sweetcorn problems

[mr plasma]

anyone help?
i planted out 24 sweetcorn plants about a fortnight ago they are about 6-8 inches high but they are falling over. i tugged on a plant and it lifted easily ,the roots seem to be smaller now than when i planted them any ideas?

[mr plasma]

[keef]

Could be too early. I'll be sowing mine at the end of the month.

Could also be lack of water - when you've planted them out they need watering quite a bit to begin with.

Finally - what did you start them off in - i use old bog rolls, then plant the whole lot in the ground (bog roll and all), they dont seem to like having thier roots disturbed.

[Robert_Brenchley]

They definitely don't like being disturbed, but plant them deep, water them well, and cover with fleece or cloches if the weather is chilly. There's plenty of time.

[Rosyred]

I was going to ask about Swift sowed them 24/4 and nothing happening where as my Incredible are coming through mind you I didn't plant them 8 days earlier. Getting too eager haha

[Jeannine]

They are very shallow rooted and if you are weeding around them you have to be careful too. Other points have been covered I think. They do go dormant when planted out if they have been in the pots too long too, they recover but it takes a while. XX Jeannine

[mr plasma]

thanks for all the replies i might just sow some more in loo rolls and fill in where the gaps are and i will plant deeper than the originals

[Jeannine]

Mr P. plant in 3 inch pots, and then three weeks after they germinate plant out, the trick to corn is to not to interupt it's growth,if it has to stop because of lack of space it will stop for a while. It doesn't have to be big when it goes out, you can direct sow, but as it needs warmth to germinate it is a problem. Don't leave it in the pots more than three weeks and you won't disrupt it.  If your corn seeds are wrinkly it needs even more warmth.XX Jeannine

[carolinej]

The three week rule sounds interesting. Mine have been up about a week, so I will keep an eye on the date and make sure they are planted out in plenty of time.

If they are shallow rooted, is there any advantage to being put in loo rolls instead of pots?

cj :)

[Uncle Joshua]

Mr P. plant in 3 inch pots, and then three weeks after they germinate plant out, the trick to corn is to not to interupt it's growth,if it has to stop because of lack of space it will stop for a while. It doesn't have to be big when it goes out, you can direct sow, but as it needs warmth to germinate it is a problem. Don't leave it in the pots more than three weeks and you won't disrupt it.  If your corn seeds are wrinkly it needs even more warmth.XX Jeannine

Thanks for the info Jeannine, I failed big time last year so that may help.

[miniroots]

I'm about to sow mine... should I soak them first?

[Jeannine]

This one has come up before and someone will say yes.My advice to you is no.
Corn require damp(not moist) warm soil to germinate.I think soaking is taking a risk and I don't think it achieves anything, I know there are people out there who think differently so you will have to make up your own mind in the end. I have grown corn for 40 years,and have never fond the need to soak it. XX Jeannine

[Jeannine]

Hi Caroline, the loo roll thing, I cannot think of any reason to use it for corn frankly.Usually corn is direct seeded, the only reason for the pots at all is to buy aliitle time with the weather, Seed will not germinate in cold wet soil,the seed just rots away, Direct seeding is fine for most corn from late May to the 1st week in  June unless it is wet and cold in which case you have to delay it. Starting in pots  3 weeks earlier inside is just a way of giving the seed what it needs to germinate.It doesn't need a heated propogater, or anything fancy, in fact that can be detrimental when it goes out. Remember it is germination that needs the heat, not the plant. My seeds went into three inch pots,1 seed to a pot, a few days ago in a cold greenhouse, they rae all just popping through now. Personally I think the loo rolls would be more harmful for the roots than an advantage because they are small, and  the good soil in the three inch pots also  gives them a good start  in the ground . However this is only my guess as I have never used loo rolls. XX Jeannine

[Cuke]

hmmm perhaps I kept mine in their pots too long then. I've had them in the greenhouse for a while (longer than three weeks I'm sure) and they were about 7-8 inches high in their little 3 inch pots. I planted them out yesterday and the roots were pretty crammed... I guess I should be expecting them to sit there not doing much for a while now... hope they recover eventualy.... :(

[Jeannine]

They should recover  but often seeds planted today will germinate and pass then by. Corn is the one veggie that doesn't benefit by early planting.XX Jeannine

[mr plasma]

if i infill with a different variety of sweetcorn will pollination be a problem?

[Jeannine]

If you mix the types of corn they will cross pollinate,however you can put more then 1 corn in by following a few rules.

If pollination times are different by about 15 days you can grow any types together but you need to know your corn to decide.

If you grow 2 types of the same family they will cross pollinate so your seeds will be off if you want to save them ,but this years corn will be fine.

If you grow 2 corns from differnt families  and they pollinate at the same time they will cross pollinate and both corns will be starchy.

If you put 25 feet between families you will be OK.

Families are:

Hybrid sweets,Sugar Enhanced,Supersweets, Open pollinated Sweets,Ornamentals and Popcorn.

Hybrid Sweet seperate from Supersweet but not Sugar Enhanced.
Sugar Enhanced,seperate from Supersweet but not Hybrid Sweets
Supersweets seperate from Hybrid Sweets AND Sugar Enhanced
OP Sweets seperate from Supersweets
Ornamentals and Popcorn  Seperate from all others.

If you are growing baby corn it does not need to be seperated as you don't let it pollinate.

If you are not sure and you  tell me the name of your corn I can probably tell you.

XX Jeannine

[Marymary]

Hi Jeannine, how do I stop my baby corn pollinating my main crop?  This has been worrying me for some time  ??? ???

[saddad]

You can break the tassles out of the top of the plants as you don't want to pollinate the minicorn any way...Don't know if this is an approved technique though so lets see what Jeannine says!
???

[Jeannine]

Hi Mary Mary, stop worrying sweetie, it is very easy.You just need to keep an eye on your corn patch and harvest it at the right time.Bear in mind the following points.

Any corn can be used for baby corn, there is no advantage to buying special corns,I have one at the moment that is claiming huge yields but I am not convinced.

The corn doesn't create it's sugar till much later than you would harvest baby corn so buying very expensive corns have no advantage either.

Watch for the silks starting to form and pick 1-3 days after you see them,after that they will be too big. They very quickly grow so you need to be looking.If you miss any they will grow to full sized corn and will pollinate others. Picked as suggested they cannot. You can remove silks to stop pollination but there is no need to go to all that trouble but it is an option and many people do.. Harvest every couple of days. They will freeze.

There are a few varieties that grow dwarf plants, usually popcorn types,  but almost all are regular corn varieties. I usually just grow a second patch of the same corn to use as baby corn, then I can pull the stalks out as soon as they are done, but you can use the same patch and pull some early and leave others to mature, I personally find this doesn't work as I am always looking as to which I have picked or not.

So it is very easy, so no worries , it cannot pollinate your other corn,(unless you miss some) you can grow it side by side.If you grow the same variety it doesn't matter if you miss one or two.

There are a lot of "baby" corn seeds out there, as I said I am trying another one this year but you really don't need to.

Have fun.

XX Jeannine

[Deb P]

Jeannine; is Black Aztec corn, which I'm growing to eat considered an ornamental and therefore to be kept well away from my other sweetcorn do you know? :-\