Colourful Sweetcorn mix 21

[jayb]

Following on from the mix grown in 2017 https://www.growingfoodsavingseeds.c...tcorn-mix-2017

A mix of colours and bicolours, again looking for a nice mix of colourful se cobs. Seeds were sown a bit late so very much harvest permitting, I'll aim to save most for seed to select from for next year and beyond.

Come harvest if anyone fancies some of these to grow you are very welcome.

Plants are currently around thigh height, though as they are growing indoors they may well grow taller than they would have out on the plot.

[Jang]

Looking back at the 2017 thread, your 2021 plants look further advanced now than on 15th July that year, so great hopes!
Judging by the varieties you listed then, this should be a beautifully rich mix.
I shall be very interested to follow its progress and, if all goes to plan, would love to grow some too.

[jayb]

Great

[Silverleaf]

Very exciting! I’ve got Ambrosia, Double Red and Hookers in my little sweet corn patch this year, so I’m looking forward to seeing what they make.

Also Fiesta in the greenhouse is getting so tall it’s pushed up against the roof, hopefully it’ll tassel soon because there’s not really room for any more growth! And Magic Manna in my little polytunnel which went in much later but is making nice little plants.

[Jang]

My growing is a bit similar. I had Double Red planned but decided to drop it for this year as life was getting too complicated.

I have Magic Manna and Fiesta, with phased timing I hope, in my meadow area and 100 metres away, Hookers outdoors in my veg garden and also in the polytunnel. I’d rather like to keep the varieties pure for another year or so, depending on the timing in the meadow.

Does anyone know how long a season any of these three varieties need? I might be pushing my luck a bit. Fiesta was a second sowing after birds pulled the first lot up. They’re only knee high. ☹️ .

[jayb]

Silverleaf all sound good with lots of potentials, I'm loving colourful sweetcorns ideas and possibilities, happy days.

Sorry Jang I don't know the days for the ones you mention, hoping the recent weather will be giving them a boost.

[jayb]

Another bonkers crop!
These have gone mad too, from shoulder height to head height in a couple of days. They have started tassling and I've seen some pollen floating down.

[jayb]

How's Fiesta doing Silverleaf? I know my Painted Mountain got silly tall grown indoors this year, won't be doing that again.

Hope your sweetcorn has had happy growing vibes too Jang, have they had a good growing flush with the lovely warm temperatures?

[Silverleaf]

Fiesta is RIDICULOUS, bending up against the greenhouse roof in a kind of corn archway. It’s clearly loving the heat but I’m worried the tassels will get trapped against the glass and it won’t pollinate.

When it finally decides to tassel, of course…

My sweet corn mixture is a lot shorter and quite a few plants have tassels now, but it did get sown earlier than Fiesta.

[jayb]

I found condensation a bit of a problem with Painted Mountain, the heads jammed up against the poly cover just seemed to intensify the production of it, but it was so hot here at the time.

[Jang]

My Fiesta is about just waist height now, from its second sowing (08/06) to replace the first lot pulled up by birds. It needs a good soaking which I’ll give it today. Hardly any rain here for some time now and lots of camping family have meant watering has been rather squeezed out.

The F1s which I sowed earliest have definitely benefited from the warm temperatures and are producing cobs now. I’ll try to prioritise those too for watering in the next day or two.

Hooker’s Sweet Indian is enjoying the polytunnel and more watering attention and will be hitting the roof soon. I’ve no idea what kind of height to expect from it, but might soon join the glass/polythene squash.

[jayb]

Sounds like those later sowings are catching up fast now.
Lol, that's what I thought about PM, but it has to be a good 3x the height it normally is out on the plot.

[Silverleaf]

I’ve got Magic Manna in my plastic greenhouse/tunnel and it’s really shot up the last few weeks, around waist height now. It was the latest of my corns to be sown.

Hookers in one of my beds is tasselling at about 6ft tall, growing with Double Red and Ambrosia, but I’m haven’t seen any cobs yet.

[jayb]

MM is well on the way now then, won't be long and it'll be up to your shoulders. Funny I've just been thinking the same thing about the colourful mix ones, lots of tassles now but only a very few silks! Hoping they have their timing correct.

[jayb]

I picked a cob that looked ready for eating to see how they are doing, not brilliant pollination the top rows are missing but well-filled otherwise. This one looks to be red on bicolour with a few other coloured kernels thrown in. I pulled some kernels to taste and they are sweet as with good flavour at least when freshly picked.

[clumsy]

Wow they look amazing. Love the colour.

[Silverleaf]

So pretty!!!

[Jang]

Lovely to have that much colour while still sweet. I have the impression that many coloured corns need to be picked before they get much colour to get sweet cobs.

[jayb]

It does show promise and luckily is drying down nicely for seed.

[jayb]

Another cob at the other end of the colour card from the red one above. Overall cool colours of purple, blue-black, mauve and some pinky types with a speckle of yellow and white.

edit to add an earlier picture taken a day or two after picking



The picture below was taken today, I hadn't realised how much the colour had developed.

[Jang]

Lovely! Your mix is indeed a real mix. And I think you used mostly se types as parents so the eating quality should be good. Look forward to hearing more. Will you be selecting at all or do you feel you’ve arrived at what you want?

[jayb]

My goal for this year was to get enough of these older seeds germinated to return seeds from as varied a result as possible to carry forward. I was hoping for lots of bi and multi colours. Plus have enough seed to share for anyone interested in growing them on, I think still much selecting and tuning to be done.
To be honest I haven't got as far as thinking the next step yet. It will likely be clearer once I've harvested some more.
I am noticing quite a difference between early and lates, this may be one way to go?

[jayb]

Bah!!!!!
Mice took the decision to start harvesting, so I thought best to clear the crop ready or not. If I'd had the choice I would have left the plants to ripen their seeds for longer.

Still from old seeds I was going to chuck out I'm

The first group are mostly yellow with a sprinkling of white or coloured kernels.

[jayb]

Next up mostly white bicolours.

[jayb]

I like the colours in this group, some are purple-themed others more blue-black and a few multi coloured. Some of the kernels appear to be speckled with colour.

[jayb]

It has hotted up, we have reds and red bi-color