Sweet Corn Season!

Norm · July 17, 2010, 10:25:18 AM

I could have titled this sweat corn season as hot as it was out today.

I tried out a new variety this year that came from Stokes Seeds. Of course by now I've forgotten what the name was but this is the most vigorous sweet corn I've ever grown. I bought a 6 row JD 7000 planter just for sweet corn, my good buddy offered to store it in his shed in return for using it to put his in.

It is easily 8' tall and the ears are huge. We are still a week away from harvest yet, if it doesn't taste good I'm bringing the combine in. :D

I just got in from putting up an electric fence to keep the coons out. I just put up a low strand to keep them out and will go with a high strand if the deer get too bad. Most times the deer just go through it no matter how many strands you put up.

fishpharmer · July 17, 2010, 11:06:30 AM

Great looking sweet corn. Hope you like pulling corn. I share mine with the deer and coons whether I like it or not. This year the cows got into it so the deer are mad at them. Me too. They ate it to the ground.

If the corn tastes good I would like to know the variety.
thanks,
Fish

Bro. Noble · July 17, 2010, 11:31:56 AM

Norm, if that sweetcorn tastes as good as it looks, it'll be delicious

What do you plan to do with all of that corn and how will you harvest it if used as sweet corn?

You're not the only one that has trouble remembering what varities you planted. I planted a different variety of tomato at each end of you garden. They are both newto me and one is doing great and has big uniform, defect free fruits. They are extremely meaty although I'm having respatory problems and can't tell for sure about the flavor. The tomatoes at the other end are really pitiful :( One variety was 'mortgage lifter' but I don't remember which it was and I don't remember the name of the other.

Norm · July 17, 2010, 12:10:31 PM

Thankfully Stokes had my order from this spring archived so I could see what variety I planted. It is called Brocade, a SE enhanced bi-color that in a field test from northern MO had the heaviest ears. It is also ear worm resistant because of the tight wrapped leaves, we have problems with them most year. Because we had field corn next to it this year I did not use a SH2 variety like I have in the past.

Noble I have a corn picker called Patty that is used for harvest. She's a bit temperamental but she's got other good qualities that make up for it. :D We have a neighbor that sells to a bunch of farmers markets and they have a real slick automated picker for sweet corn. I looked into one and realized unless we wanted to do the same it's just too much money.

I think there's about a half acre there so whatever we don't use or sell will be left on the stalk and feed out to the fat horse and donkey this fall. This area is where we keep them confined to over the winter, one thing they're good for is fertilizer.

Raider Bill · July 17, 2010, 02:24:55 PM

You could always bring some over to the pig roast! ;D

Kansas · July 17, 2010, 04:15:55 PM

Our sweet corn patch at work got taken over by the racoons. Fortunately, we have a friend that decided to put in a couple of acres of sweet corn this year. We know where it was planted. Its a bit thinner than it was two days ago.

Larry · July 17, 2010, 05:19:10 PM

We've been pigging out for over a week now. Yesterday I went up in central Missouri and there was a pickup at every crossroad on 71 highway selling sweet corn. We found one vendor that sells Peaches and Cream which we think is the best.

How do you folks cook yours?

I soak the ears in ice water for two or three hours than throw them on an old gas grill for 1/2 hour or so on low heat.

I should have taken a pic for Kansas of the peach crop coming in...we have to get a bushel tomorrow, to deliver Monday to some of our poor Yankee kin folk up in the frozen north. ;D

WDH · July 17, 2010, 06:24:22 PM

Wow, that is a nice corn patch!

My favorite way to eat it is creamed. My wife makes the best that I have ever tasted.

I envy all but the picking. Make sure that Patty has plenty of water and that she does not get too hot

.

Norm · July 17, 2010, 06:31:29 PM

Danny would your wife be so kind as to share with me her recipe?

My favorite way to cook it is pretty much how Larry showed, lot's of real butter and salt too.

SwampDonkey · July 17, 2010, 06:35:19 PM

Wow, grows fast out that way. Won't be no local corn here for a month. Nothing in flower yet, not even the cow corn.

Looks awesome Norm. 8)

We never used to have coon trouble here in garden corn until every farmer got talked into feeding cows corn and began planting 100's of acres of it. It even had a side effect of increasing the corn borer population so bad they began eating potato vines. :

I did observe something today, literally too many sparrow like birds to count in the hay fields out back and they appeared to be hunting down those yellow cabbage moths. They can eat all they can wrap their beaks on. There was sparrows everywhere chasing them moths. ;D And cow birds by the hundreds going.

