Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: nilsatis1964 on April 25, 2010, 19:18
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Simple question I sowed sweetcorn too early last year and they all died. As you can see I am in Leeds and we have had dry but 2 frosts in the last week. I was thinking of sowing in loo rolls next week and planting out early June. Does that sound right?
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Mine are practically ready to go out already and I am thinking next weekend its going to have to be :ohmy:
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Somerset is far further south than here so maybe I will sow them this week and hope .
Tony
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I'm not a million miles from you Nilsatis and I've just started chitting mine today. I did mine too early last year too and they never really got going. I reckon early June is just right up here.
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I was thinking of sowing in loo rolls next week and planting out early June. Does that sound right?
I'd leave it another week if you don't want to plant out til early June....once they germinate they grow sooo quickly....
unless you have spare fleece to cover them with, then it won't matter if they go in earlier :)
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Fletch
You and everyone else can laugh but I chitted my tats but how do you chit sweetcorn?
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an old thread on chitting sweetcorn here (http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=34827.0) :)
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I've just put mine in to chit this evening. I figured that as sweetcorn grows at night, it may just chit better at night! No? OK! :lol:
They're in the airing cupboard. Either they come up or they don't.
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Technically speaking...they won't come up...they go down :tongue2: :)
it's the roots going down that you see first.
So unlike potatoes...sweetcorn chits go down :lol:
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Do any of you know the minimum night time temperature that sweetcorn can survive unprotected outside?
Mine are outside (under fleece) at the moment but starting to look as if they want to be in the ground and our night time temps are going down to about 8 degC.
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Do any of you know the minimum night time temperature that sweetcorn can survive unprotected outside?
Mine are outside (under fleece) at the moment but starting to look as if they want to be in the ground and our night time temps are going down to about 8 degC.
no lower than 6c but 10-12 is ideal.sow plenty back up plants and you cant fail.bob
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Thanks Bob :)
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Thanks Bob :)
iv'e 200 in the unheated greenhouse at present.but we have some minus temps due next week,and they'll stay handy for going back under heat.
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I'm going to do mine this week - I've seen frost forecast for next weekend so with any luck that might be the last one and I can put them out in a fortnight or so (assuming they germinate quickly :) )
Same with courgettes and squashes. I've no greenhouse (just a plastic one) and the propagator has been full until now so they've been waiting their turn! I'm sure they will all catch up in the end.
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mine are huge they look ready for planting out already :unsure:
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mine are huge they look ready for planting out already :unsure:
Oh dear :(
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Sowing mine in an unheated greenhouse in the next day or so. My greenhouse faces south at the top of a slope and I have a struggle keeping them cool enough. 8)
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i think i will start another load :)
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I sowed mine 3 days ago in the unheated greenhouse.
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Mine will be going in the ground in the next couple of weeks. They vary from about 2" > 4" in the propogator at the moment. I am hardening them off to slow the growth rate but once these babies start growing they do go a bit mental.
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Mine will be going in the ground in the next couple of weeks. They vary from about 2" > 4" in the propogator at the moment. I am hardening them off to slow the growth rate but once these babies start growing they do go a bit mental.
Don't plant them outside in a cold spell or it's just you that will be going mental! ::)
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Could sweetcorn be planted a wee bit closer than the recommended on packet do you think?
I'm not sure how many I can fit in, or if it is worth it for just a few?
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Could sweetcorn be planted a wee bit closer than the recommended on packet do you think?
I'm not sure how many I can fit in, or if it is worth it for just a few?
Spacing a bit closer is fine as long as they have rich soil and plenty of water.
(Plant in a block of course )
Nothing like fresh corn on the cob, so imho it is worth it just for a few :D
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Gardeners World last week was planting 2 seeds per module (I thought they didn't like being transplanted, and use Newspaper Pots for mine ... Ho!Hum!) and said something like "2 seeds per module, but as they are expensive F1 seed and normally give near-100% germination, if 2 come up just leave them as they don't mind growing close together" - that was a new one on me as well ...
This was some new magic-extra-sweet variety - doesn't lose it s sweetness if stored in the fridge for a week ...
