Yes, Yes - picking to late - Definitely! Cooking to long - maybe! Todays sweet corn starts getting ready to be picked within 2 to 3 days of the silks drying. The best way I've found to tell ripeness is to start "feelin its back leg" (so-to-speak). When the silks start to dry, start feeling the ears for fullness. With a little practice, you'll be able to tell exactly when the ear quits swelling. Never, NEVER pull the shuck down unless you want to expose the ear to all manner of insects and birds. Once pulled down, you can never get it re-sealed. With the new super-sweet corns, timing is everything for maximum sweetness. Have your cooking water getting hot before you go out to pick and then leave the corn in the water only long enough to get good and hot all the way through.

Hi John, I live outside of San Antonio and I plant out a small area of corn around the first or second week of march. They don't transplant well so I just direct sow them. We put out sucessive (2 weeks apart) early bantam corn last year and got 3 harvests before it got too hot.

Tried it once. Not so good for me. I take it straight from the field, save a few for grilling in the husk, a few for the next night shucked and 2 min in a boil. The rest is just a dunk in boiling water for 1 min, let cool a bit, then cut off the ear and freeze with a FoodSaver in small packages. Takes up less space and much fresher flavor for me. I use it all winter in soups, etc. The cob is such a dry core and not really necessary but if it works for your freezer space... Our field corn is so good right now and 13ears for 2 bucks...off the ear is tiny space compared to on the cob. Maybe keeping in the husk is your good tip...i'll try a few since we grill even in the snow. But freezing 6 dozen?, haha, i can't see having an extra freezer for that!

Really important to keep it watered and given a nitrogen fertilizer frequently. Also have to use the organic insecticide spinosad to keep the bugs from the baby plants. I also shake the plants when they are in silks and tassels to make sure there is good fertilization.