Sweetcorn – Earlibird F1 is one of the earliest cropping varieties of sweet corn, meaning this is an excellent choice for most UK gardens. Sweetcorn – Earlibird F1 is a super-sweet variety with excellent flavour and early maturity, meaning you’ll get a great crop whatever the weather. Sweetcorn is wind-pollinated, so plant Earlibird out in blocks to ensure the pollination of all the female flowers. Poor pollination will lead to missing kernels in the cob rows. Sweetcorn will do well in most soils but are quite shallow rooted, so make sure to hand-weed rather than hoe around their bases. For us, nothing beats the taste of freshly picked sweetcorn, steamed or barbequed with a little butter melted on top. As soon as they’re picked, the sugar content of the kernels starts to drop, so the stuff you buy in the supermarket really is no comparison – it really is worth growing your own!
Planning your site
Sweetcorn needs a sheltered, sunny site which is protected from strong wind. It likes fertile soil with plenty of organic matter, such as rotted manure and is best planted into ground which has been dug over or which is not too heavy or dry. Sweetcorn is wind pollinated, plants should be grown together in blocks rather than rows 45cm apart.
Growing tips
Use a mulch to keep the weeds down and to preserve moisture. Be very ccareful when hand weeding or hoeing as Sweetcorn have shallow roots and will not thank you for disturbing them! If your plants are in any danger from strong wind, stake each plant. Make sure you water them well once they start to flower. A top tip is that tapping the tops of the plants can aid pollination!
What to watch out for
Mice and Birds can be kept at bay with barriers and humane traps. Consistent watering will deter wilting.
What to do when your plants arrive
- Unpack them. Your seedlings will arrive carefully packed in bio-degradable straw, cardboard and paper. They may look a little bit bedraggled from their journey. Don’t panic – this is totally normal and they should soon perk up. Please try and unpack your plants as soon as they arrive, as every extra hour they spend in the box will add to the stress of travelling to their new home.
- Give them a drink. Having spent a day or two in the post, your new plants will be thirsty! Stand them up in some fresh water for a few minutes to make sure their roots have been thoroughly soaked before planting.
- Plant them out into their forever home! Your plants can’t wait to get their roots into the soil. Plant them out according to the instructions that will have come in the box with them. Make sure you water them in well, and give them plenty to drink until their roots have had a chance to get settled.
Substitutions
As you well know, plants are unpredictable creatures and so is the British weather. As such, we reserve the right to substitute items in your order for an equivalent variety. To find out more about substitutions, please take a look at our terms and conditions.
Delivery
We charge a flat shipping fee of £6.99 per shipping season. If you order everything from one season ie Spring you will be charged once, if you order Spring and Summer you will be charged twice etc. We do not ship outside of the UK.
Where can I send a gift card?
All of our products are available to send to UK addresses only. The products that the recipient can redeem their gift card on will only be mailed to a UK postal address. Postage is free for physical Gift Cards, as well as on the products that can be redeemed.
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