Sweet corn is at the peak of freshness all across Virginia.

While some summer vegetables can be found in other seasons thanks to high tunnels, sweet corn is only readily available in the summer months.

In Virginia Beach, Mike Cullipher and his father, Louis, grow six different sweet corn varieties on Cullipher Farms. He said this year’s sweet corn crop looks “pretty good.” They planted the corn a little later than usual because of cold weather, but the crop grew quickly and was ready for picking in mid-June.

“We have been fortunate to have just the right amount of rain for the last six weeks,” Cullipher noted. His family sells the corn at their on-farm market, at two farmers’ markets and through their CSA program.
Cullipher said his family believes Virginians like sweet corn so much because “it’s the true taste of summer.”

Sweet corn is grown throughout Virginia and is a popular vegetable at farmers’ markets during the summer. “Depending on your location in the commonwealth, fresh local sweet corn may be available between mid-June and mid-October,” noted Tony Banks, a commodity marketing specialist for Virginia Farm Bureau Federation.

Bob French, part-owner of his family’s Sunny Side Farms in Cumberland County, said he has been growing about 10 acres of sweet corn for the past 30 years. His family currently grow the most up-to-date variety of white sweet corn and sells it at their farmstand and at markets in Dillwyn and Powhatan.

French said customers buying local sweet corn value its freshness. “We pick before dawn, and when our customers buy our corn, it’s just a few hours after we’ve picked it.”

Did you know?

• No matter how much sweet corn you eat this summer, each ear will have an ever number of kernel rows.
• Baby corn, like you see in stir-fry dishes and on salad bars, is sweet corn that’s been harvested early and can be eaten cob and all.
• According to Guinness World Records, the most corn husked by hand in one minute is 13 ears.