First Corn Harvest

Bob Bauer

July 09, 2016 (Last Updated: March 06, 2023) | Reading Time: About 1 minute

July 08, 2016

I picked the first four ears of corn from my 5'x5' plot that I planted April 18. In general that's too early for corn but I've been successful for years. Corn needs a warm soil to germinate but will grow in a cool soil so I cover the plot with a sheet of clear plastic until they come up. Sometimes I will have to cover it on a frosty night. A tarp will do. Corn begins to lose its sweetness as soon as it's picked so gardeners in the know will heat a pot of boiling water, carry it to the garden, and bend the corn stalk down into the water for 30sec..

I also picked the first bowlful of Malabar Spinach today. It's a climbing vine spinach that will produce all summer long. It's so slow growing though that I don't know how much we will actually get. It likes heat so I planted it in the greenhouse, under clear plastic, and even after soaking the seed overnight still only got 50% germination..

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