Harvesting sweet corn

August and fresh sweet corn—what is better than an ear of corn only minutes away from the garden?

Harvesting sweet corn can be tricky. Know the days of maturity for the variety planted. Days to maturity differ by variety and can vary from as few as 70 days to as many as 100. Count forward from seedling emergence to predict harvest date.

For the sweetest and best tasting sweet corn, it is important to harvest when ears are fully ripe but not past prime. Check corn for maturity early in the day before the heat builds up, as ears are cooler in the morning and still fully hydrated.

A good indicator of ripeness is tassels losing their luster. Tassels are the pollen-producing male flowers on the top of the stalk. Tassels of young plants are bright golden yellow that slowly darken as ears mature.

Picking corn is a kinesthetic experience—the next step is the most enjoyable.

Walk rows of corn and feel the ears of each corn stalk. Ears should feel plump, well-filled from the base of the ear at the attachment juncture to the silks. Stalks will have one, sometimes two, ears half-way to a third of the way down the stalk. If two ears have developed on the stalk, the second ear will be lower and generally smaller and will mature later than the primary ear.

Continuing down the row, check silks of every ear. If silks are still light in color and the ear is not well-filled, wait a few days. Silks of a ripe ear will be turning brown, drying slightly, but husks are still green with no dried edges.

If an ear has passed the tassel, silk and feel tests, peel the husk to expose kernels . Kernels should be in tight rows and filled to the tip of the ear. Now give kernels the milk test: just-right kernels will ooze a liquid milk when punctured; if no liquid, the ear is past, if watery, too early.

To harvest, grasp the entire ear and twist from the base as it is pulled away from the stalk. Sometimes ears will need to be cut with pruners or with a knife.

Refrigerate ears as soon as possible after harvesting as sugars in the kernels quickly convert from sugar to starch. Starchy corn has lost its sweetness.