Peel n’ Eat
One of the great privileges of growing your own corn, is, when it’s ripe and you’re hungry, you can peel n’ eat. My grandmothers always had fresh corn, but I never ate corn raw till I was in my 30’s.
I know this ear is a bit small and homely, but it tasted great! Only took a minute to polish it off.
This stubby one, however, was too far gone, and pasty. After a couple of bites, I tossed it.
Since everyone passing by they told me they had trouble growing corn here, I was thrilled when I got ANY kind of ear with kernels on it. Many ears had a couple of kernels or none at all. And I shook the tassels every day. Next year, I will know better how to grow it, thanks to all the great advice I’ve gotten. Look for my corn episode of “Late Bloomer” in a few weeks! Thanks for stopping by! – Kaye
Category: Vegetables, Warm Season
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Isn’t corn very difficult to grow? I love the different colour kernels, was it a particular variety?
It is here in the coastal microclimate. I”m just learning all this now, of course, I didn’t bother to in advance, ha. Corn needs a long, hot growing season, and June and July here it’s foggy till noon. Also, I just learned, you’ve got to have 16 plants minimum planted in a square, for good pollination to occur. Did you know every silk on an ear of corn connects with a kernel? And if pollen does not hit that silk, no kernel! Which means you need wind or you need to be shaking the corn every day. This was all Double Standard corn which I bought from seedlings from the nursery. I tried direct seeding three times and nothing came up. Here’s a good description, but I didn’t buy from here: http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-7009-double-standard-su-og.aspx Thanks for writing! – Kaye
How interesting! No, I didn’t know about the silks. Corn is grown over here commercially, and I know some people do manage it on allotments so maybe we should try, although this year our gardening efforts have been thwarted by rain, rain, rain!
Lois, I didn’t know it either. I mean, till you are growing your own corn, who cares about the silks? 🙂 I suggest you get a greenhouse, maybe not for corn, but other things you can grow and you will be rewarded. You might even set your next book around gardening! 🙂 – Kaye
I’ve never tried raw corn! Here in China everyone grows it… in fact there is a garden along the sidewalk on my way to work where the ears are just coming to maturity! Maybe I’ll ask one of the farmers for an ear to give eating it raw a try 🙂
Yes, definitely. Make sure they are not putting chemicals in the soil or spraying the corn. If you find a caterpillar inside, it’s fresh!
I will definitely look for the caterpillars 🙂
Don’t go out of your way. I had several that were just perfect and no caterpillar, but, a caterpillar is not a bad thing is all I meant. 🙂
They have vendors here that walk around the beaches here selling corn which they have cooked in an old pot that they drag along with them. Somehow your corn seems a lot more appealing.
Yeah, I think I’d skip the corn! And yes, there is no comparison to fresh, juicy raw kernels, to the over-cooked, over-ripe corn that tastes like paste. But, aren’t you back in the gook ole’ U.K.? 🙂
Oh yes I went back!
Well Kaye, it matters how it tastes, not how it looks 😉 Another ‘tip’ to make sure the corn is sweet and tender…always pick in the morning (like peas) later in the day the sugar in the corn becomes more starchy. Way to go!
*anna
Oh, yes, you told me that and I forgot. I usually go out at lunch time when I’m hungry. Well, they are almost gone anyway. NEXT year, I’ll be planting a bigger stand of corn! 🙂 – Kaye