If your sweetcorn has just thrown up its tassels, the countdown to harvest has begun — and the honest answer to “how many days from tassels to corn on the cob?” is about three weeks.
The short version
The tassels are the male flower on top; a few days later the silks emerge from each young ear (those are the female flowers, one silk per future kernel). Once the silks appear, sweetcorn is usually ready to pick 18–24 days later — call it three weeks. Different types vary a little: standard sugary types peak around 18–20 days after silking, sugar-enhanced around 20–22, and supersweet 22–26. A hot spell can pull it earlier; a cool one adds a few days.
How to know it’s actually ready
Watch the silks: when they turn brown and dry at the tip, peek back a little husk and press a kernel with your thumbnail — if the juice runs milky (not clear, not doughy), it’s at its sweetest. That “milk stage” window is short, so check daily once you’re near three weeks.
We’re timing ours this year rather than guessing — follow along on the channel to see if it matches the textbook.
More grow-alongs and experiments at roverplanet.co.uk.