... come to think of it I wonder if I saw it on 1st APril? :tongue2:
The plants I planted out in early May (sown 01-Apr) last year were a nuisance to keep alive with fleece, and had stunted plants, compared to the ones I planted out on 31-May (sown 13-May)
The sowing-to-planting period is only about 3 weeks - so get them out to start hardening off promptly! (that will slow down the growth a bit too)
The harvest period isn't all that long, so I'm planting 9 every fortnight this year, rather than two batches of 21 and 35 that I did last year.
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Wish I'd joined this forum BEFORE I sowed my sweetcorn.
I've got 80 little seedlings waiting to go outside. Never even thought about successional sowing for sweetcorn ::)
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I was going to put mine straight in the ground at the end of May (seed) - is this not a good idea - should I be chitting and growing on now? I thought sweetcorn didn't like being moved? I love this forum but sometimes it confuses the hell out of me!!!! pmsl.
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I shall be sowing mine today; last year's leftover seed 2 to a paper pot (just in case) and the new seed one to a pot. (Same variety, Swift; different varieties should not be grown together.)
I'll sow about 35 altogether, and if previous year's experience is anything to go by I won't have more than 1 or 2 failures.
They will be planted out about 15" apart which seems to work OK for me.
Carrotcake; I think successional sowing is more likely to pay dividends where you are than in somewhere like Sheffield where even the earliest crop can be in a race against time given the sort of summers we have had recently. :wacko:
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I was going to put mine straight in the ground at the end of May (seed) - is this not a good idea - should I be chitting and growing on now? I thought sweetcorn didn't like being moved? I love this forum but sometimes it confuses the hell out of me!!!! pmsl.
You can sow direct at end of May, or perhaps a bit earlier.
I don't know whether Sweet Corn likes being moved, or not. I grow mine in newspaper pots which are relatively tall (about 6" tall and only 2.5" diameter) which gives them a deeper root-run than normal pots, and then I plant them "whole" as the paper just rots down (in fact its well on the way by the time I plant them out!). But I read of people successfully growing them who start them off in shallow modules.
Chitting and so on is just to give them a head start, but you need a conservatory or similar so they don't get cold and then will be ready to go out at the end of May (3 weeks before last frost would be early enough to start them I reckon)
But as JayG says, the Summer here is short for sweetcorn - although the new varieties bred for the UK (like Swift, which is what I grow too) produce their cobs at least one leaf, or maybe two, earlier than the old fashioned ones, so we're in with a fighting chance! but an earlier start helps extend the growing season, of course.
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JayG you beat me to it. My experience in Sheffield last year was that I planted as early as the packet said and the corn tasted great but while most produced two cobs the second was often not ripe by the time I had to harvest. I could not do a second, later lot of corn and expect it to ripen before I ran out of warm days. Unless this year is going to be really warm of course!
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Hmmm ... my Swift, last year, were 3 weeks from Chit to Plant out, and then 2 months to first cropping - so the ones I planted out at the very end of May were ready for first harvest at end of July, and were all done by the end of August (and I mean tail-end-charlie).
I should expect to be able to carry on ripening until end September, don't you think?
Hence I was planning to sow for crops from end July to end September
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Hmmm ... my Swift, last year, were 3 weeks from Chit to Plant out, and then 2 months to first cropping - so the ones I planted out at the very end of May were ready for first harvest at end of July, and were all done by the end of August (and I mean tail-end-charlie).
I should expect to be able to carry on ripening until end September, don't you think?
Hence I was planning to sow for crops from end July to end September
Mine were also done by the end of August but that was because the plants finally got fed up with the persistent dull cool conditions in July and August; they looked to be all set for 3 cobs per plant but in the end only managed an average of 1 1/2.
Location obviously plays a part but so does a punt on what sort of summer we have; if you've got the space then give it a try (home-grown sweetcorn is soooo wonderful!) :)
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If you plant directly into the soil mice are a problem.
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I wonder if the first cob on a later-planted-plant will mature better than the 2nd/3rd on an earlier one.
I'll let you know in the Autumn!
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Hence I was planning to sow for crops from end July to end September
If it's not too late ... I'm trying an old, reintroduced variety called Stowells Evergreen which I got from the Organic Gardening catalogue. It apparently stays well on the plant so I'm hoping that will give me a longer picking time. I'll let you know what happens....
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My immediate neighbour at plot has already planted out sweetcorns :ohmy:. they are under the fleece.
