Corn: Thin and Toss or Transplant?

The corn grows higher each day. 

Nope couldn't do it. I couldn't pluck out those beautiful corn plants and let them wither and die. Each seed I planted had sprouted. I owe that not only to the rich soil, but also to waiting until the weather warmed. Today was the day I had to decide what to do. My decision was to transplanted the crowded plants make my rows longer ! 

I followed these easy steps to transplant them: 

1. I watered the plants and soil for easy removal. 
2. I dug a new hole 8-12" from the last corn plant
3. carefully cut down into the soil about 5" around the corn plant for transfer
4. gently lifted the corn plant out of the ground supporting it with my hand trowel/shovel
5. carefully placed the corn plant in the hole
6. put soil around the plant
7. tamped down the soil a bit
8. watered the soil around the transplanted corn and blessed it.

I did these 8 steps with each plant I transferred. 



Every scoop of soil I dug had families of earthworms, little babies to adult size. And thankfully they all came out whole. I laid them to the side and they quickly returned to the earth. That lasagna or layering method of composting I tried last autumn/early winter, has turned that clay into moist rich nutrient laden soil that the earthworms love. You ought to try this. It is a game changer. Gardening is a breeze with good soil. Here is the link for that post, Winter Layers For My Garden

 

DeborahMoonMoen
of Little Utah Farm

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The Pasture Gate

Here is the pasture gate that opens to an acre long pasture road on Little Utah Farm. ~ Deborah Moon Moen

When we first stepped foot onto what was to be Little Utah Farm, I noticed it had a long gate across what I imagined to be a pasture road. I was smitten with the romantic notion of a pasture road with a long gate that swung across so you could tie it to the garden fence to bring in the big bales of hay. Just the thought of actually driving along a road into the back of the property was wonderful to me.  When we moved in, the road was hard clay. When it rained, the clay got really soft and muddy. We sunk up to our ankles and hub caps. One of my first chores was pulling out a good 1,000 tumble weeds that grew all the way from the front to the back. 

Our corn field and tractor sign along our pasture road. ~ Deborah Moon Moen

Now as I walk down the pasture road I enjoy the golden light of morning shining on the corn field and this tractor sign. Paul and I first saw such a sign along a very rural Route 1002 on our way to Milford, UT. It was so simple yet the silhouetted picture on the sign told you everything you needed to know. Paul's tractor drives down this pasture road often. 


Improvements have been made. The road is now covered in gravel. Tall cottonwood trees line the road and in summer the garden is full of sunflowers and corn. There are hens in the coop, ducks in the pond, fresh eggs to gather, and llamas in the corral. I love how Little Utah Farm has grown into our dream farm. 

~ Deborah Moon Moen of Little Utah Farm

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How I Made My First Corn Shocks



My First Corn Shock Little Utah Farm 2012

shock 2   (shk) n. 1. A number of sheaves of grain stacked upright in a field for drying. 2. A thick heavy mass: a shock of white hair. tr.v. shocked, shock·ing, shocks To gather (grain) into shocks. [Middle English shok.]

I had never heard this word, shock. I thought the shocks were called corn stacks. And I was pleasantly surprised when I read about the original use of the corn shocks. Further investigation gave me old stories about gathering the bundles of corn and tying them into bundles to dry. Farmers fed the shocks to the cattle as fodder for the winter and sometimes the shocks provided bedding against the cold wet or snowy earth. Farmers waste no thing. Every part of the rural life has a purpose and comes full circle. This is a part of living off the land. The part that drew me to this kind of life.

How to plant the corn  1-2-3

1. I planted the little kernels of corn so carefully.  I poked the holes with a heavy iron spike. Just read the package. Some say to bury the seed ½ “and some 2”.  It depends on what variety you have. I set the seeds 8” apart.
2.  I dropped the dried kernels, into their holes and filled the earth in over them. We had rented a rototiller and the clay was soft as cake flour so my rows were easier to form this year. 
3. I made my rows about 12-15 “ apart (just enough to step into) and 30 feet long. There were 5 rows.

