Allotments 4 All
Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: phoenix_co2 on April 11, 2009, 15:48:04
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Simple question, when do you put your sweetcorn outside?
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I'm not setting mine until the end of this month. Will be putting them outside about the end of may, although i have read that you can plant in april outside. Think they would be ok outside now, just protect them from birds and frost.
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Have just sown mine in 3'' pots in the greenhouse, but still wont go out to the allotment till the end of may.
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put mine into rootrainers last week on the windowsill, these will go in the polytunnel :)
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I put mine outside about the end of May, though I might cloche them for a couple of weeks if we're still getting chilly nights.
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I sowed these on the 5th April and expected them to be a couple of weeks before they germinated. :-\ :-\
Along with these sunflowers
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Mine will go out at the end of April, but I'm in sunny Kent.
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I'm in Oxford.... lpan on sowing mid-April in 15-station modules and then hardening off for a week in mid May, plant out after that in late May after all risk opf frost ahs passed.... Growing two this year, Earlibird as it shoudl give me a crop of sweetcorn even in less favourable conditions and Blue Hopi as I want to feed my nephews and nieces blue popcorn........
chrisc
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Where did you get the blue popcorn from?
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Where did you get the blue popcorn from?
Umm.... some chap advertising them on ebay..... will ahve tto check the packet but it isn't to hand right now,.....
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I have 12 tiny ones planted out under plastic. May die, may not...
Sunny East Sussex, currently raining.
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I was a wee bit lazy and bought some already growing from one of the local garden centres, figured as they had them in pots outside they would be ok to go straight out, been outside a week now and 2 of them not looking that great, maybe It was a bit too early, fingers crossed. Weathers quite nice over here in Hereford
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I'll sow mine in the next week or so and plant out at the end of May/early June. I need to be a bit later with them as I have run out of room at the moment!
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I've given up on sweetcorn after the sodding squirrels ate the lot last year AND the year before. Grrrr. >:(
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I've given up on sweetcorn after the sodding squirrels ate the lot last year AND the year before. Grrrr. >:(
Have you tried putting a plastic bottle over the cobs when they are small and keeping them on as a protective collar until harvest? I did that in my garden when squirrels used to have a go and it put them off!
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I plan to plant mine out in the next couple of weeks - are there any issues with planting different varieties in adjoining blocks?
Cheers
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Copy of Jeannine the sweetcorn and squash queen's advice below, she is currently en route to Cananda so you would have to wait a long time for such a comprehensive reply otherwise! ;D
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Planting corn early wil not give you better results, actually it is one veggie that dislikes it.The earlies have an internal time shedule, if you are starting in pots it needs to be timed so that from germination to planting out should only be about three weeks, they will stop growing in the pots and take a while to recover so transplant indoors into larger containers rather than keep them in little pots if the weather is iffy. It is better however to wait till the weather has warmed up and germinate and plant out quickly. If you direct seeds wait till the ground is warm.
If you are using the supersweet or sugar enhanced, it need even more heat to germinate than the usual corn ( 70f) regular corn needs 60F
They need to grow a certain amount of leaves within 30-40 days before they tassel even if the plant is not ful sized by then.
If planting direct,plant 4-6 inches apart in rows 30 inches apart with a minimum of 4 rows,so a block if you are not planting many. Don't plant in soil that is too cold , they will rot, you can cover with clear plastic till they germinate. USE treated corn to prevent rot if the weather is less than it's bets.It needs a lot of fertiliser,thin to 8-10 inches apart for regular corn, large varieties or doubles need 1 foot but not more as pollination can be hampered. Keep free of weeds till 1 foot high then let them go,Plants have very shallow roots, so don't cutivate too close.
Pick a variety that does well in a short season if you are north.
I start mine inside in May, so they can go straight out without a pause,when they are two -three weeks old.
Some varieties have to seperated from others.
Regular Corn. Hybrid or OP.Varieties can be mixed.
Sugar Enhanced needs no isolation from other varieties either in it's family or from the ones above,
Super sweets ( wrinkled corn)must be isolated from other types by 25 feet or both types will cross pollinate and the resulting corn will be starchy.
