[sunshineband]

One of my granddaughters gave me a pcket of these seeds.

Has anyone grown them before please?

Just wondered what they cropped like?

[Yorkie]

I tried them some years ago.  It was my first go at sweetcorn and I knew nothing about watering and feeding etc.  The crop was pretty poor.  You may well be luckier 

[sunshineband]

Oh 

I wonder if anyone else had better luck? 

[Plot22]

One of the old boys on our site gave me a couple last year to eat raw and they were delicious, so i'm growing them as anything the kids can pick and eat straight away, along with the mange tout & carrots, is brilliant.

However, i'm so far disappointed with the germination.  100% of my normal sweetcorn (sugar buns) has come thru but only 50% of the minipop.  I'm sowing more over the weekend to get enough for a decent crop.

[sunshineband]

I sowed 12 and have 11 up, about 4 -5 ins tall (deep pots in the unheated greenhouse -- hardening them off now)

[Kristen]

My kids love them - otherwise I wouldn't bother. Same number of cobs as normal sweetcorn, but tiny of course!

They germinate, for me, the same as regular Sweetcorn - close to 100%. They grow tall - like old fashioned sweet corn varieties.  I remove the male flowers when they form (but only so that they don't cross-pollinate my other sweet corn). As they don't need to be pollinated they can be grown in a row, or a block. Make sure they are harvested when young enough to be succulent, as they get tough as they get older. I sow them successionally (about 9 plants / fortnight) to provide a steady supply through the Summer school holidays

I grow the first few batches in the greenhouse, for an early crop, and then I sow double on 1st May which covers my last greenhouse batch and first outdoor batch - the greenhouse ones mature about a fortnight earlier.

I grow in newspaper pots as Sweetcorn roots are very brittle and easy to damage when transplanting.  They take about 3 weeks from sowing to planting out - so make sure you start hardening off after 2 weeks from sowing

[sunshineband]

Thank you Kristen that was all very helpful, as I am a complete minipop novice  

I have some more seeds so I shall direct sow those when I plant the ones being hardened off, at the plot.

I didn't realise that they didn't need pollination (doh!). Do you just cut the tassels off when they open out?

[Kristen]

Do you just cut the tassels off when they open out?

They snap off easily - at the stage where they are just emerging from the top of the plant. But more delicate surgery with a sharp knife might be a good idea!

[JayG]

My kids love them - otherwise I wouldn't bother. Same number of cobs as normal sweetcorn, but tiny of course!

So 2-3 tiny cobs per plant? No wonder their popularity is mini! 

[izzy]

we found them to be very fussy any sign of cold and they sulk big time

[Kristen]

So 2-3 tiny cobs per plant? No wonder their popularity is mini! 

You are missing the point:

1) Minipop Sweetcorn is a vegetable
2) Kids will eat Minipop sweetcorn
3) Q.E.D

[JayG]

So 2-3 tiny cobs per plant? No wonder their popularity is mini! 

You are missing the point:

1) Minipop Sweetcorn is a vegetable
2) Kids will eat Minipop sweetcorn
3) Q.E.D

    Another plus; your kids are never going to be obese! 

[stentman]

I have grown them before with limited success. The grow quite tall 5 or 6ft or so, only 2 or 3 little mini cobs per stalk at best some only producing 1. An awful lot of stalk and leaf growth for very small returns in my view. I am trying "normal" sized ones this time.

[sunshineband]

I think I shall stick to planting them out in the school garden, as the children will probably munch them up quick, from the sound of it 

I only have eleven or twelve plants, so there should be space. I'll keep the space at the plot for the bigger ones.

Thanks for all the help, it is much appreciated