[Jackypam]

😀

[Jackypam]

Will try that if the wick doesn't work. Would certainly have been easier!

[DD.]

I do mine in a plastic sandwich box with lid.

[JayG]

Same as DD, but I soak the seeds for just a few hours first then make sure the kitchen paper they are wrapped in is kept damp rather than soaking wet, which can cause the seeds to rot.

(Same process for runner beans - the white ones seem more rot-prone than the purple types.)

[Jackypam]

I have a clearish plastic take away box in the cupboard so I'll try that. Thanks all.

[Headgardener22]

I'm surprised there's an issue, when I chit my sweetcorn seeds they germinate in a couple of days, hardly long enough for the paper to dry out.

[Beekissed]

And I'm reading this wondering why in the world anyone is sprouting corn before planting it!  Never heard of such a thing...is getting corn to sprout in the ground naturally an issue in the UK?   

[mumofstig]

Our soil can be late warming up, which can mean in a short summer that we don't get a crop

Most of us start corn in the warmth of house or greenhouse, and some of us think chitting can help

[Yorkie]

I've never had a success with trying to chit them in the plastic box ... must be doing something wrong! 

[DD.]

It worked 7 years ago, and it's worked ever since!

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=34827.msg417144;topicseen#msg417144

[Beekissed]

Our soil can be late warming up, which can mean in a short summer that we don't get a crop

Most of us start corn in the warmth of house or greenhouse, and some of us think chitting can help

That's very interesting!  When do you typically get to plant corn there and when does the growing season end?  What types of corn do you use to accommodate your particular growing times? 

[Yorkie]

It worked 7 years ago, and it's worked ever since!

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=34827.msg417144;topicseen#msg417144

I believe you - but nobody's ever told my seeds to co-operate 

[JayG]

I'm a relatively new convert to chitting sweet corn - never used to bother until one year not one of 30 seeds germinated having been sown in compost in their individual paper pots. 

That was an awful lot of time and effort wasted folding paper for nothing, so now I play it safe given that some seeds don't seem to be as reliable as they used to be... 

[New shoot]

Our soil can be late warming up, which can mean in a short summer that we don't get a crop

Most of us start corn in the warmth of house or greenhouse, and some of us think chitting can help

That's very interesting!  When do you typically get to plant corn there and when does the growing season end?  What types of corn do you use to accommodate your particular growing times?

Most of us plant in April.  I haven't even started mine yet as I have an unheated greenhouse.  I will chit them indoors them move them to the greenhouse.  They usually get planted out into the ground around the end of May.

Varieties sold here are bred to deal with the short growing season, but you can early and late season types.  I grow both.  You can be eating the early stuff by August in a good year and I was harvesting the late season stuff into October.  I'm right down in the south of England, so its worth taking a chance with a late season crop 

[Hampshire Hog]

I put them in a plastic box with moist kitchen paper then put in warm place(airing cupboard). I understand the concern about drying out but make sure they aren't so wet that they rot or get covered in mould. ( mine have in past) Normally find they germinate fast so check them twice a day.

Cheers HH