Okiefamily,

I don't think we know enough about the corn to know why it seemed too chewy.

For what it is worth, ears of corn look like small ears of corn even before they are pollinated so just because the ears looked like small ears of corn does not mean they were ready to eat.

Often, when corn is too chewy it is because it was left on the plant too long after pollination occurred and the kernels have become tough and doughy, and will be very chewy when eaten.

However, if you pick the corn too early and before it has reached the milk stage, it can be too chewy too.

And, if you microwaved it too long, it can be too chewy.

And, some varieties are chewier than others.

So, let's see if we can figure out which one of those it is with your corn

HOW TO KNOW IF CORN IS READY TO PICK: The easiest way is to wait until after the cornsilks have dried and turned brown. To test the corn for ripeness, peel back just the end of part of the husk and press your fingernail against a kernel until fluid comes out.

IF IT IS JUST RIGHT AND READY TO PICK: The skin of the kernel should be crisp and, when punctured, a milky-colored sap should come out. That is the "milk" stage and it is your clue that the corn is ready to pick, Most corn is at the milk stage only about 5 days.

IF IT IS NOT RIPE YET: If a clear sap comes out, the corn is not ripe enough. Replace the husk around the corn the best you can and wait a few days (more about the timing below) before you check again.

IF IT IS TOO RIPE: If no sap comes out and the kernels are filled out and look like normal kernels, you've waited too long and the corn is overripe. At this point it is likely to be doughy and tough.

IF THE CORN SILKS ARE STILL GREEN: If you were to peel back a husk and look at your corn while the silks are still green, you'd see kernels that look "underinflated" because they haven't matured yet. Corn at this stage would be tough because it is still unripe and if you press on the undernflated-lookng kernels, no sap at all comes out because the corn is very immature.

PARTIALLY FILLED EARS: If some kernels look normal, plump, and are at the milk stage but others are flat and look uninflated, you had pollination issues.

HARVESTING BY THE CALENDAR: Another way you can "estimate" if the corn is ready to harvest is to mark your calendar when the green corn silks emerge from the ends of the ears. Normally, this happens over the course of a few days, so you might note on your calendar "corn silks began appearing today" and then, a few days later, when all the ears have their silks, mark that on your calendar too. Under normal conditions, pollination will occur after the cornsilks appear and you'll have "ripe" ears in the milk stage I described above in about 18-24 days after the silks first appear. The DTM is a little different for each variety, but also is dependent on weather conditions and growing conditions.

Once you harvest corn, it is best to use it quickly while its quality is highest. I like to put the pot of water on the stove before I run out to the garden to cut the ears. Then I bring them in, husk them and drop them into the water to cook. Even if I am doing the main harvest and putting up a couple of hundred ears in the freezer (or cutting corn from the cobs to freeze that way), I like to process all of it as soon as it is picked.

In the "old days", or if you still grow old-fashioned, real, heirloom corn that has not been bred with sugary-enhanced, supersweet or tripe sweet characteristics, it was/is very important to eat or freeze the corn quickly because the sugar converts to starch (affecting flavor and texture) very quickly. With the newer hybrid corns bred for extra sweetness, you have a little more leeway.

Also, different varieties of corn give different results. Do you remember the variety you planted?

Overcooking can may corn tough too. When you cook your corn in boiling water on the stove, you want to cook it only 3-4 minutes. Beyond that, it can start to get tough. I generally don't microwave corn, and how long it would take would vary depending on the wattage of your microwave and the size of the ears of corn. Regular sized ears (those about 7-9" long) probably would take 2-3 minutes per ear. You can help keep it crisp by microwaving it in the husk, or by wrapping each ear in plastic wrap before microwaving which essentially steams the corn.

Finally, another clue is your seed packet. On the back of the packet, there should have been a number that told you how long (approximately) it takes the corn to go from seed to maturity. Often, this is expressed as "Days To Maturity" or "DTM". Although these numbers are not necessarily precise, they are close. Corn grown in "perfect" conditions will mature at about the same DTM given on the package, while corn grown in fairly cool weather can be a little slower as can corn grown in drought conditions.

Hope this info helps. If you have more questions, ask them, and we can discuss it further.

Dawn

Good info Dawn!
Thanks,
Kristy

Good Morning Kristy!

You're welcome. Hope all is well in our garden and with y'all and the dogs.

Corn is easy once you're used to growing it, but hard in the beginning because you can't just look at it and "know" it is ripe. Experienced corn growers can often just reach out and "squeeze" an ear in their hand and know if it is or isn't ripe, but that comes from years of experience.

Every crop is so different. Think about how easy it is to look at green beans and know they are the right size and degee of plumpness for harvest. Think about how hard it is to look at watermelons and know if they are ripe underneath that rind.

Little by little, though, as you become experienced with the various crops, it all begins to make some sort of sense.....although I have an almost-90-year-old lifelong gardener friend who still tends to get overeager and harvest his melons too soon. Or, at least, he wants to.

He cuts a "plug" from his melons to see if they are ripe inside and replaces the plug if they are not. LOL He know better. He knows exactly when they're ripe. I think he has to worry a lot about losing his watermelons to the coyotoes....which last year got almost every single melon in his very large melon patch. So, he tries to pick as early as possible even though he knows in his heart that--if he has to cut a plug and check the melon, then he already knows the melon is not showing external signs of being ripe. I go to the opposite extreme and, if anything, harvest melons a little late......they hold their ripeness a long time though, to that is safer. If coyotes could still get into my garden (it is fenced, so they can't) though, I'd probably be eager to beat them to the harvest too.

Dawn

Thanks Dawn...

I don't know if you remember the pictures I posted of my sad little corn ears I tried to grow in my square foot garden, but they never really got any bigger. I am thinking, based on your info that it is over ripe and I had pollination issues. Some of them, though not all of them, didn't form kernels all the way around. Some of them dont have kernels at the top. the silks have been brown for a while, I just kept hoping they'd get bigger!

I just cut off the corn looking part and ate that anyway, they weren't to bad with butter, salt and pepper. I guess they were okay to eat... nobody got tummyaches or anything. One of my girls (the picky one) was bothered by the texture though.

Now that you reminded me, I do remember those small corn plants.

Next year, if you stick with the Square Foot Gardening method, you'd probably have better success with a dwarf corn like Dwarf Blue Jade or one of the shorter hybrids like Early Sunglow. The kids might especially like Dwarf Blue Jade because it has blue kernels that then turn green when boiled.

Planting as early as possible (when the danger of frost is past and the soil temp is at least 50 degrees for regular corn or 60 to 70 for supersweets) will help ensure the plants pollinate in cooler temps and give you ears that are well-filled.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Dwarf Blue Jade corn

What is a good sweet corn to plant? I got peaches and cream last year cuz putting garden in late, didn’t like the taste .

Thank you . I have earworms so I’ll try that .