growing sweetcorn

[miss Sj]

So I've sown some sweetcorn indoors and it'll soon be ready to go out in the garden....my predicament though...Where to plant it? I've sown 9 plants and plan to plant in a 3 x 3 block. But growing so tall I don't want to block sunlight on other crops. I have a square metre raised bed empty, will that be big enough for all 9 plants? I do have some crazy paving behind the bed with potato grow bags but I can move those. Anyone had success with corn?

[sternyboy]

I had success a few years back with corn and I had it at the north most part of my veg patch so as not to block sunlight.

Last year I tried growing them in growbags in the gh but they didn't do very well, but then again none of my crop done very well last year :roll:

The 3x3 will be fine going by the sq/ft gardening rule

[LincolnshireFloyd]

So I've sown some sweetcorn indoors and it'll soon be ready to go out in the garden....my predicament though...Where to plant it? I've sown 9 plants and plan to plant in a 3 x 3 block. But growing so tall I don't want to block sunlight on other crops. I have a square metre raised bed empty, will that be big enough for all 9 plants? I do have some crazy paving behind the bed with potato grow bags but I can move those. Anyone had success with corn?

3x3 is just right for 9 plants I reckon. The spuds should be fine behind the corn if they are a short variety so I'd check the packet if you still have it. The raised bed might be a problem though. On the other hand by the time the corn gets to a decent height your spuds should be well established and at their maximum height themselves. But don't forget that potatoes naturally wilt when they have flowered so don't mistake that for lack of sunlight. Otherwise just keep an eye on them. If they look nice and green with sturdy stems then they will be getting enough sunlight and the wilting at the end is just them telling you that you can crop them.

[miss Sj]

Thanks muchly for the advice, I'll be putting them out tomorrow... weather permitting...

[rustylady]

Whereabouts are you Miss Sj? I've only just sown my sweetcorn and it's sitting in the greenhouse till the weather improves.

If you add your location (nearest town) to your profile it will show up on your posts. Helps a lot when giving advice.

[horticultural_hobbit]

I have 9 plants, for a 1m x1m raised bed. I am waiting for plant number 9 to hurry up and grow. All the rest are waiting steady in the 4TB for the weather to improve. I am
Hoping to use 2 outta 3 sisters, so there will be squashes at their bases.

[polc1410]

The Square Foot Boys would put 4 in a sq foot. So you could probably squeeze 9 in 2 sq ft as a 2 x 4 grid with 1 in the middle... And have loads of space for more stuff..

[miss Sj]

I'm in west Lancashire

[kathyd]

My little (1-2" tall) plants are still in my polytunnel - I'm waiting for slightly more settled weather and less frost at nights! Although the local farmers have just sown theirs recently, and are about the same size as mine. Most plant through clear plastic to keep the soil warm I presume, but others have been sown direct. So shouldn't be long now....

[Stan79]

I am hoping to use 2 outta 3 sisters, so there will be squashes at their bases.

Same here this year. Last year wasn't very successful with the sweetcorn due to the wet and i possibly put them in a bit too late. As a result it was a bit of a waste of quite a large area of my plot so planting the squash underneath is a bit of an insurance policy to try and get more out of the same area!

[Geordie]

corn is good for inter cropping so dont plant to close...plant squashes, cucumbers and even climbing beans in amongst them to increase space / yield