My Little Corn Harvest

I took down all but one stalk of corn and harvested these:

I was happy with it considering it is my first time harvesting corn. I have learned some things that should help it be even better in the future. I think I waited a little too long to harvest them because they were not as juicy as I think they could have been.

Today, I planted Iceberg Lettuce, Romaine Lettuce and Cabbage in the soil where the corn was. It gets good sun compared to the spots where the other cabbage and lettuce plants are slowly growing. I didn't account for the sun changing positions during the winter when I first planted those and now they are shaded for a good portion of the day by our orange tree.

Speaking of the citrus, the oranges are turning orange and should be ready in a few weeks.

The grass is turning brown too, since we decided not to plant winter seed.

Better

I picked another cob of corn today and it looks much better than the first. It had no bugs and is also very sweet.

I also recieved some guidance from a friend and more experienced gardener. He said that the pollination process of the corn cobs mostly depends on wind to allow the dust and particles from the tassels to fall down on to the silks of the developing cobs. So, that fertilization process is necessary for the kernels to form correctly. It is ok to help this process along too, if necessary.

Funky Corn

What is wrong with my corn? It is missing rows of kernels and it also had a little caterpillar/worm eating it inside. How dissapointing!

  

Here's how the other vegies are doing so far.

Peas

Lettuce



Bush Beans

Seeds are Becoming

I am pleased to write that my garden is in good shape at this current moment. The seeds I have planted are growing and becoming what I hope for. The corn has been growing rapidly and has gotten so tall. Each time I go out to water, the tassels are being pollinated by a few bees, which is fantastic. The corn cobs are already developing and looking moist and good.

 

I found this weird creature yesterday. His camo is called "bird poop". I took him far away from the garden, but didn't have it in me to smash him.

Planting

I planted these today:

Anticipated Harvest Dates:

Spinach - November 22nd

Cabbage - December 17th

Cilantro - est. November 15th

Iceberg Lettuce - December 22nd

Carrots (batch#2) - December 22nd

We had some crazy weather a few days ago and although I was worried when most of my recently planted seedlings were under half a foot of water, I think many of them survived. I see carrots, romaine lettuce and bush beans growing. I haven't seen any peas popping up yet. I may need to replant them. The corn got really tattered and the stalks were laying down after the storm. I picked them up vertical and stepped around the bases to secure their foundation. They seem to be healthy as of today and I see tassels beginning to form in many. I really am hoping for some corn this season.

Mistake

I made a mistake at the expense of my cantaloupe harvest. Have you ever worked so hard for something, with time and effort and care, and then accidentally detroyed it with your own hands? After I picked and ate that random surprise squash, I decided to pull out its vine since I wasn't really as thrilled about the squash vine as I was with the cantaloupe plant that was intertangled with it. (Both were growing freely from my compost pile.) So, I tried to untangle the two different vines and in my efforts, I yanked out my cantaloupe plant! I couldn't believe that it just came out of the ground with such little force. I was sad, but I had hope in that moment that if I buried it back in the soil maybe it would live. The next morning, I saw it laying limp and the two growing cantaloupes were soft. I wanted to cry. I had so much hope, I could almost taste the sweet homegrown cantaloupe, but no more.

I cut open the largest of the two growing cantaloupes just to see how it looked.

What I planted

This lovely September morning, I planted Romaine Lettuce, Snap Peas and Bush Beans.

Estimated Harvest Dates:
Romaine Lettuce - December 1
Snap Peas - November 29
Bush Beans - November 15

I planted Carrots a few days ago and I expect to harvest around December 8th.

Unfortunately, even though I had covered my young zucchini plants, they were destroyed by birds (my guess). I put up my scarecrow hoping that will prevent my new seeds from being taken away.