My corn has 2 ears but most of the 2nd ears were small. I think it was a light issue as they are close together. No complaints I got 45 ears and I’m ecstatic about it. The corn is good too, very sweet. I won’t grow corn again til 2019. [quote=“fruitnut, post:20, topic:12226”]
Ear number is highly dependent on plant spacing.
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That’s funny, I was typing this as you posted, and what I thought caused it. But no complaints, I have way more than I need.
The one thing your research found and which I can 100% confirm is that there is a VERY short window of harvest if you want to get HS (or other sweet corn I suppose) at its peak sweetness and flavor. I mean like about 3 days, and to be very precise there are really about 2 days when it is at its absolute peak. Unfortunately, I just don’t know how to tell you to recognize that window. As @fruitnut says, it just comes with experience. Personally, I’d much rather err on the side of too early than two late. I actually like it at the end of the blister stage, but its a little wasteful to pick it then because its slightly less sweet and much less edible corn per ear than you’ll get at maturity. But DO NOT make the mistake of picking too late. Even a couple days too late and the taste is starchy, less sweet, tougher, and just not very good. It is well worth wasting a few ears by picking one or two every day before peak so you don’t let it go too long. And if in doubt, like I said, err on the side of too early.
I also agree with Steven that spacing has a lot to do with the number of ears per stalk. I usually space mine about 18 inches and I usually get either 2 ears per plant or-more often- 1 great ear and one small ear.
I think Honey Select may be slightly different from other triple sweet’s in its ability to be planted around other corn. As I said, a simple google search for Honey Select Isolate" will show lots of sources saying it does NOT have to be isolated (from most varieties).
Bottom line, I sincerely hope you have as good a harvest as I did this year. I honestly ate many ears of mine completely raw, right out in the garden, and it was as sweet and delicious as many of my tree fruits. I just can’t tell you how good this stuff is if picked at the right time!!! WOW
OH…btw…its also very, very important that you try to use it as soon as possible after picking. I cannot explain the biology/science behind it, but it is a 100% true absolute fact that Honey Select and many other sweet corns decline in sweetness dramatically within just a couple days of being picked. The TN Ag extension office brochure on sweet corn says to put it in ice water immediately after picking, or at least in refrigerator. I can tell you from personal experience how disappointing it is to pick and eat this incredible corn one day, and then have more of the same batch just 3-4 days later and it tastes 1/2 as sweet.
Our plants are about a foot apart, but some have double stalks in the same space. We had a small flood pretty soon after the seeds were planted, so they might have got washed together. Some rows are partly empty, so I imagine that’s what happened. I would say all of the decent sized plants (>4ft) have two ears each.
The popcorn varieties we planted are showing 4 silks, even tho the ears are much smaller. But, how they look in a few weeks is still to be determined. If growing for popcorn, I suppose you let these plants grow to full maturity, that is, allow them to completely harden up?
Thanks, that picking window can be narrow, as you, my wife and others have mentioned. We grew Iochief yellow and Stowell’s Evergreen white corn the first year we were here, in the same plot. They grew up to be big beautiful stalks, but due to other concerns, we didn’t pick it at the right time and a lot of it got too starchy, and didn’t have good flavor. We canned some of it, but a lot of it went to waste. This year, we’ll be more diligent.
So, you’ve already harvested all of your HS? How much did you end up picking? And what did you do with all those you didn’t eat fresh off the stalk?
I did read about HS being able to be planted around other regular sweet corn without worries of degradation of its kernels. Like I said earlier, we can’t do anything about it anyways, but they should turn out OK.
I know I’ve harped about how we won’t get a good tomato harvest due to deer, but this year we ought to have our best year of corn, peppers, cucumbers, and if they keep going well, green beans. We’ve already canned about 14qt of beans, 15-20qt of various pickles, so pretty good so far.
Yes according to Farmer Fred from KFBK you leave it on till it’s rock hard, so no worries about timing there! I love Fred Hoffman, very cool podcasts.[quote=“subdood_ky_z6b, post:24, topic:12226”]
And what did you do with all those you didn’t eat fresh off the stalk?
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Well I know that was not directed at me, but right now I’m blanching corn, trimming from the cob and freezing. I kept enough ears to have it on the cob a few times. Sh2 is supposed to last 10 days before it degrades. It’s working well, 4 minutes boiling, 8 minutes icing, and the corn is crunchy and good.
Much sweeter than most corn i have eaten.Good stuff!
Also of note, to me, it seems better than when we I picked it, it must just be a better example? Not sure? No loss of sugar yet.
I never pick the second ear its not worth it to me
Honey select and other tripple sweet varieties last much longer in storage than other types. You have it completely backwards. I’ve been growing honey select and serendipity for many years, not to mention several farmers I know grow them as well as some orchards. I can tell you for certain you can store them in a refrigerator for close to 2 weeks
I agree the supersweets I’ve grown last about 10 days in the fridge. Other types much less.
Would that apply to my Silver Queen? We also have a small amount of Iochief, which is the same type of sweet corn (su).
