Soaking corn seed?

13 years ago

I've read that soaking corn seed in water before planting is a good idea. I have Hybrid corn, labelled bi-color super sweet ... treated F1(SH2).

Do people soak a "treated seed"?

It's got a red coating to the seed.

tia

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Comments (4)

gardendawgie
13 years ago
I would suggest you plant some seed wet and some seed dry and see which you prefer. Both methods work if done properly.
bluebirdie
13 years ago
This comes down to if you prefer treated or untreated seeds.

I soak untreated corn seeds but it's not necessary.

If you soak the treated seeds in standing water, the inoculant will be washed off some. Then they become more like untreated seeds. Like gardenawgie suggested, try both and you'll find out the difference of treated vs untreated.
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I've been an overnight seed soaker for years but never tried a hydrogen peroxide solution or soaking to the point of sprouting before. Thanks to you all, I thought I'd make my first try with some hard shells: ornamental & sweet corn, castor bean & moonflower (that were nicked after a 24 hour soak). The solution has been changed once and this is day two. A few seeds of all but the castor beans have sprouted a tiny fat root (radicle?). So COOL!!! But Now what??? 1. Does each seed get planted soon after the root appears? 2. How long can the rest of the seeds stay in the solution soak if it's changed daily? 3. When do you give up on a seed that's been soaking for days & days? Does it mean it will never sprout or could it still sprout if planted? 4. Do most seeds sprouted this way grow on into mature plants once in soil? Or is there still a failure rate? 5. Most of the castor beans have a round puffy "bunny tail" looking thingy and some have shed half of their shell so you can see the whole embryo(?) But there isn't anything rooty looking like the corn and moonflower seeds have. What Up with that? Thanks in advance for the wonderful advice that is sure to come ;)
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jimster
13 years ago
A red or pink coating indicates seed treated with fungicide to prevent rotting if it takes a long time to germinate. The color is a warning that the seed is not to be used for food, either human or animal. The fungicide will be washed off to some extent if you soak the seed, reducing its effectiveness. I have not found it necessary to soak corn seed.

Jim
makete
13 years ago
What I do, and have good luck with, is to soak the seed between sheets of paper toweling. Take 4 sheets and fold them in half, you will have 2 sheets 2 ply. Lay half of this on a plate, put your corn over the toweling on the plate then fold the other half on to the corn. I pour just enough water to wet the paper towels and set aside. Keep the toweling damp, not too much water, til the corn swells and some will start to sprout. Saves me time and I'm sure that the corn seed gets the water it needs to come up. Hopes this helps. I also do this with beans and peas, any large seeds.

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Soaking corn seed?

Comments (4)

gardendawgie

bluebirdie

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jimster

makete

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