Monday, June 6, 2011

Why I Garden?

For some people it is the sweet taste of a vine ripened tomato, for others it is the ice cold crispness of fresh lettuce, but for me without a doubt it is the sweet buttery taste of back yard corn. I like many of the vegetables I grow, but nothing compares to eating fresh corn from your garden. The taste is so above and beyond anything you can buy in the store.  So if I had to pick one vegetable and only grow that for the rest of my life it would be corn.

I planted a 25x4 foot plot of Peaches and Cream corn on March 19th. This is a sweet hybrid variety that is bicolor and absolutely delicious. I planted about 100 to 115 seeds spaced 10 inches apart.  I have babied this corn through this Spring drought.  I have kept it watered and fixed it from being blown over 3 times.  I hope my love pays off.  It is very close to being ready with many of the ear silks starting to brown and dry out. I think by this Saturday I will be able to harvest a lot of it. I can't wait to taste the first sweet juicy bite. Last year I blanched and froze this corn straight on the cob, but that took up a lot of space in my freezer. So this year, I am going to strip the kernels and then freeze. I am going to plant another batch of this corn in one of my 4x8 raised beds and see if the results are good. I will post an update after my harvest.

So my fellow bloggers I ask, why do you garden, what is your favorite vegetable?

Corn Plot

Close up of ear, this is the largest ear so far
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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 7, 2011 at 7:21 AM

    The boy asks me to grow corn each year, but the one time I did, it fell over. Wish I had better luck with it! I love the squash and zucchini from gardening...and cucumbers - when I can get them.
    Ribbit

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  2. CristyJune 7, 2011 at 10:04 AM

    My favorite is tomatoes with green beans straight from the garden as a close second. I will definitely plant much more green bean plants next year.

    We don't have room for corn, but I've eaten some Peaches and Cream Corn from a friend's garden--divine!

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  3. CindyJune 7, 2011 at 12:20 PM

    We harvested 328 ears of peaches and cream this morning. It tastes wonderful. Hopefully yours will be ready soon!

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  4. KrisJune 7, 2011 at 7:00 PM

    Ribbit - Squash and zucchini would be my second choice. I have had a hard time this year too with it blowing over, but I would say give it another try. If you ever see it through it is worth it.

    Cristy - I am probably one of the few gardeners that doesn't grow tomatoes. No one in my family eats them so I don't bother. If you even have a small area, you can actually get pretty good results. I plant about 72 plants in an area that is 4X8 in size, and you can get up to 100 ears from that if you are lucky.

    Cindy - 328 ears is a lot, that is awesome. How much did you plant total? Do you freeze or can yours and how do you prepare it?

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  5. CindyJune 9, 2011 at 3:56 PM

    I planted approximately a 1/4 of an acre. This is the first half of it. The rest was planted 3 weeks later. I freeze mine. I put the majority of it up on the cobb. I creamed 100 ears that didn't look quite as pretty.

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  6. KrisJune 9, 2011 at 10:59 PM

    I froze mine on the cob last year, but it took up so much space in my freezer. This year I am going to strip it off the cob and freeze it. I am also buying an upright freezer because I am acquiring a nice little stock pile and I need the room.

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