Doug, those were concerns of mine too. I'm planning on not planting them all at once :), spacing their planting times out so that I don't have it all 'come in' at the same time. With regards to cross pollination, according to the folks at the grain elevator, if I plant one variety and do not plant the other variety until the first one has two regular leaves on its stalk, then their pollination times should not overlap. ..........Does anyone have experience with this, and in Michigan, do I have enough time to get it all planted spacing them out like that? Fortunately, I have enough acreage that I can keep them apart to minimize the risk of cross pollinating, if I need to.
.....Any thoughts on this?
What's your favorite variety of super-dooper sweet corn? :)
Glenda,I raised 8 plantings last year and spacing them out every 12 days works well..
I have raised Bodacious and it is a very good grower with large ears. It sounds like a good variety for canning or freezing. I prefer Incredible yellow for fresh eating....plus a good bi-color.
Question about Mirai corn seed sold by Park. I guess I fell for their catalog spiel and ordered some. But first I checked a few online articles that claimed it wasn't GMO. I'd like to know if it is or not, because I'd rather not plant that type of seed. Too many unknowns.
I did grow some "Extra Tender 2573 F1" from Johnny's last year and it was really good, sweet and tender.
Mirai is actually a synergistic. It is not a GMO. As far as I can determine only Sygenta offers GMO and those are only available to commercial growers. You have to sign an agreement, specifying growing conditions to get them. There are 10 varieties offered under the Mirai trademark. I was going to refer you the website of the company producing the seed, but they have either taken it down or failed to pay their domain bill. At any rate 421 W is a white that I trying this year. 002, 130, 131 are yellows. 003,301, 327, 336, and 350 are bi-colors.
Thanks Dill, I was sure you would be able to help me with the answer. I still don't really understand what synergistic is, but I will have to do my homework and learn more about it.
Synergistics are mixed type corn, usually about 25% Sh2 and 75 % Se. often marketed as "triple sweet". better texture and tenderness than supersweets (SH2) and do not require the stringent isolation assocaited with super sweets. http://www.extension.iastate.edu/news/2007/jan/071701.htm http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=G6390
Glenda, glad to see this thread pop back up again. I have had the best luck with Spring Treat Treated F1 (se) Yellow Corn seed from Johnny's in the past, but two years ago I was too late on ordering and they were already out of seed. I went to a local source and purchased a similar seed, however it was tougher for some reason. I went back to Johnny's early this year with an order and it was back ordered again. I have considered doing what you mentioned at the beginning of this thread, to purchase an open pollinated variety and same some for seed.
My problem is a very short growing season and I have to be very careful about the seed selection to make sure the growing time is 70 days or less in order to get a crop in. In the past I planted the seed around the time the apple blossoms fall, which is generally late in May. The harvest comes around mid August which is also when we start getting frosts. We don't have sufficient time to stager seed planting so all my seed goes in a one time.
I did read something about digging an eight inch trench to plant the corn seed in and placing boards on either side of the trench with glass on top. I am considering a modified version of this approach and planting some corn seed in early May. Typically I have to go back and reseed about ten percent of my corn seed anyway so if it fails nothing lost. I follow FarmerDill's advice on planting the corn seed fourteen inches apart, so I only need about 50 seeds to a 60 foot row. I plant eight rows, so about 250 seeds are generally enough for planting. I requested information on an open pollinate corn variety which would meet my requirements, however I never received any responses which fit my requirements. .
Most open pollinated sweet corn has a long season 80 -95 days. Golden Midget mentioned in a earlier thread is listed as 60 -90 days depending on source. I have not grown it. There are varieties devloped in Canada and Alaska that are very early. Tried Polar Vee and did not like it. Denali Seeds has Yukon Chief http://www.bestcoolseeds.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=85&products_id=258 Lots of hybrids in the early category, but have not found one with texture and flavor comparable to midseason-late varieties. Some are edible tho.
Your comment Farmerdill on taste and depending on source intrigues me. I have spoiled the family with the Spring Treat Treated F1 (se) Yellow Corn seed from Johnny's. My attempt to replace it with a northern extra sweet corn which I purchased locally didn't fare too well. We still have a freezer full which will probably end up being worm food. I intend to contact Johnny's to see if they plan to fill my order before May. If not I will probably cut back to four rows of some other type of hybrid sweet corn for short season growing. It just seems that the short season, open pollinated varieties won't work for my picky crew.
