Topic: Germinating Sweetcorn

[derbex]

Depends how warm they are, they can take longer than that from memory.

[Rosyred]

Well saying mine aren't showing yesterday I've had a look this morning and there are signs of life but some little monkey has started eating them pulled them right out of soil to eat the corn.

Question for someone in the know....... If I saved a few of my kernals from ones I have grown would they grow?

[supersprout]

How long do they take to show? Mine have been in loo rolls for a week now but I have watered them.

Last year I planted sweetcorn in toilet rolls. They shot up within a few days, grew strongly, then fell back and died back after a week. So no sweetcorn last year >:(

This year, taking tips from A4a, I am sowing later, sprouting the corn first, planting less deep, and will whisk them out to their permanent home (protected) as soon as they grow a strong shoot. All the Kelvedon Glory sprouted after two days, only a few Swift have sprouts after four. So it may depend on variety and age of seed as well as the gardener rosyred ??? ::)

[dicky]

Hi

I've planted Swift as well and the germination rate, is rather bad 45%, trying not to water them now and see what happens, but using 35 seeds to get less than 20 plants doesn't seem quite right.

[Debs]

First-time sweetcorn grower and I'm slightly nervous ;D...

Grew mine early, in toilet rolls, germinated in airing cupboard - grew very quickly.

I was concerned in case they became leggy so transplanted into kitchen rolls.

They have been in a heated greenhouse, which is now un-heated, and I'm going to plant them on plot

with some fleece protection.

Just in case anything happens, I am going to sow some more.

Debs

[laurieuk]

I sow my sweetcorn in small plastic pots, I get good germination and very good crops.When I see organic root trainers at £4.00 for 10 I will stay with my pots. I grow Suttons Applause as it cooks well needs no butter as it is very juicy on it's own. When I first started with sweetcorn the seed tended to rot easily,so they dressed it with captan and charged extra. Now we pay extra because it is not dressed but called "organic". >:( >:( >:(

[SMP1704]

First time sweetcorn grower - I sowed 35 Swift in paper pots and after a week, 31 had germinated.  That was in a plastic greenhouse and cover with a propagator lid.  They are now being hardened off outside and I plan to plant them at the lottie on BH weekend.

Also sowed 16 Minipop and had 100% germination.

[amphibian]

I have sown over 90 seeds, of 4 varities, in rootrainers, I have had very mixed results.

Early Pearl - 90%
True Gold- 100%
Inca Rainbow - 0%
Apache Farine - 20%

I suspect I have over-watered, I exhumed the failed corn and they had gone mouldy.

[AndrewB]

blimey - I've sown 12 seeds in pots in plastic greenhouse - 1 germinated >:(  back to the drawing board

[saddad]

We sowed 18 pots with 2 per pot, except we were a few short! Ovation and similar for Minipop and only one pot failed to germinate...

now we have to risk transplanting some into seperate pots...
 ;D

[Tee Gee]

I sow mine this way initially;




Then as soon as they have germinated I pot the plug up into 3" pots.

[Rosyred]

Mine look like your top picture some have some haven't at the moment.

[saddad]

Only a day or two longer Rosyred and they will all be through like the top picture!

[AndrewB]

Given up on mine,not sure whether to start again or buy some plants ::)

[DenBee]

I think I had beginner's luck when I started sowing seeds earlier this year.

Almost every seed I sowed turned up green and lovely.  In fact, I still swear I got more beetroot plants than I sowed!

But as time has moved on, and the weather's improved, my germination success rate is actually decreasing.

Like I say, beginner's luck.  ::)

[jennym]

Given up on mine,not sure whether to start again or buy some plants ::)

Don't give up! there is still plenty of time to grow more plants. Get yourself some more seed, plant 2 per pot this time and best of luck!

..., I still swear I got more beetroot plants than I sowed!...

You might have done DenBee, the seed case that you sow often contains more than one actual seed.

[DenBee]

Thank you for that Jenny, it explains a lot.  I wasn't kidding about thinking I got more than I sowed.  It was only part of a multi-pack from Poundland, and yet I got quite a few, possibly half as much again as there were seeds.

[Tee Gee]

Given up on mine,not sure whether to start again or buy some plants ::)

Don't give up! there is still plenty of time to grow more plants. Get yourself some more seed, plant 2 per pot this time and best of luck!

Agreed!.....and soak them this time for a few hours before you sow them, then water them again when you sow them, and no more.

You should find this should be enough moisture to germinate them, that is they shouldn't require watering again till after germination.!

[Sprout]

Perhaps another case of beginners luck? I planted 9 Lark in toilet rolls and left to germinate on the window sill. 100% success rate. Now in plastic greenhouse awaiting planting out in a few weeks. Next batch, 15 in root trainer on same window sill. 14 have germinated. Just dampened compost, plopped in the seed and covered with about half an inch of compost and left them to do their stuff.

[dicky]

I had pretty much given up on mine but popped 10 in the airing cupboard and they all came up in 2-3 days. looks like they just need more heat than most.

Have moved all the towels etc out now so I can whack just about everything else in that is a bit behind as well, check twice daily and move and seedlings that emerge into a light place until leaves emerge than pop them in an unheated greenhouse so they don't get leggy.