Gardens

[Greenfield_Bob]

I don't remember seeing anything in here about gardens.
I picked this out of my garden this morning and had it for supper. It was great.

Bob

[Sawduster]

Sweeeeet ! What variety ? Parks Whopper ? I've already eaten most of my beauties 'bout done for the year
Nice work !

[Greenfield_Bob]

Sawduster,
It's an old variety called Delicious, it also holds the world record for the largest tomato. I think it was over 7 lbs.
Yours are about finished and mine are just starting.

Bob

[lucky788scroller]

And my tomato sandwich season is just about to finally begin as well. I got one almost ripe one hangin on the vine, and lots of greenies yet! Dale

[BobD (Archive)]

Ditto; one orange one on the vine, but it's not quite ripe yet!

Bob

[Dusty Buffalo]

I've got a garden my squirrel, Buster, planted. I don't think it was intentional.

I have a large terra cotta saucer that I drilled a hole in the center to let the water drain out. It sits on the deck and I use it to feed the birds. Well, Buster found it and usually cleans out any corn pieces and of course all the sunflower seeds. I have found him many times laying across the saucer with his rear end to the door. It's quite a funny sight.

I believe he dropped some of the corn kernels on the ground under the steps and they have proceed to grow. They're about 2 to 2 1/2 feet tall at the present time. Not sure I'll end up with any thing harvestable, but I find it funny that I tried to grow corn on purpose and didn't have any luck. The idiot squirrel does it by accident and dang if it don't grow.

[Marcel in Longueuil]

Kelly,

Here is a question for ya, or anyone else that got the answer:

How do you dry corn?

Corn is cheap this time of the year, and I have squirrels I want to feed this winter. So I would like to dry corn instead of paying the big bucks for the one they sell as squirrel food.

Thanks in advance for any tips,
Marcel

[Dusty Buffalo]

I don't know the answer to that question, never really thought about it actually.

Couldn't you dry it kind of the same way you would with wood? Lay it flat and just let it dry. I'm probably way off here, but it sounded good.

[owler]

Dried corn is picked way after it is ripe. Farmers wait until the moister contenct in the corn is very low. If picked too soon, the corn will turn mildew when stored in large amounts. I live in NJ and it is not unusual to see feed corn still in the fields in late October.

If I was going to dry a few ears, I would pull the husks back and hang them individually in an open area outside with plenty of room for air circulation. Of course the local fauna might consume them before they are ready to be stored.

Farmers are successful at growing feed corn becuase they grow way more than the animals in the area can consume. And they pray a lot for good weather. If the weather at the end of the season is too wet, the crop will turn mildew anyway.

[Dusty Buffalo]

Growing up in Wisconsin I could never understand why corn would be left in the field way into November. Now I get it. Learn something new everyday.

[lucky788scroller]

one more note.. with the rising fuel costs, you will notice the corn staying in the field longer and longer, it takes a lot of propane to run the huge dryers in the big grain bins to bring the moisture down in the corn.
what was said about peeling back the husk and hanging the ears to dry should work well for you, possibly hanging from the rafters in the garage, or somepklace else where the humidity isnt to great. Once its dry, it shouldnt mildew and should make great squirrel bait! Dale