Defective corn on the cob

Uneven application of RoundUp. Enjoy.

Incomplete pollination?

Our 3 or 4 feeds of corn-on-the-cob so far this year have been quite excellent. We normally buy from local farm-gate or small markets - never from the grocery store. I think it's running ~ $ 8. / dozen .. often bakers dozen .. Canuck Bucks. so ~ 50 cents per cob in exotic US dollars. We have a few dozen waiting to get sliced off, cooked, and put in the freezer. John T.

No problems with the corn here in NJ, it's been excellent this year, right at the local supermarket. The unusual thing I noticed is that the ears are giant, largest I've ever seen, most of them are giant, not just a few. And usually I do for the mid size ones because the large ones tend to be tougher and not as sweet. But these giant ones were excellent. They were restocking last time I was there, the cases indicated they came from Delaware.

Thaat would be my guess. It could be those ears were from the end rows and the pollen did not hit all the silk on the ear of corn. Each silk is connected to one kernal on the ear.

Three times already this season our largest (most stores) chain supermarket (D.C. metro area) has had a 3 day sale for corn on the cob. Five ears/dollar. We've bought 10 ears each time. All were full sized ears, with fully formed kernels, usually either white or white/yellow hybrid. All were tender, moist, sweet, absolutely delicious. Don't know where they got them, but they're doing something right.

But there were kernels there. Rows of them, the full length of the ear. Are there levels of pollination? I thought per kernel it was either yes or no. That if there is a kernel, the kernel had been polinated?

It's not that the kernels weren't complete, it's more like they used to be full size and then dried out and shrank. And only one one side of the ear, but the whole length of the ear. Like they'd spent too much time resting on that side and were crushed down like a foam pillow with something on it for weeks.

I dont' think it happened while growing (even though I suggested that), seems more like in storage, but I would have thought it couldn't happen only on one side in storage either

Does the corn all ripen at once?

What happens if more corn has ripened than their customers want that day. Do they let it sit on the stalk or do they pick it and store it for a few days, shipping out part every day.

There is almost no sweet corn production locally and I've given up on what the supermarkets sell. The one exception is the annual fair. The Rainbow Girls* sell corn on the cob in their booth and it's delicious. I don't know where they source it but they do a better job than Albertsons.

I miss it. I grew up in a small town with at least two roadside stands. When you stopped at Hank Meusenberg's to pick up a dozen after church you knew Charlotte had been out that morning picking the ears. Film's was the same way. They had a friendly competition each year to plant the most succulent variety. It took a while for the new bicolor corn to catch on but 'Butter & Sugar' was the winner.