Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption          Downsizer Forum Index -> Grow Your Own Shan Sweetcorn seeds Is it too late to plant them? I forgot about them and found them lurking in Mr Shan's Man-Draw. OtleyLad Re: Sweetcorn seeds Is it too late to plant them? I forgot about them and found them lurking in Mr Shan's Man-Draw. If you can get them in straigt away they should be ok - perhaps just a bit later in ripening and fewer cobs per plant (I'm lucky if I get 2 anyway). If you sow in pots first inside they might germinate quicker - they don't seem to mind being planted out from pots. Good luck!
Shan	Thanks, I will give it a bash. I think I will propagate indoors.
Mistress Rose	Mine have just been planted out as I always start them indoors. You might just be lucky as they should grow well at this time of year.
Slim	It has more to do with the variety than anything. Some have been bred to be shorter season and some absolutely require a longer season. I would skip potting up and just seed directly in the soil (assuming it's warmed up enough for you) as the transplant shock will likely cost you a few days growth. Seeding into hills can help, as good drainage will allow drier soil to warm up a bit more than wet soil.
Shan	Not all that warm here!!!
Slim	my googling says Cardiff is over 20c. you're fine!
Mistress Rose	I think the seeds we get here are short season anyway Slim. It is the only way we can get a decent crop. We never had sweetcorn at all when I was a child, as I don't think they had bred suitable seeds for the British climate. Sweetcorn was only known in tins in those days.
Shan	It has also been 12 deg C and as low as 6 deg C.
Slim	I'm a groovy organic guy, with a fondness for heirlooms. That being said, when you're talking sweet corn, it's pretty much completely a product of 20th century understandings of genetics, so you might as well get a hybrid that's going to work really well for you. If you want sweet corn, go for a line similar to this: http://www.gurneys.com/product/northern_xtrasweet_bicolor_sh2_sweet_corn/vegetables Remember, most of the U.K. loses in the "who has colder temperatures" argument with Northern New England
tahir	Remember, most of the U.K. loses in the "who has colder temperatures" argument with Northern New England

Yeah, but as I understand it once it gets hot there it pretty much stays hot till autumn, no such luck here. Slim

I guess my point was less to our far superior corn-growing weather in the summer, and more to the fact that you can get really short season varieties that are bred for cooler soil temperatures (since we usually have a later start than you would, and a shorter season in general).

What would be a 70 day variety here, even if it grows more slowly in your cooler summer, should still get you some sweetcorn in time! tahir

What would be a 70 day variety here, even if it grows more slowly in your cooler summer, should still get you some sweetcorn in time!

Yep, need to select the right variety. Mistress Rose

Picking the right variety is the only way with things like sweetcorn that are so marginal here. It can depend so much on exactly where you are too. I could grow tomatoes outdoors near the coast, but 15 miles inland and up a hill, I find I can't get them to ripen, so have to put them in the green house.

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