[freefolk]

Long shot, but does anyone know where I might be able to buy some young Sweetcorn "Incredible" plants, as opposed to seeds? I think a few of mine got nipped by the frost the other night, so want some in reserve.  I know you can't plant other types as they won't cross pollinate.  Thanks for your help.  PS, fleece on again tonight here in Hampshire!

[lettice]

Just sow some outside. Temp is not going to get lower than 9c now for next few weeks with lots of 18-22c sunshine in Hampshire.
Sweetcorn seeds only take about 7 days to germinate in a greenhouse and mid May they will be large enough to plant out.
You can still plant out anytime in May or early June. Have planted as late as mid June and they soon catch up with the early ones.

[JayG]

There is a potential advantage in staggering the planting of sweetcorn in that the later ones can help with the pollination of some of the earlier plants, especially if they produce later silks which can miss out on the first wave of pollination which tends to happen over just a few days (depending on the weather.)

Haven't sown mine yet - will sow indoors in paper pots in the next day or so for planting out at the end of May or beginning of June (again, weather dependent - a late frost will kill them but any period of low temperatures will check them and they can struggle to recover from that.)

[al78]

Just sow some outside. Temp is not going to get lower than 9c now for next few weeks with lots of 18-22c sunshine in Hampshire.

How can you possibly know this with any degree of certainty? Frosts are possible well into May, even up to early June in sheltered areas. It looks warm for the next week but beyond that, who knows if an Arctic air mass from a strong NEly or Nly wind will arrive in the middle of the month. It is early May, not July.

[sunshineband]

Just sow some outside. Temp is not going to get lower than 9c now for next few weeks with lots of 18-22c sunshine in Hampshire.

How can you possibly know this with any degree of certainty? Frosts are possible well into May, even up to early June in sheltered areas. It looks warm for the next week but beyond that, who knows if an Arctic air mass from a strong NEly or Nly wind will arrive in the middle of the month. It is early May, not July.

Certainty is an "unknown" in weather forecasting, and parts of Hampshire can get much colder than surrounding areas,which includes where Freefolk lives. I only know this because my daughter lives in the adjoining hamlet/small village and she has frosts there whilst we, in Reading, can escape!!

So to return to the original question, I haven't spotted any Incredible sweetcorn plants for sale, so maybe grow some more yourself to stagger cropping and avoid the issue of cross pollination. If you sprout them on wet kitchen paper before planting you will know for certain they are on the way to giving you a plant. Good luck 

[John]

If you sprout them on wet kitchen paper before planting you will know for certain they are on the way to giving you a plant. Good luck 

Pre-germinating indoors will bring them on very quickly - there's a full 'how to' on the site here: Growing Sweetcorn - How to Grow Sweetcorn - Allotment & Gardens