Sprouting Some Corn, Sprouting Some Corn, Can I Get Some Butter Please?
Ah corn. It is a bit of ambrosia bearing tall grass that is both revered and hated. Corn takes quite a bit more input than many other garden crops, but the reward! There is nothing quite like biting into grilled corn on the cob, and you get extra life bonus points if in the process of biting into those sweet kernels you shoot corn juice into your most obnoxious relative's eye!
There is also the allure of spontaneous corn cob sword battles, getting yelled at by Grandma for leaving an uneaten row on the cob, and my very favorite activity: corn cob discus throwing into the pig pen, (Good for a hog's cardiovascular health). Hmm. Now that I think of it, I might grow corn more for the fun we have with the plant's waste than with its fruit. Interesting.
Anyway, I always put in a small patch of corn, because I really, really like to sit down with a chipotle lime butter dripping grilled ear of maize on a summer evening and simultaneously try to eat the corn and not eat the accompanying insect barrage. One must keep up one's skills. Food eating ninja skills are super relevant in today's economy. I might be talking out of my old testament equine at this point, but it's Friday night, and that should explain everything.
As a habitually consistent homesteader I plant things differently every year. I tend to farm in the moment, which of course means, "Hey! I have a moment, let's do this thing!" This year I sprouted my corn seeds before I tossed them into the soil due to our local weather putting my gardening time table waaaayyyy behind. Pre-sprouting the seeds before I put them in the Earth gives me a bit of a germination jump in my seed sowing time table. Here's how I go about sprouting my corn:
I plant my corn sprouts in my 4-5 feet wide beds in rows that are about two feet apart with about 5-7 inches between each kernel. If you think that I get my tape measure out and mark things off exactly then I have failed at inter-personal impressionism, for @generikat and straight lines are most definitely mutually exclusive. I can't walk in a straight line let alone plant things all ruler-like. When I mark out a row I take my rake or hoe and wiggle it in the soil to form my row. That's if I am using a row, sometimes I plant in a square foot grid. Gardening in my world is a random, slightly Bohemian experience. It just happens in the moment.
Talk about getting a jump on things!
And as always, all of the images in this post were taken on the author's slightly corny iPhone.
Excellent work dear friend @generikat congratulations by eltema approached, I am passionate about agriculture, I have planted maize, pumpkin, sweet potatoes and all kinds of vegetables on many occasions, thank you very much for sharing all this information
Ooh! @nano2nd! You had me at sweet potato! They are one of my favorites and I can't really produce them here due to my short growing season, you are so lucky! So glad that you get to enjoy growing so many different vegetables, and thank you so much for your lovely comment!
One of my favorite things is to roast a lot of extra ears, cut the corn off the cob and freeze in ziploc bags. This allows you to enjoy a bit of real summer in the middle of winter.
Sounds like you'd make good use of the leftover cobs & husks! I'm in Indiana - we appreciate folks who know how to take full advantage of corn. Well done!
That sounds amazing! I haven't roasted the corn before I cut it off the cob and freeze it. Usually just blanch and strip it, but you got me thinking, perhaps I'll throw a bunch of the ears in the new outdoor oven and experiment! Taste of summer here we come!
Ah, I imagine you Indiana folks have come up with some creative corn utilization methods for sure. Thanks for the compliment on my cornball behavior, truly appreciate it!
The outdoor oven would be an interesting test. I'm used to the charcoal grill or campfire for grilling corn. Maybe I'll do a post & video on our method when I have access to some decent ears. Thanks for the idea and I would love to know how the oven handles it!
Yum! I am so looking forward to your corn roasting post, and don't worry there will be an outdoor oven corn roasting festival post. Hmm...maybe a failure and success post, lol! I tend to have a lot of those:)!
Will do! I expect the good ears to start showing up in a couple-three weeks - coming up from Florida usually. Our local stuff will be ready late July, early August. Lots of time to do a few batches to stock up and have an excuse for yet another corn roast. ;~D
The only failed roasted corn would a total burn. Can't see you doing that. If you do, take video....
This is gonna be fun!
I tried planting corn. It`s too bad that I have a really clay base and most of my garden is in raised beds, and they do well, but none of my plants that go in the ground, sadly, because then I would have a bigger garden.
If you can, get some straw and put it where you want to improve your soil. It'll draw worms and compost down into lovely soil.
Thank you so much, I was using straw as an insolator for a small building so I still have lots of straw and hay under there to use, that has to come out.
So sorry about the surplus of clay! It sounds like you'll have a corn wonderland of composted straw soil soon though thanks to @mandireiserra's great advice! Hope to hear about you having a giant garden one day😊!
Don`t get me wrong I have a big garden, I use the height to go. I have lots of beans and peas. My partner built me these.
