Pick Me, Pick Me

That didn’t take long at all.

The field corn 🌽 running along a quarter mile of the walking trail is Tusculum was harvested this past week, only took them a couple days -

I need to do some research to understand the process, as I had assumed that the entire corn stalks; ears of corn, stalks and all of the plant, was processed and used for the silage. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Rather, it looked like the corn 🌽 was removed from the cobs and then the cobs and casings were discarded back onto the field, see example below - 

Also, the first pass that the combine made looks like it cut the stalks about one to two feet up from the ground leaving a considerable amount of stalk behind, see below -

When all was said and done, the field is littered with the unused pieces and parts of the stalks and the stalks cut off at ground level. I’m assuming this will all eventually be tilled into the soil and used to feed and enhance the soil for next years crop -

It sure looks different and what an absolutely beautiful day it was yesterday -

I also need to read up on soybean harvesting. The back half of the above pic is a field of soybean, that I’m assuming will be processed soon. It’s interesting, as it looks like they wait for plant to completely die and dry up before picking.

Pop Corn, It's Been SO Hot

Guessing it won’t be long now before this field corn 🌽 is harvested -

The lack of rain certainly has contributed to this corn drying out faster. It’s dry as a bone and the plants themselves are super brittle.

Where’d the summer go?!

What’s That Rustling

The field corn 🌽 that abuts the trail I’ve been walking the last several months is getting closer to harvest time.

As you can see it’s turning yellow and golden, and drying up quite nicely.

It’s SO peaceful walking along this area in general but especially when the wind is blowing and you can hear the rustling of the dried up stalks!

I’m hopeful to be able to catch the harvesting in action but unfortunately, that is also an indication that fall is not too far off.

A Half Dozen Please

Found myself a hidden farm stand on the other side of Greeneville called “Richer Farms” -

A quaint little place on Rt351, set back from the road about 100 yards. They had all fresh and locally grown veggies - tomatoes 🍅, cucumbers 🥒 , beans 🫘, squash and my bestest CORN 🌽; their own, first pick of the season sweet corn! Their prices were super reasonable too, for example a dozen ear of corn was only $5.00!

Today, it was being run by the honor system with all their offering on the front porch. Make your selections and deposit the money in the mailbox or you could also pay using Venmo -

The corn selection today did not look like their FB picture from this past weekend. Guessing it went fast but I was able to snag a half dozen that still looked pretty good -

Of course I ate all six, DUH -

I may have even left some for the chicks to enjoy. Truth be told, eating corn with a missing front tooth is a bit challenging. I have to do twice the passes in each row but for local grown sweet corn it’s well worth it (as I unbuckle my belt)!

It's THAT Time Of The Year!

I made my way out to the garden yesterday afternoon to pick some of my veggies and I was NOT disappointed.

Just like last year, I am being overrun with bell peppers.  There are oodles of them!  These six below are about the size of a softball!  So BIG and beautiful!  I'll be heading to the market today to pick up the fix'ns to make stuff peppers -

My first ears of corn, three Yukon Gold potatoes and some tomatoes!

The potatoes grew from a single plant that sprouted from a potato I missed from last years growing season.  It remained dormant all winter long, then took off when things warmed up.  I doted this plant it and it rewarded me with three small taters, which I will make into fries and enjoy -

One of my all time favorites is Silver Queen corn, to die for!  There are oodles more out there too and I can't wait to sink my teeth into each and every one -

YUP, I ate ALL five pieces last night - 

My diner last night, a scrumptious BLT, corn on the cob and a frosty beer! You just cannot beat home grown veggies, SO tender and juicy -

#Blessed

See My Garden Grow!

Father's Day weekend garden update -

I planted my third and final batch of Silver Queen corn!  I sow (50) seeds in each sunken clump and planted them each 2-weeks apart with the closest clump planted yesterday.  This will give me plenty of corn to enjoy for weeks!  Also, come the fall, I'll have plenty of corn stalks for decoration.

I planted a row of MAMMOTH sunflower's along the fence, which are doing great.  I planted the entire package and will be sorry when it comes time for fall clean up.  As the name indicates, Mammoth sunflowers get BIG and tall, which makes pulling them when the season is done a lot of work.

