I have two plantings of sweet corn in the same plot planted about three weeks apart. The first is ready to eat but the second planting, though flowering, shows no sign of forming cobs.

Hi Peter, is your corn planted in blocks rather than rows, corn is wind pollinated and so planting in blocks gives better pollination, wind carries pollen from the tassels to the silks, sweetcorn doesn’t rely on insects for pollination. Other reasons could be due to weather, if the weather was wet when tassels formed it makes the pollen heavy and pollination variable. Sudden temperature changes or drying out when the tassels appear can affect pollination. Consistently high temperatures over 26 degrees C can also have an effect, it may be that temperatures were a lot higher with the later crop, when tassels formed the silks may have dried out and so weren’t receptive to pollen. Check the silks, are they brown and dry? They should be golden and fresh looking.

Lianne