sweet corn

[NatalieCooke]

Still need to read the packet please!

I think you can get away with sowing at the start of April (although you are a lot further North than me). Its about 6 weeks to raise a plant for planting out (although Sweetcorn grows quickly, so might not be that long), and it will be mid-May in 6 weeks time. Still early to plant out if soil is cold and you might still get a late frost.

They need to be indoors and minimum 10C (I think? they will probably survive Frost Free, but better to keep them warmer so they are not cold-stressed) until then

I did read the back of the pack. It says to sow indoors from March until May. Sow outdoors the last week of May (i'm unable to do this due to moving things about in the garden which we are starting today) Harvest August to September.

I've sown them in newspaper pots as I read they dont like their roots been disturbed.

I've since moved them into a darker & cooler part of the bedroom hoping this will slow them down a little.

[Kristen]

I did read the back of the pack. It says to sow indoors from March until May

I have no idea where in this country you could sow indoors (to plant outdoors) in March. Cornwall maybe, but apart from that I would have thought it was early. Sorry you've been misled by that

Sow outdoors the last week of May (i'm unable to do this due to moving things about in the garden which we are starting today) Harvest August to September.

Depending a bit on variety Sweetcorn is tight to get a crop off in an average English summer. There are varieties bred to be shorter, so they start producing cobs at a much lower height than old fashioned "Maize". There are also UK varieties bred for extra sweetness (with descriptions like "super sweet" and so on). Hopefully that is what you have got? My advice would be to raise them in pots and plant out towards end of May when all risk of frosts is past as I think that sowing outside direct, end of May, will give you a very late crop

I've since moved them into a darker & cooler part of the bedroom hoping this will slow them down a little.

The "cooler" will help, but they need decent light otherwise they will grow weak. That said, until them germinate they don't need any light of course but germination of sweetcorn seed is a bit of a race between root-and-rot. Particularly the new supersweet varieties which are more inclined to get fungus growing on them - beware if you find that sweetcorn seed, in the packet, is a funny colour as it is quite often sold coated with a fungicide for just that issue. Wash hands after sowing