hi - i've looking to get started earlier than normal with sweet corn in my 400 square foot vegetable garden this Spring in MN. I have been looking at plans for hoop house to get keep the sweet corn protected from frost and soil temp high enough. Downside is watering will be a pain.

Here are some plans https://www.menards.com/main/g... in which the rows will will about 5 feet wide (10 foot pieces of pvc). I would have to get quite a bit of pvc material and plastic to do about half my garden. Anyone tried something like this? Worth it? I also included pic of my garden. thank you

What planting zone are you in? If you're in the far north it might be worth using a low tunnel like that over your corn for a while; but my inclination would be to start the corn in small pots early, under lights indoors, and then transplant it out and cover it with "floating row cover" (Reemay, Agribon, etc.) for a while to give it some extra warmth and protection. Definitely additional work to do the transplanting, but you will get a good headstart that way.

I have full size hoophouses and I experimented with low tunnels (like what you are proposing) last year for my soft squash. But I agree with @Weedwhacker. Start the corn inside and them move them out.

If you use the hoophouse I think you'll find that you only get a few degrees of thermal protection at night. If you get a frost its likely your plants will be effected.

You could use the row cover or other material to warm up your soil for a couple of weeks before planting your corn out. Corn likes warm soil.

If you decide to start the corn inside don't start it too early, they will outgrow your pots/flats very quickly. I wouldn't start them more than 1 month early.

I start mine in regular 10" x 20" flats, putting the kernels about 1" apart. The key is having good weather when you transplant outside, getting the depth right (they like to tip over) and keeping them well watered. And be sure to harden them off before planting!

Good luck!

Henderman said:

I start mine in regular 10" x 20" flats, putting the kernels about 1" apart. The key is having good weather when you transplant outside, getting the depth right (they like to tip over) and keeping them well watered. And be sure to harden them off before planting!

Good luck!

Cool, sounds like start indoors is the way to go. I am looking a small pots and also the toilet paper roll methods. In all, i will do about half my area with started indoors (prob next week, i'm in Minnesota), and the other half i'll sew right in ground in early May.

MInnesota farm radio said cold wet weather is in the future.
They stated this to warn farmers to adapt their planting routine to fit that scenario to avoid replanting.

I have grown corn for decades and cold/wet weather can cause young plants it to just sit there and sulk, for a long time making planting early in cold wet weather a waste of time or simply rot in the ground.

Henderman said:

I start mine in regular 10" x 20" flats, putting the kernels about 1" apart. The key is having good weather when you transplant outside, getting the depth right (they like to tip over) and keeping them well watered. And be sure to harden them off before planting!

Good luck!

Cool, sounds like start indoors is the way to go. I am looking a small pots and also the toilet paper roll methods. In all, i will do about half my area with started indoors (prob next week, i'm in Minnesota), and the other half i'll sew right in ground in early May.

I think the only real downside to starting the plants indoors is that transplanting is a lot more work than direct sowing the seed. But it definitely can give you a good head start on your crop, especially when the spring weather is less than favorable (which seems to be the case more often than not). I think starting some inside and direct sowing some is a very good plan. Just don't forget to harden your plants off before actually planting them out

j_kraut said:Cool, sounds like start indoors is the way to go. I am looking a small pots and also the toilet paper roll methods. In all, i will do about half my area with started indoors (prob next week, i'm in Minnesota), and the other half i'll sew right in ground in early May.

If you plant before the ground is warm, the corn will probably rot in the ground.
Transplanting in cold weather you corn will probably yield poorly, and just sit there deciding whether to live or die.
This is from experience.

Key Points

Deciding to plant when soil temperatures and forecasted temperatures are cold must be made on a case-by-case basis and opinions may vary widely.
Continuing to plant through cooler temperatures can keep planting operations moving; however, when planting into cold soil, corn kernels will be slow to germinate, plants will be slow to emerge, and the risk of seedling death is elevated.
Once planted, corn seeds need a two-day (48-hour) window when the soil temperature at planting depth does not drop below 50°F.
Corn requires a soil temperature of 50° F to germinate. ... When planting into cold soils or a forecast of cold temperatures, there can be a risk of imbibitional chilling injury which may delay emergence, cause an irregularity in growth and expansion of the coleoptiles, or cause complete failure of emergence

https://www.dekalbasgrowdeltap...

This is the cold extreme, at best.
You are in Minn, where I am and in the past few years, farmer have had to replant a lot of corn fields due to cold failure.
This is why some recently have planted at the last crop insurance date so if it still failed they had insurance.