Corn needs love:

You must plant corn when the earth has warmed to at least 60 degrees. The soil must have nutrients in it. Give your corn plenty of water as they sprout and grow. Baby them, tell them they are beautiful, whisper sweet nothings into their ears. Last year I got over a hundred cobs piled high in the wheel barrel. I had a jolly time parboiling and wrapping them up for the freezer. I shared some with my neighbors. Oh those Peaches and Cream kernels were so sweet and delicious.

Here is my crop from this year 2015 in a greeting card. Perfect for Thanksgiving greetings. I loved this corn patch too. Every year has its own personality.

Our mild winter tricked me into planting in April. We had some deep freezes and the ground really didn't warm until the end of June. My crop looked small and uncared for. Much of it did not reach 3 1/2 feet high. But something wonderful did emerge in my corn patch this year. I found some big fat worms at the end of the cobs to feed the hens and had enough good cobs for the hens to enjoy. Most of all I loved making my first corn shocks.

How To Make Corn Shocks:

The stalks are usually sliced off near the ground with a scythe. I pulled my stalks from the ground and left on the root ball for weight to keep them from blowing away. These shocks will be decoration for our hay wagon in the Heritage and Livestock Parade in October.

You will need:

• cornstalks (wait till the leaves on the bottom have turned brown and the tops are still green)
• cord to tie with and scissors
• a tomato cage
• some decorations are nice like pretty autumn leaves, flowers ribbon or dried corn

Instructions:

1. Set the tomato cage on the ground upside down so the big part is on the bottom.
2. Begin placing the stalks one by one balancing them against the cage till it is all covered  (the ends of the stalks will flare outward on the ground)
3. Tie the shock in the upper third of the bundle with a cord ( I used orange baling string )
4. I left my tomato cage inside to assure a good structure as my stalks were a bit flimsy. But if your stalks are strong you can slip the whole shock off the cage and set it down.
5. Now come more fun, Decorate!
   
   
   

70 years ago here's how it was done:

Often the shocks sat out in the fields all year long, and the farmer would use an ax to chop out the stocks he needed. That changed in the late 1920′s when a picking machine was made and technology began to really change things.

Farm Collector shares this story written by 70 year old Frances Steel in 1970. “My father and I would take eight rows at a time. I cut four rows and he cut four. He used a regular corn cutter and I used a sickle, which I liked better. We used a wooden horse to lean the corn together between the fourth and fifth row. The horse was a pole about three inches in diameter at the big end and 12 feet long. It was about two inches at the small end. It had two broomsticks for legs at the big end and the small end rested on the ground. And one and a half foot from the large end a hole the size of a broomstick or handle was drilled and a broomstick inserted. This is what the corn was leaned on to start the shock. And when we had cut a space eight rows square, my father would tie the shock. With either rye straw for a band, or binder twine, and as soon as it was tied, I would pull out the broom stick and pull the horse ahead and we would start a new shock. We mostly hauled the shocks in (onto) the barn floor and husked on rainy days or in the evening by lantern light. Major, my dog, would always be around. He loved to eat corn, and there would be mice in the field under the shocks when we hauled them in. And I saw him have a front foot on a mouse holding it down while he killed another one, but (he) never ate one. One man is supposed to cut 100 shocks a day. We never cut that many, and we did not lose any time.”*

Little Utah Farm 2012 Corn Shocks

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Deborah Moen
of Little Utah Farm

Garden- Summer of 2012

Little Utah Farm Garden 2012

We had a very mild winter and felt it was safe to begin early in March to till the soil. We laid out all the compost from the bin onto the garden patch. Paul used his Kabota tractor and then attached a rototiller that he had rented. The tiller made the hard soil and clay like cake flour. It was wonderful!

New Garden rows  April 2012

It was so easy to make the rows. I made it in three sections. In one whole section I planted 92 seeds of Peaches and Cream Corn.

July 17-2012

A garden can teach many things and this year I learned that even though the winter is mild there can still be hard freezes in the spring. We had about 4 of them. It was the second week of May when the corn began to sprout and only 40 seeds out of 92 sprouted. I planted more corn. But all in good time, around July, things began to grow in our garden.




