[madcat]

I was preparing the pots for the sweetcorn when I remembered that in the past I have chitted them before planting.

Do you think it is worth the hassle/risks in transplanting, or is it better to be certain of the kernels before committing?  Or just plump them up with an overnight soak and plant?

Not sure  ...  What do you do?

[mumofstig]

Since I had bad germination one year, I now chit mine so I don't waste compost on dud'ns.

[BumbleJo]

I followed JH's method last year with great results so sticking with chitting.

[Robster]

Nope, no chatting, no soaking or anything else.  I sowed 32 seeds straight into root trainers watered and then in the incubator.  I'm looking at 28 germinated plants growing on nicely.

[Middlesexbloke]

I'll second mumofstig's advice, chitting is useful as you can then eliminate any seeds that don't germinate.

[New shoot]

Mine were set to chit at the weekend and are already up and planted in pots.  It took about 48 hours for them to get going.  I had the pots filled and ready, so it was a very fast job to transfer the seeds over.

I've sown direct into pots as well with success.  I sowed right on the surface rather than bury the seed and got really good results.  I think I read that advice on here and it worked really well. 

You can make it work either way 

[JayG]

I never soaked or chitted sweet corn until a few years ago when I had an almost 100% failure rate with one batch (probably about 32 seeds, which is an awful lot of wasted paper pot-making!  )

I soak them for just a few hours and chit in a closed plastic takeaway box between two sheets of damp (not wet) kitchen roll.
If you use this method make sure you are around to pot them up as soon as you see the roots start to appear, as they quickly become fragile and also easily dehydrated.

[azubah]

I've sown direct into pots as well with success.  I sowed right on the surface rather than bury the seed and got really good results.  I think I read that advice on here and it worked really well. 

 

That looks like a good idea as you can see which seeds are growing.

[Gardener and Rabbit]

Started chitting mine a couple of days ago, put the first sprouting ones into tubes today. 

[madcat]

They have had a soak and are now on kitchen paper with the beans in the chitting department (aka the office bookshelves, carefully balanced on the files.  If there are any failures I will blame the vibes coming off the HMRC forms!  )