Helping Germination

I have just sown some cucumbers,gherkins and sweetcorn. Would they benefit from a short stay in the airing cupboard (or hot press for our friends in the north) to aid germination? I only got 50% success rate with sweetcorn last year.
Thanks

 

Well, it's possible but I wouldn't advise it. The seeds will germinate but unless you take them out of the airing cupboard immediatley they break the surface, the seedings will shoot up thin, white and useless. Years ago, I made the mistake of not looking in the airing cupboard soon enough and losing the whole lot that I'd planted in there. Never again.

Remember that big seeds rot if they don't germinate quickly. I'd wait until the air temperature is warmer (from now on) and then plant them in the normal way. I used to bust a gut to get early crops but I'm not sure it was worth all the effort. My later sowings usually caught up the early stuff that I'd sweated blood over!

 

Some seeds need light to germinate. I would recommend sowing them in a pan (a pot that is more shallow than normal) and putting the pan in a clear plastic bag (I use Tesco's resealable freezer bags).

It should have enough water in the compost (given that the water can't escape!) to last until it germinates.

Put it on the windowsill and open the bag (but leave the pan in the bag) as soon as you notice that it has germinated - that will provide some fresh air, and reduce the humidity, but still provide a screen from draughts etc.

You could chit your sweetcorn on wet kitchen paper - a couple of sheets in the bottom of a Tupperware box, put an inch of water in, pour out all the excess (but keep it on the "wetter" side rather than "drier"), sprinkle seeds on and even them out, put another sheet of kitchen paper on top, press down (so it absorbs the moisture from the bottom) and they will probably be ready to pot on in 48 hours. The roots are VERY fragile, so be careful when transplanting, and you should use Peat pots (or newspaper ones) so that you plant them whole, without removing the pots, so that they have the minimum of disturbance.

For how not to do it in a propagator! (and, if I may say so myself, a masterly recovery!!) see My Blog:

http://kgarden.wordpress.com/2009/04/05/sweetcorn-disaster-averted/