Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Babycat on May 18, 2014, 16:18
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So, I am about to plant out my sweetcorn before they occupy the whole kitchen window. They are 30cm tall.
The only thing is, some of them look a little flimsy. Am I better off growing them on is other pots or just planting out. As they have a shallow root system, I am concerned they wont thrive in post :unsure:
Any tips?
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You need to harden them off outside and letting the root system establish itself before throwing them straight into the ground.
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Last year I followed John Harrison's instructions and got an absolutely stunning crop of huge, juicy, sugar-sweet corn that friends and family kept asking for more of! Think the hot July helped to be honest but I took his advice about feeding. Basically sweetcorn is a very hungry plant and needs loads of food. Plus a decent amount of space between each plant to grow well. So: when planting, make a shallow circular depression a few cms deep and around 15cm wide and plant into the middle of that, spacing plants a good 50cm apart in a block formation. Add a small handful of fertiliser (I used FBB) and water in well. Once ur plants are a couple of feet high, add a handful of chicken pellets around each plant. Again a month later. That's what I'll be doing again this year. All the best, fresh corn is one of the highlights of the allotment year in my book!
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Last year I followed John Harrison's instructions and got an absolutely stunning crop of huge, juicy, sugar-sweet corn that friends and family kept asking for more of! Think the hot July helped to be honest but I took his advice about feeding. Basically sweetcorn is a very hungry plant and needs loads of food. Plus a decent amount of space between each plant to grow well. So: when planting, make a shallow circular depression a few cms deep and around 15cm wide and plant into the middle of that. Add a small handful of fertiliser (I used FBB) and water in well. Once ur plants are a couple of feet high, add a handful of chicken pellets around each plant. Again a month later. That's what I'll be doing again this year. All the best, fresh corn is one of the highlights of the allotment year in my book!
When are you planting out?
B
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Tomorrow morning! No doubt i should harden off first but as its going to be 26C here tomorrow apparently and warm all week I'm gonna risk it. Did the same last year and it was fine. Have read that some people on here put a soda bottle on each plant as a cloche to get the plant going and offer protection. Seems like a great idea if you're at all worried.
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Tomorrow morning! No doubt i should harden off first but as its going to be 26C here tomorrow apparently and warm all week I'm gonna risk it. Did the same last year and it was fine. Have read that some people on here put a soda bottle on each plant as a cloche to get the plant going and offer protection. Seems like a great idea if you're at all worried.
They are too tall for that - thinking of covering with a fleecy tunnel for a few days while they settle in.
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I always cover sweet corn with enviromesh when I plant out, just for a week. It tends to protect them from any winds etc. whilst finding their feet. Fleece would obviously do the same job. The bed was very well manured in October and has had an April BFB and chicken pellet treatment.
They will get 4 or 5 days hardening off this week in a very sheltered spot in their pots, including overnight, if the temperatures allow it. The plant out is then the Whitsun weekend. Sort of traditional for me. Normally accompanied by tomatoes, but they went out earlier this week due to the good weather. I was tempted to plan out the corn as well but it wasn't quite far enough on.
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I am keeping my method secret incase it fails and I look like a twit
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If you have the time,compost & pots there would be no harm in potting on, then hardening off before planting out in a week or even two.
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I am way behind could not get the variety Rosemary likes, she has bought some when visiting my Daughter in Cumbria I will not get the seeds until to morrow, just hope they will catch up.
Lost a lot of my plants last year due to frost even though they were in the greenhouse, but then I did start them early due to going away in early spring.
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I only sowed mine on Friday Dugless as I am on holiday this week so they should be germinated by the time I get back
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thank you for that, I put mine in a tray on wet kitchen paper towels in a propagator till they shoot that way I only pot on the good ones.
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I always put a handful of chicken pellets in the hole and watered them in to a mush,then planted and always had a good crop,but last year i didnt do it and the crop was noticeably down so its back to it this year.
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I planted mine out last weekend after being hardened off on the yard for about a week. some look like they might not make it so I am sowing a second phase now to in-fill if need (same variety).
I was weighing up whether to sow into 1 litre yogurt pots this time to establish a better root system - longer tan conventional pots - or I have a set of six inch root trainers (just longer than a loo roll), but not sure about using these as the sweetcorn root tends to head for the bottom of the pot and then not really fill the root ball out so trainers may not encourage a good root ball for transplanting.
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What is the latest date you could reasonably plant out? How long a growing season are they? I'm thinking of planting in the spot where my early potatoes come out. Won't be for a few weeks yet.
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Last year I sowed my last sweetcorn seeds on 7 June, planted them out on 30 June and had a delicious tasty reaping of them. they were Earlibird so a quickish variety. You will have to use an early variety and I'd say you should sow your seed in a heated spot 4 weeks before you dig your spuds out.
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Last year I sowed my last sweetcorn seeds on 7 June, planted them out on 30 June and had a delicious tasty reaping of them. they were Earlibird so a quickish variety. You will have to use an early variety and I'd say you should sow your seed in a heated spot 4 weeks before you dig your spuds out.
Thanks for this Gavin. I'll get some seeds soon. Not grown sweetcorn before so looking forward to trying it.
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I am keeping my method secret incase it fails and I look like a twit
:lol:
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I planted mine out last weekend after being hardened off on the yard for about a week. some look like they might not make it so I am sowing a second phase now to in-fill if need (same variety).
I was weighing up whether to sow into 1 litre yogurt pots this time to establish a better root system - longer tan conventional pots - or I have a set of six inch root trainers (just longer than a loo roll), but not sure about using these as the sweetcorn root tends to head for the bottom of the pot and then not really fill the root ball out so trainers may not encourage a good root ball for transplanting.
Root trainers are excellent for sweetcorn. No disturbance of the roots at all.