That is one awesome trellised box! Dang!
I love them, I had 22 bean plants in one and 22 peas plants in the other, just made it from scrap wood and painted it a couple years ago, it does not take up a lot of space in my backyard. I am a strong advocate of growing heights for more
Nice! I totally agree with you, vertical gardening is the best! Even though I have loads of space I send a lot of things towards space. Beans, indeterminate tomatoes, peas, cucumbers, a few varieties of squash, trellising is cool. One of my favorite trellises is a cattle panel bent into a rainbow. You trellis box though is so pretty, thank you so much for sharing!
I am trying small watermelons on a trellis this year, will post pics as they climb. Follow and you can keep up to date, following you now. Thanks and keep posting
good post
Well thank you!
ok,..
Good post. Even though we eat a fair amount of corn in the summer this is one vegetable I don't grow. I guess mainly because it doesn't really fit into raised bed gardening as well as planting in a field. It's also a heavy feeder so manure is probably helpful with corn. Following...
Oh yes, it takes a lot of fertilizer! I side dress the rows with composted horse, chicken, goat, or steer manure and foliar feed the corn with seaweed and kelp emulsion multiple times, but the end product is sooo very yummy! I only do about a 15X20' patch each year. My disabled friend had her husband build her 4X4' boxes and she grows enough corn for her family of five in 4 boxes, she plants the corn really close together in straight composted horse manure, I'll try find a picture of it growing, it looks like a giant chia pet, lol! Followed you too!!!
Is that right? All that corn in a 4x4 box? I may have to rethink this. Is there a particular variety she grows?
I know one type that she grew was a seventy-five day variety that her dad gave her a bunch of, but any cold tolerant, maturing variety should work.
very cool !!!
Thank you!!
no prob .... im still new but i must say ... i love your blog layout .... very fun and has a great look overall ... i got to step my game up .... ha ha . later homie !!!!
Wow! That is so awesome of you to say that! Everything that I have learned about blog post formatting has been learned from other Steemians! There are a ton of posts about using Markdown and other such post prettifying things. Maybe I will write a post and share all of those links because I was totally clueless when I started blogging on Steemit a few months ago!
Good luck and I am looking forward to reading all your future posts!
Oooh, corn. Husked, buttered, wrapped in foil and placed around the coals of the campfire for just a few minutes... thems some good eats.
Have you checked out Baker Creek Seed company? They have lots of corn varieties, prolific short season ones, too. http://www.rareseeds.com/true-gold-corn/ (I fell in love with their seed catalog)
Sigh, you are so speaking my corn dialect! I can barely wait until the ears mature, it shall be corn carnage!!
Love, love, love Baker Creek! Their seed catalog is super gorgeous and full of money-parting from me varieties, lol! However, I have never tried any of their corn, so suggestion totally noted and going to be utilized😊 Hope you are having a fantastic night!
One of my indulgences when I go to the San Diego County Fair is to buy one (and sometimes two) ear(s) of fire-roasted corn on the cob, roasted to perfection right in its husk.
Then with the butter and salt....
I am now about to go to bed hungry for it!
😄😇😄
Well, as long as you dreamed about corn and not Children of the Corn😱!!
Ha ha! Hope you are having a marvelous So Cal weekend my friend!
Thanks! Bless you!
I might have to use this trick of sprouting, never got them to sprout in my aquaponics directly. sweet sweet corn
Ah, I am so happy to have followed you, so intrigued by aquaponics, hydroponics, all of the ponics! Can't wait to learn about all nitrates and nitrites, equipment shortcuts, and seeing the fruits of your labor. Speaking of fruit, I loved your strawberry post! I tend to pre-sprout a lot of my seeds, and the paper towel method seems to work the best out of all of my sprout trials.
Hope you are having a fantastic weekend!!
Corn: One of the pure joys of life! And butter! And salt too lol. Especially on popcorn! Speaking of popcorn, I think Ill go pop some. Have a brilliant weekend!
Oh popcorn! I love it so much, and I hope that you enjoyed yours, lol! I think I might go pop some now, yum!!
Good advice when in dry conditions. Don't worry about those insects bombarding you. They're good protein !
Thank ye! Oh man, insect, corn, and butter=protein, starch, and fat. That's a well rounded meal right there, guess I can think of it that way when some flyer gets stuck in my corn on the cob this summer, thanks @ctrl-alt-nwo!
Welcome . anytime, here to help !
Nice , first of all corn seeds is sprouted and after the seeds harvest, its very cool .
Its a exelent job . it ,s a hardworkig and agricultural job.
God bless you.
Awe, thank you @saryan! Hope you are having a wonderful weekend! Followed you!