[MoreWhisky]

My sweetcorn is in rootrainers and currently about 3 inches tall and has just been placed in an unheated greenhouse.
 Just a tip for everyone when it does go to the plot (in a week or so) each one will have a 2l pop bottle placed over it, this gives me peace of mind in case the is a late frost, as it will not out grow these for a couple weeks when we will be frost free , hopefully.

[gavinjconway]

 Just a tip for everyone when it does go to the plot (in a week or so) each one will have a 2l pop bottle placed over it, this gives me peace of mind in case the is a late frost, as it will not out grow these for a couple weeks when we will be frost free , hopefully.

In that case I need 214 pop bottles!!!

[gavinjconway]

I have 2 lots on the go.. One sowed 2 weeks ago - 90% up in 6 days!!

The next lot sowed 4 days ago and started popping up today.. So far I have 42 up today from 210.. I need 154 for the second "land" aka patch..

I dont see the object of faffing around with chitting.. just plant loads and you get what you need from it.  If you have extra from a good germination you plant out the strongest and give the rest away.

[Totty]

First sowing are all well up and could go out now if I knew the nighttime temps were going to stay mild, one more week I reckon, but I have 70 of them, and another 70 are just poking through. I need 130 plants this year so have ten spares in case of weak plants. I chitted 5 packs and planted the viable seeds.
How anyone can see that as faffing, when I could have spent much more time sowing dead seed, wasting time watering it and having the pointless pots taking up valuable space on the greenhouse bench, is beyond me.

Totty

[DD.]

Totty - you're like me, in some cases you need a lot of seed. Have you tried Moles? An example here:

http://www.molesseeds.co.uk/flower_and_vegetable_seed_store_uk/Products_F1_Lark_4246.html

250 seed for £2.85. I wouldn't mind betting that you paid more than that for 5 packs to get your 130!

[Sweetpea C]

 Just a tip for everyone when it does go to the plot (in a week or so) each one will have a 2l pop bottle placed over it, this gives me peace of mind in case the is a late frost, as it will not out grow these for a couple weeks when we will be frost free , hopefully.

Ahhh so that's what I was saving the pop bottles for .... I did wonder and now I know!

Edited to take reply outside the quotation

[Headgardener22]

Alright, I'm a convert. 

Never chitted sweetcorn before but it works a treat. Three days to chit in a tray in a sealed bag in the greenhouse, then three days for the shoots to show above the pot of soil.

I'm converted because it seems to be less concerning that potting them "blind". No better germination rate (this year anyway) but at least you can see what you're doing.

[JayG]

I never chitted sweet corn (or anything else except spuds!) until I had a duff packet a few years ago which only produced about 4 seedlings out of 35-ish seeds.

This year every chitted seed sprouted within a couple of days, and every one of those has now poked its little nose through in its paper pot. 

I'll still stick with chitting sweetcorn in future - there is very little extra work involved for the peace of mind you get about the viability of the seed.

[seaside]

Just to add a slightly different view, I'm a big fan of chitting peas, that almost always works, but chitting sweetcorn hasn't worked well for me with both home brew seed and shop bought F1.
So, I won't be trying it again. What did the business was the heated propagator, 90% home brew up within 7 days, and 70% of the shop bought seeds.

[pigguns]

Just to add a slightly different view, I'm a big fan of chitting peas, that almost always works, but chitting sweetcorn hasn't worked well for me with both home brew seed and shop bought F1.
So, I won't be trying it again. What did the business was the heated propagator, 90% home brew up within 7 days, and 70% of the shop bought seeds.

I chit peas so the mices don't get 'em first.  And it fun to  watch on the kitchen window sill 

[mumofstig]

Just to add a slightly different view, I'm a big fan of chitting peas, that almost always works, but chitting sweetcorn hasn't worked well for me with both home brew seed and shop bought F1.
So, I won't be trying it again. What did the business was the heated propagator, 90% home brew up within 7 days, and 70% of the shop bought seeds.

Were you chitting the corn somewhere warm - like an airing cupboard? They need heat to chit, peas need less warmth, so will chit almost anywhere

[pdblake]

Well, I chitted two lots, potted them up and still a few managed not to show, even though they all chitted fine

[mumofstig]

If you anything like me you probably broke a few when you potted them