[The Golden Heap]

My sweet corn large plugs were delivered yesterday circa 8 to 10 inches high, I intend to pot these on today into 3 inch ish peat type rot pots as I call them then keep them in sheltered spot for a few weeks! Good or bad plan, many thanks

[JayG]

The weather is still unpredictable at the moment so planting them out now would be a risk even where you are, and you presumably don't know whether they have been hardened off anyway.

It's a close call - you may be able to harden them off and plant out straight from the plugs but if you think they might be "plug-bound" (have a look at one - odds are they are) it might be safer to pot them on, despite the fact that sweet corn are not fond of root disturbance.

I'm not a fan of so-called peat pots - it could be my dry sandy soil partly to blame but they seem to be very slow to break down and let the roots out, so when I used to use them I had to break the pot open a little before planting, which somewhat defeats the object of using them in the first place.

[The Golden Heap]

Thanks for the reply I guessed as much the pots I have always need a little tear!

[seaside]

I don't have that problem with the cheap peat pots. Provided the pot bottoms are kept damp or wet, the roots seem to just burrow their way through the pot as easily as compost within 2 weeks of any plant germinating, barring slow growing chillies and the like. Only parsnips do I tear off the bottom out of some sort of paranoia. As others have said, the problem with peat pots is not so much the roots, but often the top of the pot when planted out acting as a drying wick.

As for the sweet corn, the weather is a problem, no doubt. But if they don't go out until late June, the whole exercise might be pointless. While I appreciate it might be a little milder down here, mine that are considered adult enough and big enough ( which 8" is certainly big enough ) are being planted out the first nice day of next week under raised fleece tunnels for 10 days.......edited to add: Friday 31 May looks the day down here.
If you don't have many plugs then potting on could be an option, but too much transplanting might be a downer, and sooner or later they need to get into their final position, or they will sulk through that crucial early growing period June/July. Crops would then be minimal unless we have a cracking Summer.

[RJR_38]

Mine were sulking be in posts and had used up all the nutrients in the seed soils I had used - the roots were also growing like crazy so I planted them out last week with plastic bottle cloches - they are thriving now and look much healthier now despite the cold weather we have had here so I am glad I took the risk!