# General > Gardening >  Sweet corn pollenation advice

## porshiepoo

I have Sweetcorn growing in my unheated greenhouse. This is my first attempt ever and I only have 3 of them growing - although they are romping away.
My problem is that there is no way I am planting them out in the veg plot (they're about 18 inches high now) and I know they're wind pollinated.
Does anyone know of a simple way to hand pollinate them? Plus I haven't a clue which are the male and female parts.
Please help!

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## Foxy

If you keep your sweetcorn close together in the greenhouse they should pollinate themselves, not sure if there is a way to pollinate them.

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## highbury

you can "alledgedly" polinate with a paint brush, but leaving your greenhouse door open during the day and letting mother nature do her bit is probably your best option

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## macrosie

I've been growing these for a few years now in a polytunnel and have been quite successful. They grow to about 7' tall so make sure you have enough height. When watering them spray the leaves and let the water drip down rather than watering the ground. I just leave the tunnel door open and the wind does the rest. 

Hope you're successful!

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## lynne duncan

we had sweetcorn in the greenhouse last year and found that just shaking the flowers and catching the pollen  and then sprinkling the pollen onto other flowers was enough to pollenate the corns!, this year we have about twenty plants growing in the greenhouse so hopefully lots of corns later in the year - yum!

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## lynne duncan

this years are up to four feet have about 15 in the greenhouse looking forward to the cobs yum!

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## porshiepoo

Right, well I only have 3 alive and kicking. I'll know more next year and will get more of them growing.
They're about 5 ft at the moment and they have some kind of seedy flower thingy coming through the top. Haven't a clue what to do but I'll follow everyones advice and  see what happens.

Everything else is growing bloomin well. I have baby peppers already, courgettes and cucumbers  and all the other veg etc is flowering and ready to produce.

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## router

i grew these a few years in a greenhouse,you don't realy need to do anything,the pollen just floats round in the air and they produce cobs without the need to touch them,apart from watering that's about it,though a feed with Tomorite regularly helps them along

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## porshiepoo

> i grew these a few years in a greenhouse,you don't realy need to do anything,the pollen just floats round in the air and they produce cobs without the need to touch them,apart from watering that's about it,though a feed with Tomorite regularly helps them along



They get a regular feeding of Tomorite and the corny flower at the top is dying off on one of them now. What happens next then? Wheres the blinkin cob????????? ::

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## justine

Maybe this link will help.

http://www.farm-garden.com/growing-vegetables/sweetcorn

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## changilass

I think I am gonna have to get a greenhouse at some stage.  I planted mine outside and they are only about 4inch at the moment, so don't hold out much hope of getting anything off them  ::

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## lynne duncan

hi the top bit is the flower, shake it and the pollen falls down onto the leaves and down towards the stem the cobs come from the leaf joins

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## hell raizer

i,ve got 5 growing in my hothouse, 4 have seedy things coming out the top 1 has fine threads coming on it. i take it that there's male and female plants, sorry but this is the first time i've grown them,i usually just grow tomatoes

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## porshiepoo

Well Hell Raizer, me bing a seasoned veteran at all this veg growing stuff, I feel I should pass on some of my wisdom.  ::  Yeah Right!

As it happens, I found myself asking the very same question as you and as Lynne Duncan pointed out, the top bit is the flower (male I assume?) and the cobs actually grow from the leaf joints.
I actually have my very first cob growing as we speak. yay!!!!!!!!!

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## hell raizer

congratulations porshiepoo, i cant wait till mine come  :Smile:

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## Ricco

> i,ve got 5 growing in my hothouse, 4 have seedy things coming out the top 1 has fine threads coming on it. i take it that there's male and female plants, sorry but this is the first time i've grown them,i usually just grow tomatoes


The top bits are the anthers (male) that produce the pollen; the threads are the stigmas (female) and the pollen sticks to these.  Each thread leads down to one kernal on a cob - amazing how long the pollen tube has to grow to fertilize the kernal!

Wind is the usual pollinator (and Scotland has ceratinly had its share of that!) but I imagine that shaking may have the same effect.  Have you planted them in a square grid?  This is best for pollination.

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## hell raizer

yip, i planted them in a square grid i have also been leaving hothouse door and window open on days that it's not not been blowing a hurrican.  ::  we seem to be getting very windy weather of late.
thanks for explaining it to me ricco

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## Anne x

> I think I am gonna have to get a greenhouse at some stage. I planted mine outside and they are only about 4inch at the moment, so don't hold out much hope of getting anything off them


Changilass 

I treated myself to a plastic green house from B&Q to see how Id get on with growing Veg and OH said it was a phase I was going through  :: 
Have had loads of lovely strawberries Green Peppers well maybe just 2 
5 Tomato plants all bearing fruit but my baby sweetcorn silch so far although its getting tall 
I am truly hooked have the wee hoosie in a sunny spot of the garden go out at night and zip them in and open up again next morning

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## ak1

hi have been following thread as i also am growing sweetcorn for first time, so can someone tell me how do u know when they ready to be picked?

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## lynne duncan

last year we just usually pulled the leaves open slightly and peeked at the corns to see if they were yellow enough, that was our way of doing it.
my top flowers are just starting to open, can't wait for the cobs to be ready, but then it will be a fight to eat them

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## Ricco

> hi have been following thread as i also am growing sweetcorn for first time, so can someone tell me how do u know when they ready to be picked?


Whatever you do... do not pull back some husks to take a peek!  Feel the outside of the ear - if it feels fat and heavy then it shoudl be OK (it shoudl feel a bit like grasping a (steady now, Paris!!) baguette.  When you find one that seems OK then pull down-wards and twist it to break it free form the stalk.

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## canuck

> The top bits are the anthers (male) that produce the pollen; the threads are the stigmas (female) and the pollen sticks to these.  Each thread leads down to one kernal on a cob - amazing how long the pollen tube has to grow to fertilize the kernal!
> 
> Wind is the usual pollinator (and Scotland has ceratinly had its share of that!) but I imagine that shaking may have the same effect.  Have you planted them in a square grid?  This is best for pollination.


Spoken like a true native of Southern Ontario.   Good on ya Ricco.

The main thing with growing corn is an agricultural term called heat units.   Long, hot, sunny days are what is needed.   As someone who wore woollen stocking in Caithness right up until August 1, I would say that it does not offer the best climate for growing corn.   However, with protection and a few weeks of the weather we have been having lately you should get a bit of a crop.   Enjoy.  Fresh corn is just the best!

Some people boil it, others put it still in the husks on the barbeque.   I find cooking it in the microwave wrapped in wax paper to work very well.

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## Bonnie Parker-Duke

Porshiepoo, Your season is over but if you plan to grow sweet corn again next year, it's very simple. Just be sure you plant them in a block rather than a stright line.  the more you plant the better. If they were outside, no fewer than 4 rows is recommended so that if you have room in your greenhouse, say, to plant 3 rows of 3 plants, that should be okay, I would think.  I don't know how large your greenhouse is.  A good shake of the plants when they're pollinating should do the trick although if you have a way to hook up an electric fan to blow on them hard for an hour or so that wouldn't hurt either.

Good luck!

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