Can you easily dry and store sweet corn?

[Tstraub]

This year in addition to our regular garden I planted a plot of sweet corn. I have harvested and put up enough for the family to get through the year without buying any corn.

I still have standing corn ready to harvest but I don’t have any use for it. We have shared some with family and friends. Their isn’t enough to bother trying to sell it so I’m just curious if anyone has successfully dried sweet corn to feed to their chickens.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yes. That's how you save it for seed but yours is almost certainly a hybrid so it would not be suitable to save for seed. It should work well as a treat for the chickens though.

I'd leave it on the plant in your garden as long as you reasonably can so it can mature and dry. It needs to be very dry before you store it long term and it needs to be mature so it will be easier to shell. I'd want it to at least have dried enough for the kernels to start shriveling up before you harvest it. Sweet corn kernels will probably shrivel, field corn or popcorn kernels should not.

If you have to harvest before it is really dry make sure you store it in the dry where air can get to it so it can continue to dry. Be careful about piling it up.

You can either feed it to them on the cob (I usually do after husking it) or you can shell it and give them the shelled corn. I consider it a treat and don't give a lot to them at one time, just like other treats.

As far as I'm concerned that's a lot better use for excess sweet corn than using it for compost.

 

[Tstraub]

Yes. That's how you save it for seed but yours is almost certainly a hybrid so it would not be suitable to save for seed. It should work well as a treat for the chickens though.

I'd leave it on the plant in your garden as long as you reasonably can so it can mature and dry. It needs to be very dry before you store it long term and it needs to be mature so it will be easier to shell. I'd want it to at least have dried enough for the kernels to start shriveling up before you harvest it. Sweet corn kernels will probably shrivel, field corn or popcorn kernels should not.

If you have to harvest before it is really dry make sure you store it in the dry where air can get to it so it can continue to dry. Be careful about piling it up.

You can either feed it to them on the cob (I usually do after husking it) or you can shell it and give them the shelled corn. I consider it a treat and don't give a lot to them at one time, just like other treats.

As far as I'm concerned that's a lot better use for excess sweet corn than using it for compost.

Thanks for your reply. Yes it is a hybrid. Specially it’s peaches and cream. It’s the most popular bicolor corn locally available because it does well in the area.

I did dry out sunflower seeds for them last fall and it worked well. Sounds like a similar process so it shouldn’t be too much trouble to do a small batch.

I do plan to feed them primarily prepared chicken feed and use it only as a treat. I like to always have something special for them on hand it helps when I want to round them all up quickly when I don’t have time to wait for sunset during free range times.

 

[nuthatched]

Freezer corn, or you can put it in a dehydrator.

 

[Tstraub]

Freezer corn, or you can put it in a dehydrator.

I already put 50 meal sized bags in the freezer. All remaining freezer space is currently reserved for tomatoes until I get enough to fill the roaster pan and make sauce

Dehydrator is an interesting idea. I was planning to dehydrate a bunch of peppers soon maybe I’ll look into it.

 

[aimee750]

Let it dry done like stated above and then keep it for winter use. Feed it to the chickens on the really cold nights this winter.

 

[Sally PB]

Dehydrate it. You can add it to soups too. If the chickens will share.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Can it in mason jars. Better than frozen in my opinion. Check the Sam's price before though, might not be worth your time.

 

[Loving my girls]

This year in addition to our regular garden I planted a plot of sweet corn. I have harvested and put up enough for the family to get through the year without buying any corn.

I still have standing corn ready to harvest but I don’t have any use for it. We have shared some with family and friends. Their isn’t enough to bother trying to sell it so I’m just curious if anyone has successfully dried sweet corn to feed to their chickens.

We store ours by Canning in jars for later in the year or just chuck em in the freezer complete.
Never dried it as it is grown by farmers around here and they have it fresh throughout the season. I cook it then hang it from bushes in the wood. I think it’s the hens that eat it
I once asked a farmer if we could have some, never again as he turned up with a trailer load … I had 10 hens we took a bucket load, he had coffee and cake then left giggling at the crazy English.

 

[Tstraub]

I’ve been at it for about 30 minutes and I have way more than I would need if I were planting this corn. Those 40 pound bags for $9 seem pretty reasonable lol. It’s not difficult just time consuming. now I understand the process and I know I could do it in the event of an apocalypse