August 14, 2013

My corn continues to ripen, but we could use more sun and blue sky to hasten the process. 

We had corn again for dinner last night and probably will tomorrow night. About a dozen ears remain. I’m very pleased with ‘Sugar Pearl.’ Here’s some catalog verbiage that describes it well:

Silvery white kernels are tender and sweet. Ears average 8 inches with full blunt tips and 14-16 rows. Plants reach 6.5 feet tall. Ideal for short/early season harvests. (Renee’s Garden, High Mowing Organic Seeds)

My plants are eight feet tall. Maybe it was the worms and worm compost I substituted for Squanto’s fish. Read my blog post Growing Corn in A Small Garden at planting time in May.

I’ll plant 'Sugar Pearl’ next year in my small 4 x 4 foot plot, seeds placed 8 inches apart. Lessons learned:

• Cover the bed with bird netting over hoops until the corn is 18 inches tall. The birds were merciless.
• Plant a few extra seeds for filling “gaps” in the grid.
• Mulch the soil to conserve moisture.
• Time planting so we won’t be on vacation when the corn is ready.