Apparently there is some debate as to whether or not corn is difficult to grow. Many people agree that you shouldn't bother trying to transplant it and many others say that's a bunch of hogwash, that their corn transplants just fine. Others still have trouble getting corn to germinate (sprouting the seed) and I've heard all kinds of ideas for helping this process along.
So I've decided to remember my sixth grade science class roots and do an experiment. The goal is to see which of my 5 or 6 methods works best for sprouting corn - if at all. All methods have come from hearing people say different things, so I figured why not try all of them?
For the experiment, I used two corn varieties that claim to be better suited for short seasons and 'stress': Sunglow (from Nichols Garden Nursery, OR) and Precocious (from Territorial Seed Company, OR). I used three seeds of both types for each method in hopes that controlling for dud seeds would make the experiment more successful.
After being altered, all the seeds were sandwiched in a wet paper towel and placed inside of an open plastic baggie. Here are the 5:
1. 3 seeds of each, unaltered (control)
2. 3 seeds of each soaked for two hours in water
3. 3 seeds of each soaked for 12 hours (overnight) in water
4. 3 seeds of each scraped gently with sandpaper
5. 3 seeds of each whose paper towels were soaked in a cloning solution mix instead of water
All baggies are now sitting in a tray on top of a heating mat. Beneath the heating mat I've placed some aluminum foil in hopes that this will help curb heat loss through the bottom of the seedling table, which is just an old futon frame. I'll keep the heating mat on all day but turn it off on night because of that pesky fear-of-electrical-fire thing I have. All I know for sure is that corn is a heavy feeder (meaning it needs compost and fertilizer more than some other plants) and that it loveslovesloves warm soil. They also love light but we're going to hold off on keeping the light on until someone sprouts. We'll see what happens!
And for good measure, Erin planted some seeds in soil and watered it with the cloning solution. (Cloning solution, apparently, is just a fertilizer mix designed to support new root growth and buffer transplant shock - we're using one called Olivia's Cloning Solution, recommended by the girl at the hydroponics store.) Here she is using the pencil method and our little coconut fiber pots (which are a real bitch to water, fyi).
And here is the final product! Stay tuned to see who sprouts first!!
1 comment:
Very interesting experiment. I've never had any trouble with corn germination- and for anything that is said to not like their roots disturbed I use soil block makers. Please write more, I'd love to see how things are coming along :)
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