sweetcorn

[dawn34]

hi all hope you all having fun growing etc and doing well
my question is why do most people soack their sweetcorn first, we have never tried growing sweetcorn before and going to try it this year, my hubby has just planted the seeds in pots we have a few coming up but i think i need to buy more seeds to get anything worth while, has he done wrong by just planting them in pots

[dawn34]

[okra]

either options works fine - soaking beans or corn allows the seed to swell and germinate quicker but it is not always the case. Good luck

[dawn34]

ok thanks for your reply, we have got about 5 coming up but i don't know whats happened to the rest of them all planted at same time

[quizzical1]

I sowed 2 varieties. F1 Lark germinated 19/20, but Golden Bantam did not germinate at all, despite both being kept in exactly the same conditions.
In fact, last week I emptied the pots that had the GB in, and found no trace of them. Neither of them were presoaked, and all the pots were in the same place in the conservatory.

[Jeannine]

Personally I don't presoak my corn seed, many of the newer varieties dislike wet and the seeds rot very quickly.The older ones could take it but the newer Supersweets are just too sensitive,you may get away with it but often not.XX Jeannine

[caroline7758]

I forgot about soaking mine, but they have just come up after 12 days in an unheated greenhouse. (May take longer now the weather's cooling off).

[Tee Gee]

many of the newer varieties dislike wet and the seeds rot very quickly.

Thats an interesting comment Jeanine because (with due respect) I find the opposite.

For instance you may have seen the entry I made in the 'edible section' showing my seed in cartons of water in preparation for sowing the following day the 22nd well I am pleased to say that five of those seeds have already germinated and it is only the 24th.

I am hopeful that most of the seed I sowed will have germinated within the next couple of days, my average germination time is 4-5 days.

Incidently they are all supersweet/ sugar enhanced varieties.

I do agree if the heat is a bit on the low side then 'rotting off' is quite probale!


http://tinyurl.com/2foukh

[Jeannine]

No probs Tee Gee,  we are here to share views and many times are ideas are at opposite ends, This is not one I feel passionate about and I think it is worth a go. I do think if newbies are reading it is worth a mention  that keeping the soil very wet especially in a cool greenhouse is a mistake though,I think that is where most rotting happens. It is hard to describe the difference between wet, damp and moist and as you know for some seeds that could be critical.

My corn arrived  this morning and I will be planting this weekend. A new one for me, one of the new synergistic ones. New seeds, you got to love'em you got to hate 'em

XXX Jeannine

[SueSteve]

I planted mine a while ago, I didn't know anything about soaking unti lI read this thred 2 mins ago!
Mine germinated in 3 days! They are in 4 inch pots and are about 6-8 inches tall. I am not sure when to plant out, end of may isnt it?
Sue

[Jeannine]

 Sue, there is a big thread somewhere that I gave a lot of info about types,planting, pollination etc on,but to answer your question quickly.It was about 2 weeks ago. Corn ideally should timed so that it is planted in pots for only3 weeks , it does not like to be disturbed and will go dormant for a while if left too long. It does recover but there is no advantage to planting this one early. Often the later planted seeds can pass the other plants by when they stop.  XX Jeannine

[Scatty1]

Hi
I tried both ways, I sowed seeds in pots and only 2 took, so then I chitted the remainder of the seeds on damp tissue paper in an airtight container and put them on a window sill for a week. Then planted 15 into pots and 13 have appeared so far. Think I will do them all this way next year too.
Good Luck, happy sowing :D

[SueSteve]

Thanks Jeannine :)

[Superstar]

I put mine in fibre pots in the cold frame, at the end of last week I planted them on the allotment and after 5 and a half weeks of no rain - the skies obliged.

[jollyroger123]

I planted 10 sweetcorn plants.  About 10 days ago.  9 have germinated and all are about 10" high.  Do you get more than 1 cob per plant ?

[Jeannine]

It depends on the type, XX Jeannine

[dawn34]

looked in the sweetcorn pots 2day and yes they have rotted away grrrrrrrr so i have brought some more to try again they int gonna beat me i will win first time i've tried growing sweetcorn.

[Barnowl]

I sowed mine in small 'compost' pots last year,  seemed to work well. Can dry out a bit easily but presumably excess moisture gets lost as well.

[Rosyred]

I soaked my peas & sweetcorn to try and I left them in the water too long as i've checked the peas today and they have rotted. The sweetcorn are not growing any quicker for me doing this.

[cornykev]

Never soaked mine  ??? ;D ;D ;D

[tim]

Me neither!