Thank you for correcting me on that, Jason. I have read that triple sweets last much longer in storage-its one of the benefits most often touted and your experience suggests its true. My mistake is that I had learned from first hand experience how fast and how far REGULAR sweet corn can decline in taste and sweetness. I’ve only been growing honey select about 3-4 years and because of the experiences I had with other sweet corns going downhill so fast after picking, I have just always made sure to use my honey select and other sweet corn within a couple days of being picked (“using” includes freezing it).; In other words, I’ve never really tested its shelf life. If you have and you are sure its as good after 9-10 days as it is the day its picked, then that is incredibly good news. I’m sure @subdood_ky_z6b has read your correction and I just tagged him to be sure. You certainly have more experience than I do growing HS. Your experience with it cross pollinating also must differ from mine and other sources that say it doesn’t have to be isolated from most other varieties, but again, I defer to your experience and since you were pretty adamant that it should be isolated, I’m assuming you’ve had problems that I haven’t had. I have grown mine very close to other sweet and field corns at about the same pollen schedule with no problems, but my 3-4 years of experience doesn’t compare to your long-term experience, so thanks for that info as well.
Found this on Wikipedia about the different types of sweet corn. Apparently, Honey Select is a synergistic variety, as Jason mentioned, but it says sy types don’t need isolation. It’s the sh2, or supersweet varieties that need isolation from su types.
After reading this article it appears that I just answered my question about the picking/storing window for the Iochief and Silver Queen. Not very long. Maybe that’s what you were talking about with your corn, Kevin. Do you remember what varieties you grew that didn’t stay sweet for very long?
That’s what I’d always read and experienced, but @Jwsemo says he has many years of experience and that it should be isolated. I think I read somewhere that there are a few types that can cross with triplesweets, so maybe that’s what he has experienced, I don’t know. One thing is for sure, I’m not experienced enough to challenge him or anyone else, and I must confess that I get confused on all the differences is sweet corns. There are so many varieties and types and all have different characteristics. Its very confusing and Jason already pointed out that I was wrong about the shelf life of HS. WHEW…who knew corn could be so complicated. I’ve read that wiki entry more than once before you posted it, and other articles as well. All I’m sure of is that sweet corn is a little complicated!
BTW…apparently there is yet another class of sweetcorn now- the newest one yet. It is called “Supersweet PLUS”. Here is a decent description of all the types including SS PLUS. I like this one because it is quite short and to the point:
IT also differs from Jason’s assertion that Honey Select must be isolated, so take it with a grain of salt, but I still think its a decent little summary of sweet corn types.
Actually it agrees with him.
“Type 6 (Polka, Honey Select) does not require isolation from most sweet corn types, except for Type 4 and 5.”
No, Drew. You are once again mistaken. Here is what was said by Jason. And it was in response to discussion about all types of corn (not just types 4 and 5 in the article), and he specifically said “all types of sweet corn”. Nothing was ever said about types 4 and 5 until you read my link and then jumped in here to try and say I was wrong about what he said. Read it for yourself.
What part of “all sweetcorn” suggests that he meant only type 4 and 5? And just so you know, Silver queen is not a #4 or #5 which is what you just quoted to unsuccessfully try and prove that the article supported Jason’s assertion that Honey Select had to be isolated. Silver queen would be #1 in this context, so as I said in my original statement, “it (the article) differs from Jason’s assertion that honey select must be isolated”. I appreciate you trying to defend Jason’s assertion, and even I said that his experience may trump the article and so the article should be taken with a grain of salt. But when you claim that the article supports his assertion, you are wrong. I’m not even sure what your point was here. I’ve admitted Jason has far more experience, that I don’t understand all the complexities of sweet corn types, etc. Yet you jump in and say I’m wrong even though his assertion and the article differ, which is what I said. You often confuse me, Drew. 
OK it partially agrees with him.I’m not defending him, I didn’t know he was under attack?
This is my thread, I was already here.
True, I’m the only one who mentions them, I guess I was not clear?
It does have to be isolated from some types, all I meant to correct. I did it poorly agreed.Sorry about that.
This is very interesting genetics that’s for sure!
Wow I didn’t mean to get myself under attack. I was just trying to be helpful, but in the furure I will restrain myself.
No I did not. I said all of the tripple sweets, also known as synergistic hybrids neede to be isolated.Sorry if I offended you I was just trying to help. Please leave me out of further discussions on this topic
I appreciate the input.I was looking for help, and you helped me. I needed suggestions as to what to grow, and I’m going to grow HS or serendipity, probably serendipity as the bicolors are cool looking. Hey I’m easily pleased Sincerely thanks for your input. Jung sells both for dirt cheap, bookmarked the pages there.
Good luck. I feel certain you won’t be disappointed.
I offer you my deepest and most sincere apology. Nothing you did or said offended me in any way and I could not be more sorry if something I said upset you. The only thing I objected to was having a third party use my own source and erroneously misstate that source and your quote to say that my own post was wrong. It had nothing to do with you and it was very, very unfair for you to have been drawn into it. And you are right…you did say that all triple sweets should be isolated from “all sweet corn” and specifically mentioned silver queen. The article doesn’t match that and I simply pointed that out that your statement and the article don’t agree- though I said your experience may well trump the article. But what you said and what the article said isn’t the same, so when I was corrected and told they did, I wanted to clear the record. It had nothing to do with you and I’m sorry if I upset you in any way. I’m probably the least argumentative person on this site and I regret this whole petty discussion, and yes I mean my part in it. Again, I’m sorry.