Sweetcorn
Sweetcorn is most successful in long hot summers, though many modern cultivars are better suited to cooler climates. Sow: Indoors in May, outdoors in June. Soil: Manure heavily the previous season, and mulch up the stems once the plants are established to encourage adventitious roots. Sun: Full sun Grow: Sweetcorn is wind-pollinated, so should be planted in blocks rather than rows, 18in apart, once all frosts have passed. Water well – sweetcorn mustn’t dry out. Don’t grow more than one cultivar in a small garden, unless you stagger the flowering times: cross-pollination ruins the sweet taste. Harvest: Test for ripeness when the tassels have turned chocolate brown - squeeze a grain between thumbnail and fingernail; if a watery liquid squirts out, it is unripe; if it is creamy, the cob is ready; if pastelike it is over-mature. Twist ripe cobs from the stem. They rapidly lose their flavour so have a pan of boiling water ready before you harvest, ready to plunge them in. Problems: Slugs can attack in early stages, so sow under cloches. Mice, jays and pigeons can also be a nuisance so set traps and net the crop if necessary.