I also have (9) Beef Stake tomatoes in with stakes already in place.  They're doing great and with all the rain we've been getting, they're getting big.  I'm trying something different this year and instead of just letting them be, I'm doing a controlled pruning.  Removing all the lower stems and all the suckers that are so typical with tomatoes.  I may not get as many tomatoes with this approach but hoping the plants will be more manageable and the fruits BIGGER! 

I also planted basil, along with my usual marigolds.  Basil is a soulmate of tomatoes and when planted together, the basil helps repel insects and the dreaded hornworm caterpillars.  "They" say basil also helps improve yield, hmmm.  Marigolds are also known to help in keeping unwanted insect pests away too.

Simply The Bestest!!

I picked our first batch of Silver Queen corn the other day!  Boy-O-Boy were they delicious, my favorites by far!

There's more to pick and more coming in, so we'll have corn fresh, home grown corn coming in for a couple weeks now.

Backyard Corn

We had a bumper year for our Silver Queen corn and it was delicious! 

We got a lot of mileage from it too.  Our rabbits enjoyed eating the smaller stalks, when freshly cut, and we've not decorated the front of our house for the fall with the cut and bundled stalks.  

The trick with planting corn, for the backyard gardener, is to plant in groups, NOT in rows.  The male flower of a corn plant is called the tassel, while the ear with its corn silk is the female flower.  Planting a small number of plants in a group increases the odds for bigger, fuller ears.  Be prepared to help with the fertilization process too!  It's worth come picking time!

"A Popular Late-Season Variety With Tenderness And Flavor Worth Waiting For"...

I planted a package of Silver Queen corn back in early June.  Planted in two batches of 40 seeds, 2-weeks apart to spread the harvest. They've done surprisingly well, with the plants over 8 feet tall and with oodles of ears.

I'll be picking some today and will post some updated pics of what the eats look like - can't wait!

The added bonus to the delicious ears, is that we'll have plenty of fall Halloween and Thanksgiving corn stalk decorations for the front of the house.

DAM!  You are NOT gonna find better looking and tasting corn anywhere - full ears, kernels from top to bottom and not a single sign of pests (we don't use any chemicals in our gardens, NONE)!

Yummy Corn 2012

 

Here's our first mess of Silver Queen corn on the cob of 2012!

 

These were picked from already started plants that JoAnne bought at mark down from WalMart.  My to my surprise the plants transplanted and have done quite well.

 

Sadly, these dudes were not as tasty as they look.  They should have been picked a week or so earlier.

 

There's more coming along from seeds we planted so we have more locally grown, tasty corn to look forward to.

2011 Silver Queen Corn, Ready!

I picked our first (5) ears of Silver Queen corn this past weekend!

They were perfect in look, size and taste, YUMMY!

Everyone at the ole homestead got to enjoy. The rabbits enjoyed the husks, the human folk enjoyed the corn and the chickens enjoyed the corn cobs and picked them clean! A win-win-win I'd say.

1st Batch of Silver Queen

Here is our first, and sadly only, batch of corn this year - (7) delicious ears of Silver Queen corn!!

Perhaps, due to the lack of rain but the majority of the seeds planted didn't do as well as I had hoped in terms of producing ears. However, we'll have plenty of stalks for our fall decorations around the yard. A victory is a victory, right!

Delicious Ears

A couple days before we departed on our vacation the corn we planted started coming in.

Here is a picture of the first 8 ears picked -


Here you can see just how delicious they look with their husks pulled back -


You simply can NOT beat farm fresh corn just picked, shucked and cooked. Hmm, Hmm good!!

We we're able to eat some fantastic Tennessee fresh picked corn also, which is equally as tasty. When we returned from our trip there was still plenty of good eatin corn waiting for us. One of the dog day pleasures of summer!

mmm, mmm Fresh Corn

It's that time of the year! What time you ask? Fresh corn on the cob time!!

We took a ride this afternoon to our favorite local farm, which just happens to be one town over, called Jane & Paul's Farm and picked up six ears. They have a little bit of everything there, all of it farm fresh and delicious! You just can NOT beat locally grown farm fresh corn, you can't.


Here are the six ears prior to being shucked -

And here they are after being eaten -


mmm, mmm Fresh Corn!

Nothing is wasted in our corn eating process: we feed the rabbits and guinea pigs the shucks and the chickens get the corn cobs - everyone enjoys corn this time of the season.