[Sharonx]

Hi,
I chitted my Sweetcorn and potted them today and have placed them in one of those outside 4 tier greenhouses zipped up. I am wondering if this is ok for them or do they need to be indoors to take? If they will be ok but slow to rise to the occassion this is fine as i am being taken over by plants in the conservatory. On the plus temps hit 18 here today but night time still drops quite a bit. Any advice? Thanks

[Aunt Sally]

It needs to be reasonably warm to germinate.  I think one of those poly houses would fluctuate in temperature a lot and become very cold at night.  I would bring it in now and harden off gradually when it gets growing well. 

Don't  plant it out until the end of May. 

[Babstreefern]

I've got mine in my conservatory (as with you, I'm being taken over by plants)

[Kristen]

Don't  plant it out until the end of May. 

I agree with waiting until last frost and nights being warmer, but I reckon it will be a struggle to keep Sweetcorn going, in pots, for 6 weeks.  Mine normally only cope for about 3 weeks from Chitting before needing to be planted out ...

[compostqueen]

which is why they shouldn't be sown too early

You have to sit on your hands sometimes 

[Apostrophes]

I chitted my sweetcorn, possibly a little early. I have dumb question though: when I put them in pots now do I have the chits pointing up? And do I have to bury them deeply enough that the chits are not visible?

[prakash_mib]

chits down please! those are the roots. be careful when putting chits down in the hole where it might snap.

[Apostrophes]

Thank God I asked! Thank you.

[chopkins1313]

oh dear, I fear I have made a few 'begginers errors' on the sweetcorn front after reading this!!!

I planted mine in newspaper pots in the plastic greehouse at the weekend......

1) is this too early? (I live in Newcastle - brrrrrrr!)
2) I didn't chit them 
3) I planted them pointy end facing up! 

Do I need to start again?!

[Apostrophes]

You don't need to chit them. I went that way because my seeds wouldn't germinate; but then I sowed them in February as that is what it said on the packet and that was waaaaaay to soon. I think they need to be kept warm.

[unconcerned]

Loads of people don't chit. I do it, particularly with older seeds because it is quick and easy and you can ensure you only plant that which is going to grow.

I did it this weekend.

[madcat]

oh dear, I fear I have made a few 'begginers errors' on the sweetcorn front after reading this!!!
I planted mine in newspaper pots in the plastic greehouse at the weekend......
1) is this too early? (I live in Newcastle - brrrrrrr!)
2) I didn't chit them 
3) I planted them pointy end facing up! 
Do I need to start again?!

You and me both!  They do crack on, don't they?  I planted them (without chitting) expecting to see something in a fortnight maybe - and there are shoots inside the week!      It is going to be a challenge keeping them happy til it is fit for them to go out!   

If you have a warm window ledge I would bring them in - the nights are still chilly.  If you didn't chit them then you haven't got a long white root showing (unlike Apostrophes).... so no worries  It doesn't matter which way round the kernel is, the plant will sort that out. 

But don't panic - keep them warm and here's hoping for some nice corn in the summer! 

[Sharonx]

3 weeks from sowing to planting out!!!!!!!!!!! gosh that is quick! I will just have to keep an eye and if it fails it fails, I have learnt something else. Still, I will have time to sit on my hands and be patient before trying again

[Kristen]

Suggest getting them outside during the day (but don't let them get too cold!) as that will slow them down a lot, compared to being in a greenhouse.

Have you got soil borders in your greenhouse? I plant some sweetcorn in my greenhouse for an early crop (but it needs to be a short variety - which I think most/all?? the new super-sweet varieties are - old fashioned sweetcorn would  hit the roof!).

I sowed some on 01-Apr last year, grew in the greenhouse and first cobs were eaten on 12-Jul (Yum!). I planted some of that batch outside too (had to! had nowhere else to put them!) on 04-May (they were rooted through to neighbouring newspaper pots, and a bit of a mess to sort out, but contrary to "no root disturbance" advice, they clearly had rather a lot!); they survived OK and first cob was on 20th Jul (by which time the ones in the greenhouse had pretty much finished) - the outdoor plants were a lot shorter than the ones in the greenhouse, and compared to later sowings that I made.

Planting in a block is not so important in the greenhouse as there is very little breeze in the greenhouse and you can just give them a jiggle to pollinate them - the pollen falls pretty much straight down, and onto the female flowers.

Maybe they could even be squeezed between Tomato plants, as they won't be all that big by mid July will they?