Glenda, I'm trying out Bodacious for the first time this year as well. I guess we will be compairing notes at the end of the year. It is very popular here in Texas, I've been told at the farmer's co-op. I couldn't help wondering if that was because of the bull or the BBQ sauce), not the corn. But we'll find out in the end won't we! Half the fun of gardening is trying something new. And this year I just might have a bumper crop on newbies-for-me!
Farmer Dill, on my sheet listing the corn varieties from the grain elevator, they list MIRAI-308BC and MIRAI-350BC.
[If they have them in stock], should I grow one of the Mirai rather than the 274A? ........Also, I don't have a clue what is meant by SH2, Se, etc.; it's all Greek to me (I have SO much to learn.), but IF they have Mirai, would I need to worry about cross pollination if I'm growing it with Bodacious? If yes, then what planting interval do I need to plant them so that they don't pollinate at the same time? I've asked the folks at the grain elevator how many days till each variety starts pollinating and they don't know.
Terri_emory, I'm excited to have you growing Bodacious with me for the first time! Yes! We'll exchange notes! With you being to the extreme south and me to the extreme north, this should be quite the comparison! ;) I'm encouraged to hear that Bodacious is popular down there. It would really bum-me-out to spend a whole summer growing a variety that I didn't end up liking. ....I feel for mraider3, who has a freezer full of corn they don't like. :(
Indy, did your spacing your plantings out every 12 days keep your varieties from cross pollinating? Or was it to just prevent your corn from coming in all at once? .....Or both?
I have not grown Mirae. Am trialing 421 W this summer. 308 BC and 350 BC are listed as augmented supersweets, which require isolation. Some sources list 350 BC as a a synergistic which does not require isolation. Xtra Tender 274A is also listed as an Sh2-Se/plus which should be compatible with the Mirai. Bodacious is a yellow Se. I have grown its sisters Ambrosia (bi-color) and Argent (white). For those few folks who grow yellow corn in this area Merit dominates. They have a similar DTM to the Mirai , Xtra Tender series, so time or space isolation would be advisable until you know for sure whether crosspollination is detrimental to flavor. http://www.crookham.com/products/index.php?cat=Sweet Corn Fresh Market&sub=SE %26 SU Series
Glenda...both.
Actually, I tend to plant about 10 or 11 days apart. For someone not concerned about as many plantings, 12 or 14 days might be better.
Op...open pollinated for old time texture and taste...uh, kinda flat and starchy for us spoiled ones.
su.....older hybrids without extra sweetness and these get starchy fast.
se and EH....first of the sweeter and longer lasting corns.
se+...homozygous are fully [100%] sweetened.
synergistic....25% sh2 and 75% se+
sh2.....supersweet corn
Well folks, regarding my sweet corn, I'm checking back in at the end of the season....
I ended up only able to grow the sweet corn, Bodacious, this summer. We got tons of rain and cool temps this past spring and even the "real" farmers had to put their crops in late. As for me, I had too much going on to be able to grow more than one variety this summer.
I just went to the garden and picked a couple ears of Bodacious, came inside, and cooked it. I must say that I'm pretty disappointed in it. It's not sweet at all; very much like canned corn. Not bad, but not the outstanding sweet yellow/white corn that I've purchased from a road-side vegetable stand right down the road. I've decided that I won't grow Bodacious again. ....While I was waiting for MY corn to mature, I was able to freeze 23 quarts of the yellow/white sweet corn I mentioned above. There is simply NO comparison between the two. :( .....Gotta find out what variety the yellow/white corn is......
Terri_emory, are you still out there? Did you end up growing Bodacious? If so, how did it do??? Can't wait to hear....
Glenda
Bodacious was the one sweet corn I was able to grow. Our season was cut short due to the extreme heat (both night and day temps), extreme drought, and high winds. The Country Gentleman was just not able to stand up to these conditions. Candy Corn tried but the ears were pretty stunded. It didn't help that I broke two finger and had to have two surgeries to fix the fingers. So I wasn't able to get out and irrigate as I would have liked. I was ordered to stay inside and away from any possibility of exposure to dirt--yeah, right! But the fingers look pretty good now and I have almost complete mobility with them, so I can always grow more corn next year (I'm a Cubs fan so I'm used to waiting 'till next year).
I agree with you, Bodacious is not as sweet as some others I've tried. Although it did manage to pull through very difficult conditions to produce some corn, I feel that I won't grow it again next year either. I'll probably give Candy Corn another try as I don't think it got a fair shake this year. I'll still grow Contry Gentleman as that is the family favorite. Always willing to try another variety, will just have to decide which one over the winter!
Glenda, if you find out what variety the yellow/white corn is, then I'll try that.....