Corn on the cob

I have planted corn on the cob for the first time this year.  All looks great - corns are large, but still white.  Will they still ripen if left or can I ripen them in doors?

There's nothing nicer than corn fresh from picking, I'm envious, didn't grow it this year.

Corn needs along growing season with plenty of sunshine, certainly in the later stages. I'm happy to be wrong but don't think it will ripen off the plant. I'm in the NW and in previous years not harvested till mid October at the earliest although mini corn on the cob has been earlier.  

If the strands coming out of the top of the cob have turned brown then they are well on their way to be ripe. You can peel back alittle of the cob and squeeze the kernals, watery means they are not ripe and a milky/creamy texture means they are. In sunny weather the change can happen within a few days but the weather hasn't been kind this summer. Leave them on the plant, providing you don't get frost there is still a few weeks left of growing time for them to ripen. 

You're right, Zoomer, corn won't ripen off the plant.

Here in west sussex, in the school garden, we planted three rows of sweet corn and not one has developed into a cob so presume it's the weather again - drought, then a wet/cold summer.  Last year we had a glut of sweetcorn but only the bottom two/thirds of the cob developed and became yellow, the top part was papery white.  Perhaps they needed more water?

That sounds like a pollination problem to me - sweet corn will pollinate much better if sown in a block rather than rows.  We've grown some this year in a block of 6 x 5 plants each about 15 inches apart and every plant has produced a fat cob, but yes, the poor weather has had an impact too, warm dry weather aids pollination much better than cold and damp, and a large proportion of our cobs have the top 2-3 inches undeveloped.  But to be honest we were pleasantly surprised to get a crop at all after the summer we've had, and they are delicious.

And yes, they do like plenty of water.

I agree about it probably being a pollination problem. Block-planting is designed to aid pollination. I wish it were my problem when I grow sweet corn here. Instead I keep getting hit with the dreaded Smut, the fungal problem that blows up the kernels into giant blue/grey blobs. A delicacy in some parts of the world but not for me. I never ever saw it growing sweet corn in Sydney. Here, it has hit me each time. Bah.

I recently heard the tip that you should shake the plant gently when the (male?) tassels are fully developed to aid pollination. My veg book says also that exposed roots that appear at base of stem should be covered and they really need water.

 Yes I remember when we planted sweetcorn for the first time in 2011 we did plant in blocks but somehow that got forgotten this year and we had two long straight lines.  Strange how children are capable of planting in straight lines when it's not needed.  Will put a note in our gardening book to get it right next year.  Many thanks for all the info.

artjak wrote (see)

I recently heard the tip that you should shake the plant gently when the (male?) tassels are fully developed to aid pollination.

Yes, giving the plants a shake helps get the pollen moving.

Badges eat my sweetcorn