Sow sweetcorn now for the luxury of just-picked cobs through late summer and autumn. You'll find a huge choice of seeds on offer now at our garden centre here in Pontypool; for reliable cropping even in cooler summers choose early-maturing varieties like 'Sundance', or look out for super-sweet 'Applause', bred to hold its sugars for longer. Or go for a fun crop with 'Red Strawberry' popping corn – deep burgundy to cook in hot oil for home-grown popcorn.
For a gourmet vegetable, sweetcorn is surprisingly obliging. Straightforward to sow, four or five seeds to a 10cm pot or into tall root trainer modules, plant seedlings out promptly and they'll grow on into tall, sturdy plants. Their upright habit means they slot in among other plants – ideal if you're strapped for space.
Plant in blocks with about 45cm each way between plants, as sweetcorn is wind-pollinated so needs another plant close by. Give your sweetcorn the sunniest spot you have, and keep well watered – if the roots are allowed to get dry you'll end up with disappointingly hard, small cobs. Then with a bit of luck from the weather, just watch them grow and enjoy one of the best late summer treats there is.
