Will this sweet corn be ready too soon?

Per the DTM on the package, this should be ready to harvest around 7/14. I am concerned it will be sooner.

Why, you ask, is that a problem?

I’ll be on vacation in the Caribbean from the 6th through the 13th! I don’t want to come home to over-mature corn.

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I have an idea…if you live in Kentucky, I can come by and pick some corn for the grill on the 4th!
:slight_smile:

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There is usually some leeway in the picking. It doesn’t go overripe instantly. If you are only leaving for one week, you should do okay with the corn. At least in the North here, that is the case.

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I think that’s about two weeks from ripe. So you should have some good corn when you get back.

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Be aware of racoons. They can smell the sweet corns and harvest them before you do.

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When those silks turn black and droop is usually when it’s ready. With some regular su and se corn, your picking window is pretty narrow, that is, when the kernels exude a milky liquid when squeezed. su is like 1-3 days, and se is like 3-5 days but with the super sweets like sh2, you have a bit more time (up to 10 days).

You mentioned elsewhere that it’s Serendipity, which is a super sweet (se/sh2), so it will probably will be ok when you get back.

You must have started yours really early, mine are still no higher than 3ft tall, but we didn’t plant until late May.

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I stagger my plantings. This was my first round, planted April 26.

Maryland

Well, I think I see black silk on that one ear. And if so, it may be past it’s prime in a week.
That was my reasoning.

The ear is still very small, though.

Those ears are way too skinny to be nearly ripe. They’ve got a ways to go probably two weeks.

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Might want to leave the electric fencer running while your gone!

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That silk that looks black in the picture, it’s really more of a red, the silk is red on this variety.

And they’re only just now starting to dry out on some of the bigger cobs.

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Looks good today!

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Looks ready to eat to me. (I don’t like firm-well filled).

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I picked about two five gallon buckets of Ambrosia sweet corn yesterday. My Mom is here visiting us, and she helped me shuck it. One of the pleasures of summer is shucking freshly picked corn. You get sticky fingers, but it’s worth it.

I didn’t want to pressure can it, so we cut some off the cob, and bagged it along with some still on the cob. I think we bagged about 7-8 quarts and put it in the freezer.

We boiled a few cobs, and cut the kernels off a couple cobs, added a bit of butter, salt and pepper. Very good, pretty sweet, but not as much as Honey Select. We also grew HS, but it hasn’t grown as well, and isn’t ready yet.

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A few pics of the sweet corn I picked Monday. A good haul, of mostly Ambrosia.

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