Sweet Corn Season in Full Swing

It’s officially sweet corn season in our area, and local farms and farmers markets will be selling ears throughout the summer months.

The season began a little later this year because of the wet spring the county had, said Andrew Frankenfield, Agricultural Educator for Penn State’s Cooperative Extension in Montgomery County.

The typical growing season for sweet corn is from early July through mid-October, according to the extension center’s agricultural products map and guide for our area.

Frankenfield said it’s easy to tell if an ear of corn is healthy. At the market, pick up an ear and make sure it doesn’t have any air spaces inside between any kernels. He said if it’s full and filled to the top, it means that the ear is pollinated and a good ear of corn.

According to Frankenfield, it is possible to tell how fresh the corn is by simply looking at it. If the shank of the corn stalk is clean and white, that means it has been picked recently. If it wasn’t picked recently, the shank will be brown.

Rich Halteman, owner of R & J Farm Market in Souderton, said it’s best to buy corn the day you plan on eating it.

“If you’re going to use it today, buy it today,” Halteman said.

However, Halteman said a new variety of corn grown on his 35-acre farm will stay fresh in the refrigerator for a few days. If you plan on saving the corn for a few days, Halteman suggests leaving the husk on the ear while keeping it cool.

R & J Farm picks about 1,200 ears of corn on selling days, Halteman said. Its season started at the end of June and will continue until the end of September.

The farm is selling a dozen ears of corn for $4.50 and 100 ears for $25, he said. For those who plan to order a larger amount of corn, the farm market has a machine that will take the silk off to make freezing it easier.

R & J Farm has also been looking ahead to October with its corn maze. The cornfield has been trimmed to look like a baseball diamond with a batter hitting a ball. The design also says “Phillies World Champs 2011,” Halteman said. He acknowledged that part of the design was perhaps premature.

“Hopefully they win, or I will have to burn the field down,” Halteman said, jokingly.

For more information on R & J Farms and their produce, visit www.randjfarmmarket.com/index2.html.

Other farms in the county that sell sweet corn include Merrymead Farm in Worcester, Northern Star Farm in Trappe, Skippack Creek Farm in Souderton and Maple Acres Farm in Plymouth Meeting.