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Growing sweetcorn

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  • 18-04-2011 9:59am
    #1
    Themadhouse
    Registered Users Posts: 952 ✭✭✭


    Hi guys I was wondering if anyone has tips for growing sweetcorn.

    I planted my seeds about a month ago in a propagator and they grew fantastic! I have repotted them into bigger pots and they are upstairs in a warm bedroom that gets great sunlight most of the day. They are about 5 inches tall now but are flopping. Do I need to tie them up or will they strengthen so they stand upright themelves?


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    #2
    Corsendonk
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,871 ✭✭✭Corsendonk


    Themadhouse wrote: »
    Hi guys I was wondering if anyone has tips for growing sweetcorn.

    I planted my seeds about a month ago in a propagator and they grew fantastic! I have repotted them into bigger pots and they are upstairs in a warm bedroom that gets great sunlight most of the day. They are about 5 inches tall now but are flopping. Do I need to tie them up or will they strengthen so they stand upright themelves?

    Sweetcorn is free standing, 5 inches? You should be planting them outside into the ground direct now. You can plant them in a row but your better off planting them in the format below. A male flower opens at the top dropping pollen on to the female part of the plant(cob) but the formation below increases the chances of pollination from your other sweetcornn plants.

    x x x
    x x x
    x x x

    A tip also is that sweetcorn plants love water so I dig a trench in between the rows when I grow it, then I flood with water regularly using a hose, careful not to expose the roots, so dont dig the trench too close to the plants base. The root base spreads out to the trench giving your plants a strong support base and your plants have a steady water supply.


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    #3
    planetX
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,441 ✭✭✭planetX


    Start hardening them off first, put them outside in the day, inside at night for at least a week. If they've grown too soft you may need to start a few more from seed.


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    #4
    Sgt Pepper 64
    Registered Users Posts: 9,627 ✭✭✭Sgt Pepper 64


    Has anyone here actually grown and ate their own corn then?
    My plants are doing well, but a friend has a bet with me that it wont actually produce edible corns, because Ireland isnt sunny enough!
    I have a friend in the UK who managed it outside in an allotment, so I dont see why I cant here.
    I am doing an experiment, 6 plants in a greenhouse lined up in grow bags, and then 6 outside.
    I did grow the minipop version outside last year but they didnt ripen enough, too soft.


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    #5
    Corsendonk
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,871 ✭✭✭Corsendonk


    planetX wrote: »
    Start hardening them off first, put them outside in the day, inside at night for at least a week. If they've grown too soft you may need to start a few more from seed.

    I wouldn't even bother harding off now, its nearly May and the weather is pretty good the last month. A week of harding off is very excessive too. Plant the sweetcorn out before they become root bound.


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    #6
    Corsendonk
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,871 ✭✭✭Corsendonk


    Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »
    Has anyone here actually grown and ate their own corn then?
    My plants are doing well, but a friend has a bet with me that it wont actually produce edible corns, because Ireland isnt sunny enough!
    I have a friend in the UK who managed it outside in an allotment, so I dont see why I cant here.
    I am doing an experiment, 6 plants in a greenhouse lined up in grow bags, and then 6 outside.
    I did grow the minipop version outside last year but they didnt ripen enough, too soft.

    I have but I gave up 5 years ago, it just wasn't practical. I grew it outdoors and indoors in a glasshouse, the glasshouse was most successful with plants reaching on average 8-9 feet high but I had only 3 cobs and was lucky to harvest 2 of them from each plant. For the size of the plant yield is very poor. Earwings seem to love hiding in the cob.

    To maximise the flavour of fresh corn you either have to freeze it after blanching ASAP or use it. The sugars like in fresh peas start to convert into starch so you end up with a pretty bland product in 2-3 days after harvest so your better off harvest and using in the same day therwise frozen cobs are better.


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    #7
    johndoe99
    Registered Users Posts: 1,880 ✭✭✭johndoe99


    i've been growing them for years, you should get about 3-4 pods on each tree. If there falling over they've lost all the nutrients from the pots and need to be planted out quickly, i have mine under a polythene tunnel, and will keep them there until there at least a foot and half high. Feed them with Tomatoe feed weekly.

    And follow what "Corsendonk" said about pollination, its very important, the cobs wont mature correctly if they dont cross-pollinate.


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    #8
    planetX
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,441 ✭✭✭planetX


    Corsendonk wrote: »
    I wouldn't even bother harding off now, its nearly May and the weather is pretty good the last month. A week of harding off is very excessive too. Plant the sweetcorn out before they become root bound.

    Frost is still a possibility and then it's bye bye sweetcorn, especially with soft floppy growth. They're likely to be severely set back by shock anyway, if you plant some more seeds outside this time they will probably end up overtaking the indoor plants.

    The key to sweetcorn is a good warm autumn - the last two years I had a good crop but they just ran out of time to ripen before the first frosts hit:mad:


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    #9
    Corsendonk
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,871 ✭✭✭Corsendonk


    planetX wrote: »
    Frost is still a possibility and then it's bye bye sweetcorn, especially with soft floppy growth. They're likely to be severely set back by shock anyway, if you plant some more seeds outside this time they will probably end up overtaking the indoor plants.

    The key to sweetcorn is a good warm autumn - the last two years I had a good crop but they just ran out of time to ripen before the first frosts hit:mad:

    I agree about the frost point but the plant should harden up in a couple of nights and checking met eireann I don't see frost predicted. Of course a harsh frost will kill off any crops no matter how hardy especially this time of year with strong light levels. If you wait too long to plant out you will face the problem of not having enough time to ripen.


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    #10
    Themadhouse
    Registered Users Posts: 952 ✭✭✭Themadhouse


    Thanks for all your input! I really appreciate it! I think I might plant seeds out too as I am not convinced my plants will recover! But fingers crossed!


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    #11
    deisemum
    Registered Users Posts: 5,588 ✭✭✭deisemum


    I grew sweetcorn last year and got about 4 cobs off each plant and they were lovely. I also grew minipop baby corn, got loads of them but not one ripened so very disappointed with that.

    I only harvested the cobs as I needed them and as advised had the water boiling before picking them and they were superb. I grew them outdoors in a raised bed and tried the three sisters method with beans and butternut squash. The butternut squash wasn't a success only got 2 small ones.


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