Sweet Corn- Su? Se? Sh-2? What Does It All Mean?

Dad

My Dad loved to grow just about everything, but I do believe sweet corn was his favorite.  When I first started to help my Dad in the sweet corn field, what kind of  sweet corn to plant wasn't much of an issue.  I don't recall the variety name, but it was always Trojan brand.  That was the brand that produced the biggest, juiciest, sweetest ears.  Dad's sweet corn patch was always planted out in the fields, safely away from the field corn, but with plenty of space.  I also don't recall anymore how many acres he planted, but it seemed like the sweet corn field went on and on forever. 

When the corn was ready, word went out around the community, and people would come from all the neighboring towns to buy sweet corn by the bushel.  I was the youngest in the family, and by default, the job of selling that sweet corn fell to me.  People would drive in the yard, I'd leave a note on the door for future customers to come on out to the field, along with directions on how to get there, and I'd jump in with the customer and we'd go pick.  I remember the price going from $1.75 a bushel early on in my sales career to $3.75 the last year I was in charge of sales.  That kept me busy for a couple weeks just before school started each summer. 

That corn was a standard (su) cultivar.  It had the traditional flavor of sweet corn and that nice, crisp yet tender texture.  The downside of that corn was that when it was "ready", each ear lasted only a couple days in the field and then it started to get a little too firm and too starchy.  Once picked, it really was only at its best if cooked almost immediately.  In su cultivars, the sugars in the kernels begin to turn to starch right away and it quickly loses its sweetness.  Close to suppertime each day during corn season, I would hop in the 1936 Hudson Terraplane that was our farm knockaround vehicle, prop myself up on pillows so I could see over the top of the steering wheel,  and drive to the field to pick enough for a big kettle full of corn.  We'd clean that corn and throw it in a kettle of boiling water as soon as we got it home.  There was nothing like that corn, dripping with melted real butter and a little dab of salt and pepper.  Yum, yum, yum!

Times have changed though, and people no longer are able to guarantee that those ears of corn will be cleaned and cooked within minutes of picking.  So, new cultivars that hold their quality longer have been developed over the years.  These are the sugar-enhanced (se) and the shrunken-2 (sh-2) varieties.

The sugar-enhanced (se) cultivars have a higher sugar content than the su cultivars but not as high as the sh-2 cultivars.  The se varieties have a nice, tender kernel and retain their sweetness for longer after picking than standard varieties, making them more suited for commercial sales.  These varieties generally are planted about a week later than su varieties and can be stored for a couple days after picking.

The sh-2 varieties are called that because of the shrunken appearance of the seed when it is dried.  These are also known as the "super sweet" varieties.  The sh-2 varieties are about twice as sweet as su varieties.  They need to be planted later than even the se varieties, as they need warm soil temperatures to germinate.  The ears stay fresh in the garden longer than other varieties, as well as having a longer shelf life after picking, sometimes staying sweet for as long as a week after picking if kept in the right conditions.  The downside of the sh-2 varieties is that the kernels tend to be a little tough and they need to be isolated from all other corn varieties to keep from cross-pollinating.

Synergistic varieties are a combination of se and sh-2, with about 75% se kernels and 25% sh-2, combining the sweetness and keeping qualities of the sh-2 varieties with the tenderness of the se kernels.  Synergistic varieties also need to be separated from se and standard varieties.

All sweet corn varieties need to be isolated from field corn, popcorn and ornamental corn, but sh-2 varieties need to be separated from se and standard varieties by about 250 feet and out of the path of prevailing winds.  In the average home garden, this isn't always practical so the choice between the  sh-2 or the se and standard varieties needs to be made.  Personally, I prefer the se varieties because of the good sugar content while still having tender kernels.  The se varieties seem better for canning and freezing, as well.

I plant a variety of se and su varieties with varying maturity rates.  That way, we can enjoy that delicious fresh sweet corn for an extended period of time.  I have some old standby favorites that I plant every year.   "Bodacious" is my favorite se variety.  It produces ears with large, sweet, yellow  kernels in about 80 days.   Delectable is another favored se variety.  It is a bicolor, with white and yellow kernels, very sweet and tender.  It produces an average of two to three good sized ears per stalk and matures in about 84 days.  For an earlier se variety, I sometimes plant Sugar Buns, which matures in about 75 days, with 7 1/2 inch ears covered with sweet, creamy yellow kernels.

Early Xtra Super Sweet and Northern Xtra Sweet are sh-2 varieties that do well for me and produce very early, in about 65 to 70 days.  I like to plant just a small patch of this to get us started on the sweet corn season.

We plant the bulk of our corn to mature about the third week in August.  It's become a tradition that Wiese Acres throws a big barbecue supper and corn feed one Saturday evening during sweet corn time.  We invite about 150 people to share summer's bounty with us and enjoy a beautiful summer evening with good company, leisurely strolls through the gardens, and, of course, all the sweet corn we can eat, dripping with real butter and lightly sprinkled with salt and pepper.

Hmm.  My stomach is growling just thinking about it!