If you live in cool locations, have space on your windowsill and want to ensure your sweet corn harvest, it is advisable to prefer this plant. A lot can go wrong and how can it go right?
How can you properly prefer sweet corn?
To grow sweet corn successfully, the seeds should be sown in late March to early April in 10 cm deep pots with sowing soil and pre-soaked in water for 8-10 hours. In a warm, bright place they will germinate within 5-10 days. Strong young plants can be planted outdoors in mid/end of May.
Advantages of pre-breeding
Sweet corn is only sown outdoors from mid/late May. However, impatient gardeners may prefer it. The biggest advantage is that the seeds can germinate and grow at home under the watchful eye.
Once sown outdoors too early, the corn can die quickly if exposed to frost. Pre-growing prevents this. Strong plants can also be grown at home; they will grow faster later and therefore produce flowers and fruits more quickly.
Prefer to stay at home from the end of March/beginning of April
Regardless of the variety, sweet corn is brought forward between the end of March and the end of April. You should sow the seeds at home by the beginning of May at the latest in order to be able to release strong young plants outdoors in mid/end of May.
Sowing the seeds
Before sowing, the dried seeds are pre-soaked in water for 8 to 10 hours. It would be ideal to place the seeds in a thermos flask with water at 20°C.
After pre-swelling, it continues like this:
- fill at least 10 cm deep pots (forms long taproot) with seed soil
- Sow seeds 3 to 5 cm deep
- place 2 seeds in each place
- Tip of seeds pointing downwards
- cover with soil and moisten
If the seeds are placed in a warm place, they will germinate within 5 to 10 days and the first green will appear on the surface. Then they must be placed in a bright location so that they do not rot.
Take the young plants outdoors
It continues as follows:
- Plant out from mid/end of May
- plant in blocks or at least a double row
- Row spacing: 40 to 60 cm
- Planting distance: 30 to 40 cm
- loose up the soil thoroughly beforehand
- Choose a sunny, warm place protected from the wind
- Plant root balls deeply
Tip
Caution when removing from the growing pot, the young roots can be up to 40 cm long. Unwind them carefully so that no injuries occur.
