Sweet Corn (Peaches and Cream)

📖 About This Plant

Sweet Corn (Peaches and Cream) is a bicolor sugary-enhanced (SE) sweet corn variety that became enormously popular in home gardens and farmers markets starting in the 1980s for its distinctive two-tone kernel pattern — alternating yellow and white kernels on each ear — and its exceptional sweetness combined with a tender, creamy texture that ordinary yellow sweet corn can't match. The bicolor appearance isn't just visual: yellow and white kernels genuinely have slightly different flavor profiles, with the white kernels being milder and the yellow kernels slightly more corn-forward, creating a complexity in each bite. Peaches and Cream reaches harvest in 80–85 days, producing 7–8 inch ears on stalks 5–6 feet tall. The SE genetics mean it maintains sweetness longer after harvest than standard sweet corn, though freshly picked and immediately cooked is still the gold standard.

📊 Quick Facts

📅 When to Plant in Your Area

🌱 Care Tips

Grow Peaches and Cream in full sun only — corn is a heavy user of sunlight and fertilizer. Plant in blocks of at least 4 rows (not in single long rows) for adequate wind pollination; isolated single rows produce poorly filled ears. Direct sow after last frost when soil temperature reaches 60°F minimum, planting 1 inch deep and 12 inches apart. Thin to 15 inches if germination is dense. Corn is a heavy nitrogen feeder — apply a high-nitrogen fertilizer when plants are 6 inches tall (side-dress the row) and again when they are 18 inches. Water consistently and deeply, especially during silking and ear fill: one deep weekly watering is better than light daily irrigation. When corn silks appear, each silk is connected to one potential kernel — any silk that is not pollinated by a pollen grain results in an empty kernel spot on the ear. Check for corn earworm (caterpillars at the silk end); apply a few drops of vegetable oil to the silk tip once silks begin to brown to smother eggs. Harvest when silks are completely brown and dry, about 20–24 days after silking. The 'thumbnail test': pierce a kernel with your thumbnail — milky sap means perfect ripeness; watery sap is too early; doughy sap is too late. Peaches and Cream holds sweetness longer than standard types but is still best eaten within 24 hours of harvest.

🤝 Companion Plants

These plants grow well alongside Sweet Corn:

🌿 Related Vegetable

More vegetable that grow in similar conditions:

❓ Frequently Asked Questions