The theory of root trainers is that when the roots grow out of the bottom they are air pruned and start to produce side shoots higher up.
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Thanks Salmo, so air pruning - that's like heading back stems to encourage bushy growth, but with roots.
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Last year I sowed my last sweetcorn seeds on 7 June, planted them out on 30 June and had a delicious tasty reaping of them. they were Earlibird so a quickish variety. You will have to use an early variety and I'd say you should sow your seed in a heated spot 4 weeks before you dig your spuds out.
Thanks for this Gavin. I'll get some seeds soon. Not grown sweetcorn before so looking forward to trying it.
YUou've not grown sweet corn before?? You don't know what you've been missing - just you wait! ;)
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Last year I followed John Harrison's instructions and got an absolutely stunning crop of huge, juicy, sugar-sweet corn that friends and family kept asking for more of! Think the hot July helped to be honest but I took his advice about feeding. Basically sweetcorn is a very hungry plant and needs loads of food. Plus a decent amount of space between each plant to grow well. So: when planting, make a shallow circular depression a few cms deep and around 15cm wide and plant into the middle of that, spacing plants a good 50cm apart in a block formation. Add a small handful of fertiliser (I used FBB) and water in well. Once ur plants are a couple of feet high, add a handful of chicken pellets around each plant. Again a month later. That's what I'll be doing again this year. All the best, fresh corn is one of the highlights of the allotment year in my book!
Yo! I'm going to try this method very shortly as mine are nearly ready for planting both in my GH and outside. The only thing is, reading another sweetcorn post and looking on my seed website, there is no info to say they grew to 8 foot high! :ohmy: When their tassels have finished their job, can I cut them off to give me more headroom in the GH?
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If your plants are a little leggy,you can bury as much of the stem as you like. Sweetcorn readily roots from the stem, and will give you plants that are more secure in windy conditions.
Totty
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Last year I followed John Harrison's instructions and got an absolutely stunning crop of huge, juicy, sugar-sweet corn that friends and family kept asking for more of! Think the hot July helped to be honest but I took his advice about feeding. Basically sweetcorn is a very hungry plant and needs loads of food. Plus a decent amount of space between each plant to grow well. So: when planting, make a shallow circular depression a few cms deep and around 15cm wide and plant into the middle of that, spacing plants a good 50cm apart in a block formation. Add a small handful of fertiliser (I used FBB) and water in well. Once ur plants are a couple of feet high, add a handful of chicken pellets around each plant. Again a month later. That's what I'll be doing again this year. All the best, fresh corn is one of the highlights of the allotment year in my book!
Yo! I'm going to try this method very shortly as mine are nearly ready for planting both in my GH and outside. The only thing is, reading another sweetcorn post and looking on my seed website, there is no info to say they grew to 8 foot high! :ohmy: When their tassels have finished their job, can I cut them off to give me more headroom in the GH?
Hi Goosegirl, apologies but I have no idea if you could cut the spent tassels off. Sound sensible but I'm sure there are loads more people on here that are much more knôwledgable about these things :) I grow my corn outside, am using the same method as last year, if it works again then yay, if not....then it's off to Waitrose I suppose!
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And try and plant them where badgers can't get them, the blighters bashed down all of the sweetcorn on all our plots, and mangled the cobs!
A good, well supported metal net might do the trick!
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I put mine in a heated try on wet kitchen towelling on Monday today they have sprouted a tail will pot them up when the shoot appears.
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And try and plant them where badgers can't get them, the blighters bashed down all of the sweetcorn on all our plots, and mangled the cobs!
A good, well supported metal net might do the trick!
These are on year three and seem to work.
(http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s184/judey_wooo/plot/4f910130c1a48ef86f8976a74956a578.jpg)
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And try and plant them where badgers can't get them, the blighters bashed down all of the sweetcorn on all our plots, and mangled the cobs!
A good, well supported metal net might do the trick!
Yeah - I remember reading your previous post about that and could have wept for you! I am not aware of any badger problems around here, so some will go in the GH and their tassels cut off after pollination; the other will go outsaide but I will plant them quite deeply so they don't get blown over.
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And try and plant them where badgers can't get them, the blighters bashed down all of the sweetcorn on all our plots, and mangled the cobs!
A good, well supported metal net might do the trick!
These are on year three and seem to work.
(http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s184/judey_wooo/plot/4f910130c1a48ef86f8976a74956a578.jpg)
That looks pretty damn good, BQ! Ours are at home this year, as badgers and brick walls never go together!
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And try and plant them where badgers can't get them, the blighters bashed down all of the sweetcorn on all our plots, and mangled the cobs!
A good, well supported metal net might do the trick!
Yeah - I remember reading your previous post about that and could have wept for you! I am not aware of any badger problems around here, so some will go in the GH and their tassels cut off after pollination; the other will go outsaide but I will plant them quite deeply so they don't get blown over.
I suppose you get all the wind meant for Ireland where you are, Goosers!
Good idea to get some inside though, I've never thought of doing that!
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It's something I have done for the last three years and works a treat, especially as they appreciate the extra warmth. When their tassels have pollen on them, tap the stalks with a cane or something so the forming cobs will get pollinated - wear a mask and goggles though as it goes everywhere!
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Goosers!!!
Canes, masks and goggles!
This surely must be the title for a new post from you!
:0)
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Oh - I forgot - you need a shower cap, and one of those all-in-one white decorating cover-alls. You can have great fun writing something on the back of it with a felt pen, such as "Meet Polly Nator - I am the Bee's Knees!" :tongue2:
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Oh - I forgot - you need a shower cap, and one of those all-in-one white decorating cover-alls. You can have great fun writing something on the back of it with a felt pen, such as "Meet Polly Nator - I am the Bee's Knees!" :tongue2:
:lol: :lol: