[little sweetpeas]

I notice some people have started to sow sweetcorn.

I take it that this must be for a greenhouse crop which leads me to ask

Can I sow now for an year crop in the polytunnel as I was thinking I'd have to wait until next month.

[RichardA]

I would have thought sow end of April in a green house for planting outside at end of May or early June. I would not have thought sowing to grow on in a polytunnel or green house was viable as pollenation is very difficult in green houses and polytunnels, even so it  seems very early.
However I would be very interested in knowing if polytunnel growing of sweet corn is  a proven sucess as I have a new tunnel under construction now.
R

[little sweetpeas]

I would have thought sow end of April in a green house for planting outside at end of May or early June. I would not have thought sowing to grow on in a polytunnel or green house was viable as pollenation is very difficult in green houses and polytunnels, even so it  seems very early.
However I would be very interested in knowing if polytunnel growing of sweet corn is  a proven sucess as I have a new tunnel under construction now.
R

Yes you can, as I understand it you may have to help the pollenation alomg a bit. I contacted realseeds and they said yep the sweetcorn would grow in the polytunnel quite well. In that book gardening under plastic it suggests sowing one lot in April for the tunnel and another lot a bit later for outside. Not sure where abouts B Salt is in the UK to work out my dates.

[DIGGER]

I get all my crops started in the green house and aim to get them into the ground on or around 1st May. Sweetcorm germinate very quickl;y so i would look at  getting seed into pots approx 20th April.I will do courgettes at exactly the same time as they will go in the same part of the plot and they also germinate quick

[jazzbyrd]

I always sow sweetcorn at the end of April. I put them in the ground last week of May or first week of June. I cover them with plastic cloches made from mineral water bottles to give them a little protection when they first go outside.

Jazz:)

[little sweetpeas]

I get all my crops started in the green house and aim to get them into the ground on or around 1st May. Sweetcorm germinate very quickl;y so i would look at  getting seed into pots approx 20th April.I will do courgettes at exactly the same time as they will go in the same part of the plot and they also germinate quick

Digger is that to plant outside?

[DIGGER]

I get all my crops started in the green house and aim to get them into the ground on or around 1st May. Sweetcorm germinate very quickl;y so i would look at  getting seed into pots approx 20th April.I will do courgettes at exactly the same time as they will go in the same part of the plot and they also germinate quick

Digger is that to plant outside?

Pots in greenhouse 20th april
In ground outside early may

I seem to remember reading not to let them get to big before planting out in blocks.
The only problem i have is that i eat them before they get on my dinner plate.

I have never had a problem with them, i use Lark.

[RichardA]

sorry to stray away from teh original question but I am told that if you grow two or more varieties that you must seperate them by big distances otherwise they cross polinate and neither variety does well.
Is that true and if so what distances are we talking about  as being enough???
R

[little sweetpeas]

sorry to stray away from teh original question but I am told that if you grow two or more varieties that you must seperate them by big distances otherwise they cross polinate and neither variety does well.
Is that true and if so what distances are we talking about  as being enough???
R

being on an allotment site there are always different varieties being grown and as yet I've not encountered a problem.

[DIGGER]

sorry to stray away from teh original question but I am told that if you grow two or more varieties that you must seperate them by big distances otherwise they cross polinate and neither variety does well.
Is that true and if so what distances are we talking about  as being enough???
R

I dont know the answer to that ,i suspect there is not one. Sweetcorn is wind pollinated so i suppose its just a case of being sensible

[Salmo]

Cross pollination will not affect the cobs produced on this years plant. They will be as on the packet.
If you let the cobs ripen and then plant the seed next year any cross pollination will throw variable types with characteristics of both parents.
The pollen cloud produced by sweet corn is very dense and unless plants are growing right next to each other cross pollination from other plants is very unlikely.

[azubah]

I am just happy if my sweet corn gets fully pollinated. Anyone's pollen will do as long as it is not GM.

[fivespud364]

This is from the Veg Gardeners almanac

Sow in warmth in April/May in pots. Keep moving on to re-pot BEFORE the roots run out of room. Plant out in a soil that has been warmed up (a cloche is ok) and keep well watered. Several plants need to be producing pollen at the same time and in close proximity to get evenly filled out kernals. Planting batches of successional crops crops in blocks helps this. When the silky tassles turn brown have a peek to see if the kernals are full and yellow. Pick and eat quick!

Also Note : Supersweet varieties should not be grown near other types to avoid cross pollination which can cause a reduction in quality and flavour this also goes for minipop and other varieties i planted the mini sweetcorn with others many years ago and got cobs half normal and half mini

[fivespud364]

This is from the Veg Gardeners almanac

Sow in warmth in April/May in pots. Keep moving on to re-pot BEFORE the roots run out of room. Plant out in a soil that has been warmed up (a cloche is ok) and keep well watered. Several plants need to be producing pollen at the same time and in close proximity to get evenly filled out kernals. Planting batches of successional crops crops in blocks helps this. When the silky tassles turn brown have a peek to see if the kernals are full and yellow. Pick and eat quick!

Also Note : Supersweet varieties should not be grown near other types to avoid cross pollination which can cause a reduction in quality and flavour this also goes for minipop and other varieties i planted the mini sweetcorn with others many years ago and got cobs half normal and half mini

As for Growing in Polytunnels yes you can but you may need to aid pollination

[Steve.P]

To aid pollination in a poly tunnel or a site without much breeze, it has been said that you should give the plants a gentle shake when the tassles have formed.