It dawned on me this year that since we have a large vegetable garden, I could plant corn! Yes, I'm slow but willing . . . . I harvested the last of the corn today, a large basket full. I'll be sitting on the porch of my husband's workshop and shucking corn to freeze. With our breeze (at 20 mph) all the silk will get blown away and I won't have to sweep! Next year I'll plant more corn, and if we aren't in a drought, may get TWO baskets full! Hope springs eternal.
Sitting in the shade of dozens of oak trees does not lend to veggie gardening. Question: could you not plant corn spaced apart by time so as to have multiple harvests? Jerry
Corn is good! Do you freeze it on the cob or cut it off? dr can't eat much corn. It doesn't agree with him but I buy it now and then. dooley
Jerry, yes, succession planting is definitely in the plan for next year's garden. I did a small block just to see what would happen this year. Next year, two blocks or more of corn. Dooley, I cut it off the cob for two reasons--it takes up less space in the freezer, and secondly, the ladies (my hens) dearly love to peck the last remnants of corn off the cob. They will reduce a cob down to pencil size and enjoy an entire afternoon's entertainment with a few cobs.
what variety did you plant? did you put the seeds in the ground or did you plant seedlings? I planted some corn last year as an after-thought - they were some sad looking seedlings from a home/garden store. They did produce a little bit though - they were little half-size ears, but they were tasty. This year I am trying again but this time I bought seeds (I forgot what they were - some hybrid that is supposed to be sweet) and I started them indoors. My seedlings look nice & healthy - they went in the ground a few days ago so we'll see how I do this year
Your corn will do much better if you plant the seed where it is going to grow. Try G-90 sweet corn. Good size ears and very sweet !! Its a bi-color corn !!
We planted Honey and Cream, directly in the soil. Corn has an extensive root system, and doesn't transplant easily. I've seen transplants at nurseries, and wondered why they bother--corn germinates easily! Mart, I'll look for G-90 for next year. Our Honey and Cream is a bicolor and very flavorful. I'd like to try other varieties too, so I'll try for G-90 next year. Thanks for the information.
I thought corn starts were the silliest thing I had seen yet, for sale, until this year. Here the rain never ceased from March, when the snow quit until the end of May, It rained EVERY day.(As of 5/30/11 only 12% of farm crops are in the ground as opposed to 85% this time last year, due to the rain). For us, we did start our own corn in the greenhouse and planted it out, the first 3 crops of corn, mostly, ROTTED in the ground because it was WET and cold. This obviously isn't feasible for acres of corn, but it does get a head start when you can't plant the seeds directly in the ground due to the weather. So for us it was worth the "silliness" of it. I think we are the only people with corn in and up, in the garden I have seen.
That's exactly why I've been doing it this way - we have a late rainy season, especially so this year & last - here's hoping for some sun!
