Can I plant corn??

[ray66v]

I don't grow Silver Queen, so I don't know how long you can expect to keep it. You will have to experiment too find out the shelf life.

I grow Ambrosia, (bicolor) . It is sooooo gooood even when its bad, its still better than what you can buy. I get 5 days or more in the fridge easily.

If you get more then you can eat and give away, start frying.

If you have a vacuum sealer, fried corn keeps a year in the freezer no problem. And you can microwave it in the bag, (after punching a hole in it of course), or boil it in the bag.

 

[charlz]

Corn ear worms are now supposed to have some resistance to the Carbamate family... which includes Sevin.

Has anyone tried spraying a BT product? I am going to have to do something for my later planting of corn. My early planting usually misses the corn ear worms but it didn't do so good with the cool spring so I also made a later planting.

 

[dooleysm]

My wife's grandpa grows loads of silver queen every year, more than his entire family can eat (10 or 11 kids, 48 grandkids, ??? great-grandkids). We parboil, cut, and freeze many quarts each year, though never enough because we always run out. My wife claims that it's much better than the yellow or white/yellow sweetcorn, though I'm not sure that she's ever had anything other than silver queen. I've had several different kinds and enjoyed them all.

I think we've kept it for 5 or 6 days before in the refridgerator. You can tell as it starts to get worse, but we've always run out way before it got inedible. Mostly it just starts to lose flavor.

Last year I heard (maybe even on TBN) that you could freeze the whole ear, in the shuck. We experimented with that, with very good results, but it just took up too much room to freeze like that.

 

[N80]

We parboil, cut, and freeze many quarts each year, though never enough because we always run out.

That's what we've always done as well with locally grown corn. It never makes it through the winter but some good corn in February is always a treat.

 

[Tdog]

I've been watching this thread - - I'm trying corn for the 2nd time in my life. Coons wiiped me out the 1st time about 5 years ago. This year I planted 4 40' rows April 8. I've already had a few varmits snacking on my corn [see attached]. Also had some stalks sheared off - - I don't think I have deer, at least I haven't seen any tracks. Since I've started loosing ears, I brought in a few ears tonight & we had them for supper. Very sweet - - well worth the effort. A few more days would have been better, but thought I'd better eat them before the critters. Guess I'll try more next year. That's my 1st ever ear of corn. PDG!

Jack

 

[ray66v]

Yes, I think a few days more for it too fill in. But, its really good early too.

 

[jinman]

I've been watching this thread - - I'm trying corn for the 2nd time in my life. Coons wiiped me out the 1st time about 5 years ago. This year I planted 4 40' rows April 8. I've already had a few varmits snacking on my corn [see attached]. Also had some stalks sheared off - - I don't think I have deer, at least I haven't seen any tracks. Since I've started loosing ears, I brought in a few ears tonight & we had them for supper. Very sweet - - well worth the effort. A few more days would have been better, but thought I'd better eat them before the critters. Guess I'll try more next year. That's my 1st ever ear of corn. PDG!

Jack

Nice lookin' corn, Jack. The first picture definitely looks like coons. I can just see the coon climbing up the stalk and it collapsing to the ground where he chomped on the ear. The second picture sure looks like deer damage even without tracks.

My grandson called last night to tell me the store where he works has 10 ears of corn for $1. I told him I'd take $5 worth to use for my 4th of July cookout. He called back later to tell me that for $5 and using his store discount, he had 70 ears of corn for me. Now, you have to admit, it's awfully hard to find the justification for growing corn when you can buy 70 ears for $5. I kinda feel sorry for the farmer who surely made nearly nothin' on that corn.

 

[Tdog]

Jinman - - wow, that's almost giving it away. But have you priced it in the grocery store recently. The prices may have slipped some as the local harvest comes in, but just a few weeks ago I saw 2/$1 & even higher prices.

I looked this morning - - I don't see any more damage.

Jack

 

[N80]

Now, you have to admit, it's awfully hard to find the justification for growing corn when you can buy 70 ears for $5.

That's what my wife keeps saying, but I disagree. First, I think for many people who grow a garden it is for the pleasure of activity and simply doing it yourself. Kind of like fishing or hunting. If most people looked at the math like an accountant, that venison and fish would cost about $100 bucks a pound or more.

I also think that what you get fresh, right out of a garden is going to be higher quality and fresher than something from a truck farm in Florida, California or South America. Now, it is hard to beat locally grown stuff if you have good sources, but even then, a tomato you picked 10 minutes ago might be better than one picked 3 days ago locally.

I figure that I've got about $10 bucks in seeds and maybe $50 in fertilizer. For me the labor was fun, a form of entertainment that involved the whole family and that would actually lower the cost if you compared it to going to the movies or something like that. I figure 2 hours in the theater for 4 people would probably cost over $40. So seed + fertilizer - entertainment value = $20. There is a reasonably good chance that I won't get a single ear but if I get a dozen ears that will come to $1.66 an ear. That's pretty 'fancy' math and that's pretty expensive corn.....but in the end, it will have been more fun than a night at the movies, much more educational and fresh corn on the cob just in time for the 4th will probably taste better than popcorn.

 

[charlz]

That's the reason I won't grow carrots... you can buy like 5 lbs for $2 at Sams or Costco. Just not worth the effort of dealing with those itty bitty seeds, take forever to grow etc. Hard to compete with the economies of scale that a large carrot grower must have.

Store bought corn seems hit and miss on flavor. I'd rather grow my own so I know what I am going to get. Having a freezer full of tasty corn for those winter months is a definite plus

The lesson my kids get in preparing the soil, planting, growing, harvesting and storing their own food is pretty invaluable in my opinion. We also grow a lot of extra vegetables and take them to the foodbank, another valuable lesson.