Corn

While there are many things NOT doing great in the garden this year, check this out:

I haven't grown corn for several years now - not since I did away with the in-ground garden bed and switched to all raised beds.  I grew corn the last year of the in-ground bed, and it did surprisingly well.  With the raised beds, and in recent years, a CSA with paying customers, I haven't grown corn because it takes up a lot of space.  Since I don't have the CSA this year, I figured I'd give it a go.

I've got two varieties of corn growing - if I remember right, they're Silver Queen and, um, er, something like Gourmet but it's not Gourmet.  I'd have to find the tags in the garden (this always seems like it'll be an easy thing when you're planting stuff, and then by this time of summer it's nearly impossible to find all the tags).

I staggered planting for the corn, and the first planting (which I put in early due to warm weather) got frosted by the same weather that devastated so many gardens in the area.  Then it was "get all the seeds out of the packets into the ground and just be done with it".  That being said, one variety is coming along a little faster, and they definitely look different from their silks- one is is more red and the other more yellowy colored, as you can see from these pics.

I sure hope we get some good harvest from these guys.  I've actually been giving the corn stalks a little shake to try to encourage good pollination - the tassles at the tops of the plants are supposed to drop pollen down on the silks, and you want as much coverage as possible.  The wind and bugs are supposed to take care of this, but I've read that it can't hurt to lend a helping hand.

Fingers' crossed!  :-)