• DELIVERY INFO: Now taking pre-orders for Spring Plants for 2024. Bare-Rooted Fruit plants will be shipped in Dec/Jan. See FAQs for further info.

Baby Sweetcorn – Minipop

£5.99

Easy to grow, crunchy, sweet and full of flavour
This is a special variety for the production of delicious mini cobs which can be harvested at about 10 cm in length.

If you are short of space, these plants can be planted much closer together than normal sweetcorn and you do not need to plant in traditional blocks to aid germination.

Number of plants: 10

Variety: Minipop (organic*)

In the kitchen: Perfect for stir-fries, steaming or to add extra crunch to your salads.

THESE PLANTS WILL BE SHIPPED IN SPRING 2024

Delivery Info: Please see FAQs for up-to-date delivery info.

When to Harvest: Plant plugs 30cm apart (20cm for baby sweetcorn). You can expect to harvest sweetcorn in late August/September.

*Transplants suitable for organic growing.

Sweetcorn

A sunny site

Choose well drained soil in a sunny, sheltered site for the best results.

Sweetcorn

Raised beds or a traditional veg plot is best

Sweetcorn plants need a little space and are best grown in raised beds or an allotment. Because they are so tall they are not well suited to growing in pots, however you can grow baby sweetcorn (Minipop) in pots or a growbag.

Sweetcorn

How far apart?

Allow 40cm between plants (baby corn can be planted 20cm apart)

Sweetcorn

Plant in grid formation

The key to growing sweetcorn is to plant them in blocks rather than rows – e.g. 3 adjacent rows rather than one long row – this allows for better cross-pollination, which means you’re more likely to get a good crop (if they don’t get pollinated, the kernels won’t swell).

Sweetcorn

Protect from frost

You need to wait until the last risk of frost before planting your sweet corns outside – until then, grow them in pots under glass. If in doubt, protect with fleece or cloche.

Sweetcorn

Water regularly

Water well for the first week or so while the sweetcorn plants are getting established. Thereafter they’ll need watering during dry spells.

Sweetcorn

Keep weeds down

Use a hoe to weed between plants on a regular basis – a couple of times a week should do the trick.

Sweetcorn

Earth up as plants get taller

Once the plants reach approx 1m tall, it is a good idea to earth them up around the base. Simply bring a little soil around the base of the plant to make a molehill like mound, and firm it down. This will give the plants a little more stability on windy days. (You don’t need to do this for baby sweetcorn)

Sweetcorn

When to harvest

Harvest sweetcorn towards the end of the summer/beginning of autumn. Once the strands on the ends of the cob start to turn dark brown (almost black) they are ready to pick. You can double check by peeling back the outer husk and piercing a kernel with your thumbnail – if the liquid is milky, it’s ready to be picked. If it’s clear, you need to be a little more patient!

For baby corn, harvest young while the tassels are still pale.

Slugs

Slug damage to young sweetcorn leaves can look a little different to normal – they don’t like the ribs in the leaves so tend to eat strips between the ribs, somewhat shredding the leaves. Set slug traps, do a dusk slug patrol, and keep your plot as tidy from debris, weeds and other slug-friendly hiding places as possible.

Earwigs

These are a surprising pest sometimes found in sweetcorn cobs, as they like to bury under the leaves on the husks. To entice them away from your crops, a few rolled up newspapers, dampened, and left lying on the soil can work. Empty out the newspaper roll from time to time at the other end of the garden!

Brown/yellow leaves

This kind of discolouration on leaves is usually due to a lack of water and nutrients. Water regularly, keeping the soil nice and moist, and apply a fortnightly liquid feed.

Symptom checker....

Leaves have shredded holes = Slugs

Very few kernels formed = Poor pollination

Brown or yellow leaves = Lack of water/nutrients

 

Storage Tips

Sweetcorn doesn’t store very well – it’s best to pick what you want to eat just before you cook it. They will last in the fridge for a few days, but it changes the texture and flavour for the worse…

Ways to cook

Surely the best way of serving sweetcorn is barbecued straight away when you pick them, with plenty of butter, and a pinch of sea salt and cracked black pepper. It’s one of the highlights of late summer!

Recipe Ideas

Make a sweetcorn salsa as an accompaniment to Mexican dishes. Boil the sweetcorn for 4-5 mins until cooked. Cut the corn off the cob using a sharp knife. Mix with finely diced red onion, red pepper and tomato, the juice of a lime, a pinch of sea salt and as much chilli as you dare!

Do I need to sign for them?
All our plug plant orders are dispatched with an overnight courier* to mainland UK and do not need to be signed for when they are delivered, but will be left somewhere safe. When placing your order, please let us know where you would like the plug plants left if you are not in when the courier delivers.

We will keep you posted
You will receive an email approximately a week before your order is dispatched and another on the day your plug plants are packed and leave us so you know to expect and prepare for their arrival.

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