Plant sweetcorn in the spring and by late summer you’ll be picking lots of fresh cobs, which are far tastier and more succulent than any you can buy in the shop.
Sweetcorn is wind pollinated and best planted in large blocks, where the male flowers at the top of the plant have more opportunity to shed their pollen on the female tassels (where the cobs will form) below. Each plant will produce one or two cobs, so work
Sweetcorn likes free-draining, moisture retentive soil. If you can, prepare the bed the previous autumn before planting, adding plenty of well-rotted manure to the soil. Don’t worry if you never had time, beds can still be made in the spring. First remove weeds and dig over the site with a spade, removing any particularly large stones. Level roughly and then work over the area with a rake to leave a fine finish. out how many cobs you are likely to need (you can freeze them) and provide enough space to achieve this.
Ready-grown plants will establish quickly and provide cobs earlier than sowing seed directly into the soil. In April, fill a 7.5cm pot with compost, make a 2.5cm deep hole in the top with dibber (a pencil will do if you don’t have one) and drop two seeds in. Cover, water and put on a windowsill to germinate. When seedlings are about 2cm tall discard the weakest one and put plants in a shady place outdoors to toughen up before planting out.