It is therefore useful on a lottie to know what your neighbour is growing.
. Hope this is of some use to someone.
XX Jeannine
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I can grow supersweets and other varieties without problems as long as I keep them well apart - 20 yards or more. We're not talking about vast amounts of pollen, after all.
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I have two varieties again this year and will be keeping them apart with my runner beans between them, :)
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I have two varieties again this year and will be keeping them apart with my runner beans between them, :)
Sort of ditto, I'm planning on the one going at the near end and the other at the far end of my plot, one of them will be doing the clearing job in what will be the asparagus bed.....
Good thing with corn is that it doesn't have any cross pests with other thigns so you can squeeze it in anywhere in the standard rotation if you don'#t grown enough of one of them eg cabbages.....
chrisc
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Think the only problem growing different varieties, is if you want to save the seed for the following year year.
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Apparently it's a bit worse than that with sweetcorn as the seed has to be pollinated by the same variety for supersweets to taste right....... on most fruited things we eat the fruit structure comes from purely the female line but that isn't the case with sweetcorn.....
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I will be sowing mine over this next week. (Indoors for now)
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mine have just started showing, ours go in the poly ;D
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Just keep them well apart and you won't have any problems.
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Just keep them well apart and you won't have any problems.
I have sown my 'Swift' and 'Extra Early Sweet' today. Both are side by side on my conservatory windowsill. I take it you mean they don't have to be kept apart until they are planted out......
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It doesn't matter till they flower.
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pheonix -co2
Our plot is almost in the city (Hereford) but I will not put sweetcorn or toms out until end of May and will still check for frost .
Are the plants in deep pots ? you may need to keep an eye on the roots they do get long. Good luck.
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Just got my packets out... to sow... :)
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I sowed 42 in pots on the 5th, once their up they will be planted three weeks after this, so they should be planted out early May. ;D ;D ;D
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pheonix -co2
Our plot is almost in the city (Hereford) but I will not put sweetcorn or toms out until end of May and will still check for frost .
Are the plants in deep pots ? you may need to keep an eye on the roots they do get long. Good luck.
Hi Mark, possibly not planted at the best of times or in the best way, happy to use this as a learning curb and put something else in there place if they fail, do you have one of those allotments by asda or opposite b & q, have my toms and cucumbers back in taking up kids window ledges, i really must learn to be more patient
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Mine will go out Mid May :)
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Have you tried putting a plastic bottle over the cobs when they are small
Squirrels in my garden have obviously read up on all the literature and knows how to get round my little traps, they're clever littl'uns. They waited until practically the day before it was time to harvest, and then they jolly well ate all the cobs! The air was somewhat blue...
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im not saying when im going to start my sweetcorn. im sure the squirrels have internet round my way
three times last year the dam critters nicked my sweet corn
:-X
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I sowed 18 seeds on the 7th April and yesterday some started to show their heads. And will be following Jeannine's instructions on planting out 3 weeks later - so early May for me - which means I need to get busy and prepare that bed.
Exciting isn't it!!
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phoenix-our plot is off the College Road, very few know they are there . Will be sowing sweetcorn today,one of the best tasting crops
that make it difficult to eat shop bought.
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Its my first year growing anything other than tomatoes, I will be grateful for whatever crops manage to live through my haphazard impatient growing techniques, every days a school day, loving the whole process tho
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Its my first year growing anything other than tomatoes, I will be grateful for whatever crops manage to live through my haphazard impatient growing techniques, every days a school day, loving the whole process tho
I like your spirit Phoenix, I reckon that's what a lot of gardening / growing your own is about. I'm into my 2nd year on an allotment and as you say still very much in school, and my approach to my 1st year was that if I got anyting it was a bonus :) - and I did loads of yummy spuds ;D
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Just about to sow my sweetcorn.
I'm 4th year now but I still remember runner beans and spuds were my saviours back in 2006 :) oh, and onions grown from sets - fairly foolproof.