Monday, August 2, 2010

CORN! - The First Harvest of August

Corn Harvest
I have a new addiction. It's called "homegrown corn." I felt like I was tasting this veggie for the first time today. Who knew that something seemingly as ordinary and ubiquitous as corn can be so gloriously delicious when eaten moments after being picked. No wonder why so many cultures have revered this plant- also known as the tallest grass in the world. I will never be able to look at supermarket corn in quite the same way again.

Strangely enough, my favorite thing about this corn was that it was perfectly tender and sweet, but not sugary sweet like its mass-produced counterpart. Besides, what good is sweetness if it's without dimension? Also, the kernels literally exploded in our mouths when we bit into them...a revelation to say the least.

In addition to corn, we also harvested...

August Harvest 1
tomatoes...

August Harvest 2
cukes and tomatoes...

August Harvest 3
and more tomatoes. I'm looking forward to making tons of red sauce.

garlic harvest
Finally, the hardneck garlic has been cured and weighed. Hopefully it will keep well.

Corn Harvest 2
Six down and not enough left to go around. I should have grown more corn this year.

This week's numbers:

Tomatoes - 23.61 lb
Hardneck Garlic - 5.34 lb
Kale - 1.79 lb
Red Scallions- 0.62 lb
Beans - 0.68 lb
Cucumbers (20) - 9.56 lb
Zucchini (7) - 4.38 lb
Ground Cherries - 0.21 lb
Corn - 3.65 lb

Total Harvested This Week- 49.84 lb

36 comments:

  1. Wow, that corn and tomatoes looks delicious. Those are the two things that always reminds me that it's summer!

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  3. I second what meemsync said. YUM! Wow.. and there doesn't appear to be a single kernel missing from your corn either. Very impressive harvest, T!

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  4. I *heart* summer because I know they'll always be fresh sweet corn on the cob! I'm jealous! Your corn looks delicious! I thought about growing my own but then decided against it. Now I'm regretting my decision!

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  5. Your corn looks amazing! I also picked a few ears yesterday, but they were much smaller than yours and had bug damage at the ends. I fought ants, potato beetles and various other critters since the corn plants started developing ears. Can you let us know what you did whith your corn? I want corn that beautiful next year!

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  6. Your corn and tomatoes are Beautiful!! Nothing tastes better then fresh picked corn!!

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  7. Oh wow, Thomas! That corn looks fantastic, as does everything else. Wonderful job!

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  8. Great looking corn. Fresh picked is definitely the best! Is it Silver King or some other white corn?

    Great harvest, as always. :)

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  9. I like that you weigh and keep tally of your harvest. I did it last year, and thought I'd simplify this year and not keep track - but I regret it. Back to the scale for me.

    Great looking veg!

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  10. How beautiful is that corn?! Wow! Picture perfect and I bet the taste was out of this world. The tomatoes look very appealing too. Are the dark red/large ones cherokee purple?

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  11. ok, what did you do to that corn? It's BEAUTIFUL! Great job, corn is always a challenge for the home gardener, inquiring minds want to know, how many rows/blocks and what variety?! Wow!

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  12. Fabulous corn. That looks so much nicer than what I've been getting from the farmers market too. I'm not growing any so I have to content myself with that.

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  13. Your corn looks perfect! I don’t grow them as my neighbors grow a whole field of them, so I get some from them. Sometimes I also freeze them for winter. They freeze very good.
    Lovely Tuscan kale!

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  14. 18th birthday (many, many moons ago), we visited family in eastern Washington. We snuck over to a neighbors and pulled some corn of their stalks. I still remember that corn. You're absolutely right in that supermarket corn pales in comparison.

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  15. That corn looks awesome! That is something I'm definitely going to try next year.

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  16. Hi Tina- sorry to hear about your corn. Aside form lots of compost and hand pollinating my corn, I didn't really do anything special.

    LindaG - the variety I grew is Argent available through botanical interests. I will definitely grow it again next year.

    KitsapFG - yes, they are cherokee purple.

    Erin, I grew them in blocks of 5 plants in between my melons since I had some extra space. I hand pollinated most of the ears.

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  17. Thomas, I can not get over how perfect that corn looks! It is to die for.

    The tomatoes are coming in so nicely for us now, I love it (and ironically it looks like we are harvesting many of the same varieties).

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  19. Wonderful corn and tomatoes. I didn't plant corn this year because there is a pick-you-own field just down the road. I may experiment with popcorn next year though. Your tomatoes look amazing. It is a great mid-summer harvest!

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  20. Your corn phots are really great!

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  21. Gorgeous...we were just talking about too-sweet corn yesterday, after eating the first crop from northern New Jersey farms...

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  22. I'm pretty sure that's the most gorgeous picture of corn I've ever seen. It looks amazing!!

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  23. Great harvest, all I can say is wow wow wow. The corns are pearl like picture perfect.

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  24. Oh that corn is amazing, it makes me want to grow some myself. I wish I had the room. And those tomatoes, wow. Wonderful harvests!

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  25. What abundance coming from your garden! I'm so impressed with the corn - it looks perfect and the picture of it is beautiful. Well done!

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  26. Absolutely beautiful photos, Thomas. I agree with Mac, the photo of the corn reminds me of pearls. Your tomatoes and cucumber look lovely as well.

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  27. I think your corn picture belong on the cover of a garden magazine. The corn just looks so perfect and flawless!

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  28. Wow those tomatoes look great! Must agree about the corn. I have no room to grow any but we get corn from farms all the time, so good. Did those seeds show up? Can't recall if I have asked...

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  29. Your corn looks amazing! Unfortunately, something (squirrels?)took out my sweet corn and I am afraid my popping corn will see the same premature death. Did you have any rodent problems? Any tips? Also, how did you get your garlic looking so white and clean? Mine is still curing, but I hope to prep the heads later this week!

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  30. The corn I bought today looks like a bad B movie compared to your corn. (tipping my hat to you). I saw you planted the corn in groups of 5. What spacing did you use?

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  31. What a perfect looking harvest!! You should photograph (and grow) for a gardening magazine!!

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  32. Corn's has no many nutritional values and its perfect food.

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  33. Very nice harvest, Thomas! Gosh, that corn looks like something out of a magazine..

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  34. Gorgeous photos of gorgeous harvests, as usual. I love the tomatoes and the picture perfect corn. But what on earth do you do with 49 lbs of produce a week???

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