Advice on growing sweetcorn please

[Georgie]

I want to try growing sweetcorn in containers next year.  I've read up on the conditions they need to thrive and it seems to me that it is possible.  Has anyone tried this before and can you recommend any particular varieties?  Thanks.

G x

[Georgie]

[jennym]

Not sure how successful they'd be, but wish you luck! Ive grown Marshalls Xtrasweet, and Kelveldon Glory, both were good. They get pretty tall, about 5 or 6 ft at least. You get one or two cobs per plant.

[cambourne7]

HI

From what other allotment holders have grown they plant them quite closly together.

I was going to plant mine in with sunflowered to provide stability.

C7

[jennym]

In open ground, plant about a foot to 18" apart in blocks. Don't know how big your container is going to be Georgie? Not sure if you need more than one to get pollination, I'd think so but someone will know.
Cambourne7, mine seem to be stable enough just grown in blocks alone, only grew about 30 this year due to lack of space and they did OK. They don't really seem to need support, but the sunflowers might look pretty.

[cambourne7]

HI

I am in an exceptionaly windy site ( we even have a wind turbine next to us ) so they do need some support.

:-)

C7

[supersprout]

At Barnsdale they were growing sweetcorn in half an old copper water tank (round) - kept the slugs off too :)

[SMP1704]

Georgie

This could be another use for those black buckets ;)  One per bucket and arrange the buckets in blocks for pollination.

Good luck

[Georgie]

Thanks for all the replies so far.  Jenny, I'm a bit disappointed to hear that you only get one or two cobs per plant.  Is that because of the variety you grow or is that fairly typical?  I will only have room for four plants in 12"-15" pots but if that is only going to yield up to 8 cobs it doesn't seem worth it.   :(

G x

[Multiveg]

The problem with sweetcorn - especially the sweet and extra sweet varieties, is that they can lose their sweetness if cross-pollinated by ordinary varieties. The catalogues suggest that you keep these at least 8m away from other varieties.

I don't think you get many cobs - even the minipop ones you expect 3-4 per plant  :-\

[Pilsbury]

Last year i grew minipop in a 24X18 tub and had 8 plants in there, in rows of 3,2,3. They did fine and i got about 35 cobs off them which i didn't think was a bad return for 3sq feet, they were in a tub as well so if it got to windy i could just move it somewhere a but more sheltered.

[Georgie]

Heck Pilsbury, that's some going, eight plants in such a small area and with what sounds like excellent yields.  Where did you buy the seed and what was the growing medium?

G x

[Pilsbury]

Seeds were just from B&Q or similer and growing medium was multipurpse compost.
anyone tell me how to post pics then i can put one up...