Corn, not germinating

[lovinglife]

Dang it, this happened one other time. I think some of the organic corns are not as easy to grow as the GMO garbage they are selling. AND trying to get the seed in the first place was not easy, now the stuff isn't wanting to even sprout, I have another pack of seeds, what do I need to do to up my chances of germination....open to all suggestions..

 

[Tmann]

I have a chipmunk that I could send your way, he takes corn from my feeders all the time and plants them all over my yard and they grow like crazy.

 

[j.w]

Try taking a paper towel putting it on a plate or cookie sheet and wetting the towel and lay your seeds out on it and cover w/another wet towel. Keep the towels moist but not drenched and don't let them dry out. When they are good and sprouted just plant them. I did this each year and all of them grew in the garden great and that way I knew they were sprouted. Don't worry if they get a bit of mold growing on the towel. Careful removing the sprouts as they are fragile.

 

[Shirleyc Cox]

Corn is one of the most popular garden vegetable plants. Definitely a warm season crop, it needs warm soil and lots of sunshine. Soak the corn seeds overnight in a bowl of room-temperature water. Place the peat pods into the gardening flat. Pour warm water over them until they are fully expanded. Pour the excess water from the flat.

Place the corn seeds into the opening at the top of the peat pot. You may need to expand the opening with your finger or a pencil. Push the seeds down an inch and push the peat around the top of the seeds. Place the flat on the heating mat, set to 75 degrees F. Allow the flat to remain on the heating mat until the corn seeds have germinated. Check the peat pots daily to make sure they don't dry out. Use the misting bottle to moisten them if they appear to be too dry.

Remove the flat from the heat mat and place it in a sunny, warm area as soon as the seeds have sprouted. Harden off the corn seedlings when they reach five inches tall. To do this, place them outdoors in a sunny, warm area for a few hours per day, gradually lengthening the time spent outdoors each day, and bringing them indoors at night. Plant in the garden after one week.

 

[lovinglife]

ok, not going to start the seeds indoors, but I am going to try j.w.'s idea, sprout then plant. How long did it take them to sprout this way? I would like to plan it so I can plant on the weekend.

 

[lovinglife]

A chipmunk!! Too funny! My cows would love that, they would be getting corn stalks all year!

 

[j.w]

Should take about 2 - 4 days and in a warmer spot they will sprout faster. You can put a piece of clear plastic over the top to retain moisture better.

 

[j.w]

Remove the ones that sprout first and plant them right away 1" deep and be very careful not to break the fleshy roots.

 

[lovinglife]

Thank you, I will start them tonight and plant this weekend. If some sprout sooner I can always plant a few everynight as they sprout.

 

[Shirleyc Cox]

Sweet corn fresh from the garden is one of the delights of gardening. Unfortunately, you're not the only one waiting for the sweet corn; the competition begins as soon as the corn seedlings pop from the soil. Late frosts can be dealt with by keeping an eye on the weather and covering the seedlings with plastic, hay or extra mulch. Pests and insects take a bit more planning.

 

[Meowmie]

The problem with corn is even the seeds that are 'non GMO' may have been cross pollinated with GMO corn if they are within the radius of bees travel as GMO corn. Contaminated seeds will have the characteristics of GMO seeds, and one of those is that GMO seeds can not reproduce seeds that can grow. They do this so you are forced to buy seeds each year. From Monsanto.

Because of the cross pollination, clean seeds will become more rare. It is not that GMO seeds are hardier and therefore will have a higher germination rate, it's that the non GMO seeds have been made sterile by the cross contamination.

 

[lovinglife]

Interesting about the GMO, never thought about cross pollination. hmmm next year I think I will grow the red sweet corn, then save a bunch of cobs to save seeds for the following year. A lady at work has had good luck doing that. At least then I don't have to rely on trying to find a good seed. There are not many corn fields around my place (in the middle of the desert) so I should be safe.

 

[Meowmie]

Can red corn cross pollinate with yellow or white corn? If it can, you run the same risks of it being contaminated by GMO corn, which would then make it unable to produce seeds that you can grow.

Germination of corn seeds that aren't GMO is going to be going down as they get cross bred. It will be a matter of eating the corn that is GMO, buying seeds each year and praying your health holds out, or learning to live without corn and corn based products.

I am doing the latter.

 

[kevinkimers]

I don't have a problem with getting them to germinate, I have a problem getting them to produce. Out 12 stalks I might get 2 viable corn cobs out of them. I pretty much ready to give up on the idea of growing any corn. I have tried different varieties, but maybe I just haven't found the right one yet.

 

[Rodney]

Corns seeds can be easily germinate, what you have do is take some corn seeds in small container, soak them in water overnight. Drain the seeds next morning and rinse in cool water. Cover them with a towel to conserve moisture, rinse with cool water at least 3 -4 times daily until they germinate.