Wick · July 17, 2010, 08:14:50 PM

I 2nd the Peaches and Cream. Mmm Mmm good!!

thecfarm · July 17, 2010, 08:51:56 PM

Saw corn today for sale.Figured he was getting ready,he put the stand up.He covers acres of corn with row cover.Really pushes it to get it early.At least this year water is not standing between the rows like last year.

gary · July 17, 2010, 09:29:23 PM

I am going to buy 20 dozen ears of corn this year as soon as it is ready which will be in about 2 weeks here. Nineteen dozen will be frozen.

WDH · July 18, 2010, 09:08:38 AM

Quote from: Norm on July 17, 2010, 06:31:29 PM
Danny would your wife be so kind as to share with me her recipe?

Norm,

Maybe it is so good to me because the recipe is so simple. Slice through the kernels halfway through the kernel with a sharp knife. That leaves half the kernel still attached to the cob. Then, take the knife and scrape the cob to get out all the remaining corn endosperm and juice. Add a little water, add salt and pepper. Add some butter to the skillet and cook the corn slowly until done. She does not add any additional sugar or sweetner, and to me, the natural sugars in the corn give it the perfect amount of sweetness.

Thats it. Nothing fancy, just great food.

Raider Bill · July 18, 2010, 11:33:08 AM

That sounds pretty dang good. I love creamed corn. I also like it roasted.
I'm looking forward to some soon!

Norm · July 18, 2010, 12:08:16 PM

Thank you Danny and please tell your lovely wife it is much appreciated!

woodsteach · July 21, 2010, 08:15:29 PM

Looks great Norm... how many lbs of seed do you think you planted? I'm trying to get an Idea of how much sod to break this fall.

Went to a friends Monday at 4:00pm HOT! and with an old man's help picked 10 bushels of Ambrosia (looks like peaches and cream) and it tastes DanG good as well.

Went back on Tuesday and we picked 8 bu. again. Divided it b/t the two of us and kept the boss busy the last couple of evenings. Ya know I don't recall shucking a single ear so far this year. ;D

Oh that was b/c on Monday my fuel pump went out on my 2002 gmc 2500 hd so I got to spend quality time in the shop. But it is running great right now.

woodsteach

Larry · July 21, 2010, 09:17:48 PM

We've tried different methods of preserving ear corn with mixed success. New method this year...wrap each ear with plastic wrap and freeze. When time to eat just pop it in the microwave. I'm hoping. :D

beenthere · July 21, 2010, 11:05:57 PM

Quote from: Larry on July 21, 2010, 09:17:48 PM
We've tried different methods of preserving ear corn with mixed success. New method this year...wrap each ear with plastic wrap and freeze. When time to eat just pop it in the microwave. I'm hoping. :D

Mmmm. I don't think you can pop sweet corn.

;D ;D

Raider Bill · July 22, 2010, 09:12:34 AM

Quote from: Larry on July 21, 2010, 09:17:48 PM
We've tried different methods of preserving ear corn with mixed success. New method this year...wrap each ear with plastic wrap and freeze. When time to eat just pop it in the microwave. I'm hoping. :D

I read somewhere that you were not supposed to microwave saran wrap do to some cancer concerns.

scgargoyle · July 22, 2010, 03:12:21 PM

Lately we've been doing corn on the gas grill. Shuck the corn, wipe with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and grill for just a few minutes. Quick 'n easy.

Don_Papenburg · July 23, 2010, 12:19:00 AM

I did ten plantings this year at about 1/12th of an acre each My newest planting is about one foot tall and we are into the third planting . The first one was so uneven in germination but quick to catch up , I was always checking the wrong ears . We abanded that one and went onto the second . we picked about haslf of it before it got a bit mature. It looks like the fourth and fifth will be ready about the same time. We put in Bodacious . I get it from Pioneer as they sell it in the big sweet corn bag size. I spray the young plants with seven about every week to keep the ear worms and corn borer out . Sure is nice to not have to debug every ear.

scgargoyle · July 24, 2010, 04:03:05 PM

I sure would like to know how to keep critters out of a small stand of sweet corn. Every time I tried to grow it in CT, the raccoons would trash it the night before it was ready. I finally gave up!

fishpharmer · July 25, 2010, 06:08:01 AM

I found its best to plant enough for us and the critters. Then wage war on the critters. Its not too difficult to trap a coon in sweet corn with a live trap and sardines. The coon can be relocated or later dispatched at your convenience. Having dogs around helps too. Electric fence helps keep deer at bay. Sweet corn is a deer /coon magnet. And i'm pretty sure the coyotes love it too. Insects give us fits down south. I think I would give up with bears and moose :

. Seems if you have critters you best figure on sharing sweet corn.