Sweetcorn germination

[john4576]

Hello.
I sowed 2 blocks of 10m by 1m rows of sweetcorn 22 days ago. Still nothing has emerged. Hundreds of seed sown nothing come up.
Variety was Golden Bantem. Can I expect something to germinate. Is their still time to re sow and try again. There are lots of pigeons in the area but haven't seen them on the soil searching for food. Occasional rabbit and squirrels would they eat the seeds buried.

[ameno]

There is still time to resow.
Until a week ago, things were still rather chilly, so I suspect the cold may have caused them to rot off. Sweetcorn need heat to germinate.
If possible, I would recommend sprouting them sandwiched between two bits of damp kitchen roll first. They will sprout quicker that way (within 2-3 days, usually, if kept warm), and you can then just sow the ones which are actually growing, and toss the ones which are not sprouting. It also means you shouldn't need to sow two at each station, as you know that the one you planted is alive and growing (although it getting eaten is still always a possibility).

[quanglewangle]

These were sowed in modules 15 days ago and planted out 7 days ago, so plenty of time to get started.

[Nicos]

Wow John ...that’s a lot of sweetcorn!

Yours look healthy Q

Our first lot rotted and we resowed last week and they are already poking their heads through the potting compost.

[quanglewangle]

... Yours look healthy Q...

Well, they damn well should. This is the third and final try!

[john4576]

Hello
I intend to direct re sow at weekend try again. First time around I sowed at a depth of just below the surface. Pushed in seed just below the soil surface.

is that okay for depth

[ameno]

Hello
I intend to direct re sow at weekend try again. First time around I sowed at a depth of just below the surface. Pushed in seed just below the soil surface.

is that okay for depth

Yeah, that's fine.

[Jungle Jane]

John have you got any netting you can lay over,maybe a bricks height to allow a bit of growth space but remove net once they’re growing a bit to protect from pigeons (if they’re eating the seedlings when germinating) & from mice (they eat sweetcorn seeds when you sow direct). Then they might need a water every day in this hot weather,just a light watering to keep the top inch of soil good.

[Nicos]

We have fields and fields of maize in our area grown as winter fodder for cattle.
The whole plant is shredded , then they are piled about3/4 ft high by about 20ft wide and covered in a tarp which is rolled back a bit every day in winter for the cattle to eat.
Anyway....I digress....... I just wanted to say that the plants are about 3-4” high at the moment, so ours aren’t that far behind!

[john4576]

Okay second attempt has been re sowed now


are their particular standard sugar varieties better suited to colder conditions. I've got golden Bantem. But would say the variety double standard or the red standard germinate better in cold and wet.any particular variety renowned for doing well in the cold

[Snoop Puss]

What spacing do you use, quanglewangle?

[Snadger]

We have fields and fields of maize in our area grown as winter fodder for cattle.
The whole plant is shredded , then they are piled about3/4 ft high by about 20ft wide and covered in a tarp which is rolled back a bit every day in winter for the cattle to eat.
Anyway....I digress....... I just wanted to say that the plants are about 3-4” high at the moment, so ours aren’t that far behind!

That's really interesting Nicos.

[quanglewangle]

What spacing do you use, quanglewangle?

Too close, I expect. About 30cm but we get lo ts of sunshine and I water a lot and use agricultural fertiliser. 3 or 4 close rows then a wider space of access for hoeing. Usually very successful.
ISO standard Croc for scale.

[Nicos]

Just planted out ours. 10cm high.
10 of the 20 germinated.
Better than nothing eh?

Ours are about 30 cm apart and planted in the staggered domino pattern.

We used to plant them about 18" apart when we did the 3 sisters method.

[Snoop Puss]

Thanks, guys.

I'm growing Earlibird for the first time and was hoping to grow in a block of three rows. The packet says 50 cm spacing, which I can't quite manage for three rows. Looks like I can afford to go a bit closer. Brilliant.