F1 Earlibird

Description
One of the best varieties of sweetcorn to grow. An extra early cropping variety, easy to grow and it produces sweet and tasty, good sized cobs with many rows of kernels right to the top! They have a good holding ability and crop over several weeks, the cobs are best picked and used as soon as possible.

Harvest
Once the tassels on the end of the cobs have turned brown.

Growing Instructions
Plant 45cm apart in a block. (Plant away from any other varieties of sweetcorn growing to avoid cross pollinating.) Plant in well drained soil in a sunny but sheltered position and protect from the frost. Keep them well watered until established and in dry weather. The cobs will start to produce (female) yellow tassels at the ends, these will then be pollinated by the (male) flowers at the tops of the plants. If your plants are in a non-windy site, you can help them by tapping the tops of the plants, only when the cobs tassels are out. Poor pollination will cause poorly filled cobs.

Tip
When harvesting an easy way to check before you pick your sweetcorn, is to carefully peel back the layers of the cob, squeeze one of the grains and if the juices are creamy white then they are ripe, if the juices are clear then it is still not ready. Hold the plant, twist the cob and gently pull off. Once harvested its best to eat or freeze them as quick as you can to retain the flavour.