Monday, May 29, 2017

Green Corn, take 3

It is year three in my odyssey to grow enough green corn for eating.

2015: Year one, I planted all the seeds from a single packet, but I planted too late, June or something, and so only a few ears developed

2016: Year two I planted late again, albeit with more seeds than were in the packet. Halfway through the season I learned that urea and water in a 1:4 mixture gives these guys a turbo-boost of growth and lends their leaves a healthy deep green hue. But we had an early and persistent fall, with rain unrelenting (28 days of rain in October!). I panicked and picked too quick, so that the early ears were but half done. Then again I picked some later ears that wheezed a few kernels past the finish line.

2017: Now year three. I planted right on time, mid-May, after soaking the seeds which my wife told me saves 3-5 days in germination. A cool week later there was no sign, but on the 8th day they poked through. This morning (day 15) I got this picture:
These two were accidentally planted too near each other, but that and the coincidence of their leaf arrangement made them appear to be twins.

I spent far too much time babying these guys, but I want this to be the year I get all the green corn I can use. This will be the year of never letting them dry out and never letting them go without nitrogen.
We'll see how it goes!

1 comment :

Pawpaw said...

As Grandpa used to say: "The corn needs to be knee high by the 4th of July".