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Only just started chitting mine 4 different varieties each will be planted in a block at a corner of plot. Then I have found two more packets I bought some time ago so planning to sow those at the end of this week - can't have too many sweetcorn only just used the last out of the freezer. Anyone else trying white ones this year?
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... 4 different varieties ...
There are different schools of thought, but one is that (for modern Supersweet varieties) cross pollination will effect the sweetness (as a separate issue from the cross pollination meaning they won't come true next year, apparently the mix of genes in the seeds - the bit that you will be eating :) - will effect the flavour)
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Re:cross pollination of varieties.
I had planned on growing mini sweetcorn as well as Swift, would the problem happen with these two as the minis are meant to be picked very early and I don't want loads of big ones or loads of minis?
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Mini Pop eaten immature? I take the male tassels off them (as the cobs don't need to be pollinated) and thus they can't cross fertilise anything else!
Otherwise I think it might be a problem
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Oh thanks Kristen that'll do for me I'll just google for a few picks of the male tassel???
Think I might go and sow some minis then.
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The male flowers will need to be removed somewhere between these two stages :)
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Oh dear reading this has got me a bit confused.
We bought our sweetcorn plants from the garden centre 16 in total in one pot so I transplanted them all into seperate bigger pots yesterday, they dont seem to have minded being transplanted ( yet ).
I wasnt intending to plant out until the end of may so at the moment they are sitting i on the windowsill they rage in size between 4 and 2 inches but are they going to be too big if I leave it untill end of may ?
also what is the closest you can plant them together ?
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Glad to hear I'm not too late to get in on the sweetcorn action - our first full year so a bit disorganised with the seed planting.
I'm planning on popping them in this weekend in our unheated greenhouse. Are paper pots the method of choice then?
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Glad to hear I'm not too late to get in on the sweetcorn action - our first full year so a bit disorganised with the seed planting.
I'm planning on popping them in this weekend in our unheated greenhouse. Are paper pots the method of choice then?
just sown another load in root trainers today,popped them in the propogator bench for a couple of days and they should be through.
little tip with sweetcorn is to spray daily with calcified seaweed (maxicrop).infact spray all your seedlings with it. ;)
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I might end up with a lot of sweet corn this year my first lots didnt take then we sowed some more and the first lot have come up :D
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We bought our sweetcorn plants from the garden centre 16 in total in one pot so I transplanted them all into seperate bigger pots yesterday, they dont seem to have minded being transplanted ( yet ).
The roots are brittle, but I think its more of a problem when planting them out. I have read plenty of posts here from people who grow them in modules / small pots and plant out as they would do with anything else and have a great crop. So no need to worry, but perhaps be especially gentle when planting out to keep the root disturbance to a minmum.
My seed packet says "Sow singly in 3" pots of see compost ... gradually harden off before planting outside ..." which suggests there is no problem, but my gardening books all say to use Peat pots or similar to avoid root disturbance. Ho!Hum!
My concern is that the roots grow out of the bottom of my paper pots within 2 weeks of germination, and the "pots" are 5" - 6" deep - much deeper than ordinary pots - so I think plants grown in small pots will be starved of root space quickly, and that may have a knock on effect.
I planted out my first batch last year on 4th May. We had a couple of frosts after that, and I fleeced them successfully, so I think you'll be fine. However, those plants from the first crop were much smaller than the ones I grew later ...
"I wasnt intending to plant out until the end of may so at the moment they are sitting i on the windowsill they rage in size between 4 and 2 inches but are they going to be too big if I leave it untill end of may ?"
I reckon they will be huge by end of May! but I think you can plant out sooner (if you have some fleece to protect them). Put them out during the day so that they start to harden off, and that will also slow down their growth rate. After 4 or 5 days you should be able to leave them out at night if the forecast is very mild (8C or warmer) - and provided nothing will eat them!
I'm planning on popping them in this weekend in our unheated greenhouse. Are paper pots the method of choice then?
64 million pound question! All I can say is that it has worked well for me.
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I wouldn't be without the paper pots for my sweetcorn and for a few other veg for just putting straight into the ground once the plants inside them get to the right stage. I find them so much easier and safer than removing the plant from the normal pot and risk damaging them as they get transplanted: I am a bit clumsy, you see!
I just use a standard variety of paper pot found in abundance at the garden centre. They worked a treat last year at any rate.