It probably seems a bit weird, but most sweetcorn patches should occasionally become a virtual bog garden at this maturing stage.

The cobs are swelling fast, so to avoid half-formed kernels, the plants need all the water we can give them.

“Bald-headed” cobs and big gaps between kernels are always caused by a lack of water at this final, crucial stage of ripeness.

The traditional way of identifying ripe cobs is by the “silk”. When tufts wither and turn brown it’s a good indication that kernels have fully matured.

Mature cobs also start to lean outwards, away from stalks because of the increased weight of swollen kernels.

Harvesting is easy. Grasp each cob, pull it sharply downwards and it will snap off cleanly. Modern, super-sweet varieties keep in good conditions for a few days if stored in the crisper section of a refrigerator.

Old, traditional sweetcorn varieties do not keep as kernels lose sweetness and become starchy overnight. So pick and eat immediately.

After harvesting cobs we are left with a forest of stalks occupying the bed. I’ve long practised growing climbing beans — the ideal companions — on the sunny sides of a sweetcorn patch.

The bean plants happily use the stalks as a climbing frame and excellent yields can be obtained with little effort.

I’ve also discovered that cucumber plants can be trained to climb up sweetcorn stalks. It’s a glorious sight to see lots of cucumbers hanging almost to the tops of some stalks with harvesting continuing until the first frosts strike in April.  - Peter Cundall

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