen to the silks below. If on the other hand you plant 10 - 10 ft rows then the wind would give you the pollination that you need. So the idea is to plant whatever you can in the amount of space that you have and try to achieve maximum benefit from the pollination by the wind. I've read that you would want to have no less than 2 rows.. Can't say I've ever tried this (I always have more than 2) so I don't know. (Perhaps there is someone out there who may be able to report on small planting success with, for example, 3 short 3 ft rows.)

You can assist corn pollination by leaning the tassels over a bit and shaking them in the direction of the ear silks at the proper time. This proper time is about a three day period just as the silks have freshly emerged and when you shake the tops of the corn, you see a cloud of very fine dust [pollen]. Probably the best shaking hours are 11AM and 3PM.

On second thought, if the day is extremly hot, you may want to shake earlier and later in the day.

Lancelot, se, bicolor, fills well to the tips. Won purple ribbons at county fair two years straight for my son. It has done ok on germination in the cool soil in the spring. It is our favorite.
Mark

Anyone try Mirai hybrids in the deep south or coastal Gulf Coast? I would be interested in your experience. I normally start to plant sweet corn around the 2nd and third week of march in my home garden.