In July the moist air came up from the south and Utah got more rain than we ever experienced in our 4 summers here. With the rain came early and late evening lightening and thunder storms. Everyday the white fluffy thunderhead clouds would rise up over the mountains in all directions and meet somewhere in the middle late afternoon. We are still experiencing these storms well into August..

August 8, 2012



My scoop for Llama Bean Manure Tea.

These elements really nourished our soil and fed the plants. There is such a difference in watering my garden with a hose or the sprinklers with city water and having rain to water your garden naturally. The rain seems to energized the plants and along with my llama bean manure tea, my garden grew by leaps and bound what seemed to be overnight. For llama bean manure tea just put one shovel full of llama beans into a 5 gallon bucket and fill to 3/4 full with water. Let steep for 24 hours up to 2 days and scoop out with a gallon milk just cut like in the picture above.

Pumpkins growing fast August 8 planted in July.

The pumpkins planted in July burst forth towards the garden fence. My Morning Glories bloomed and the watermelon is basketball size and still growing. The Early Wonder beets did really well as usual and the spinach, oh the spinach, was so delicious and grew all season.I even had enough to share with my neighbor. My heirloom tomatoes are just now turning red and yellow. I have yellow pear, Italian and red cherry tomatoes. I just picked my first bowl full. Carrots are still forming and will be ready by fall.

My Queen for the day. My first Morning Glory bloomed. August 12,2012

This is on of my favorite parts of summer when everything is lush and green. I would love to have a camera to watch if the garden grows at night. I did notice that it was the new moon last night and in the wee hours of the morning I went outside to look up at the stars. I noticed Venus and Jupiter bright in the sky along with other sparkling stars. I heard the roosters were crowing and imagined the deer were crossing the road to get a nice breakfast in the alfalfa fields. Me and my friend saw tracks going in that direction on our walks.

Well, that is all for now.
Thank you for stopping by to visit Little Utah Farm.

If you have time, stop by to say hello and `like` our new page on Facebook called Little Utah Farm.

Until we meet again,

Deborah `MOON`

Garden ~ Soil As Soft As Cake Flour

Our garden soil looks wonderful!

This year Paul rented a rototiller for the day at Ahearns Rental on 800 W. It costs about $55. A new one cost $1500. We need it done only once a year. So it was wonderful to have a rental place in town that offered this amazing attachment for our Kabota tractor. The mix of grass clippings, chicken manure and llama beans we added all year long  got mixed into the clay and the blades cut the hard clods of dirt deep and when it was done it looked like course flour.


I made my rows  April 25, 2012. This year we had such a mild winter we were able to start earlier. the earth was so easy to work with. I enjoyed making the 3 sections of rows. The one in the foreground is for Peaces and Cream Corn. I planted 95 seeds.





I made my rows the next day.

The little green tips of corn came up one Mothers Day May 13. I was so excited !

Peaches and Cream Corn Sprout

I discovered a volunteer Wallflower and last years Catnip in one of my garden boxes. How nice to see it there.

I am planting celery, beets, parsnip, radishes, spinach, carrots, squash, pumpkin and more to mark what was in the rows I cut stakes out of a milk jug and painted them with acrylics. It was so much fun adding color to the garden.




Homemade plant stakes

Thanks for visiting Little Utah Farm. Say..How does your garden grow?
Until next time, Happy Spring !
Deborah

Corn On The Cob

Fresh Picked Peaches and Cream Corn

There is nothing like the taste of those sweet kernels of fresh picked corn. Come to think of it the whole preparation, the dreaming, the plotting, the plowing, making the rows, planting the seeds, and caring for the young sprouts is a beautiful full circle experience. . Watering, feeding and watching them grow and blossom into a remarkable likeness of the picutre on the front of the seed package or catalogue is very satisfying indeed.

Windy harvest and a big load of corn !!!

It was time to pick the corn. I stepped outdoors and the stalks were bending north from the oncoming storm winds. I rolled in the wheelbarrel, gathered up the clippers, the camera and my gloves and made my way to the corn field of rattling stalks, and the flashy colors greens and golds. There was a promise of an adventurous harvest. I had to look twice at my yeild. The whole wheel barrel was full above the brim with corn.

I husked the corn outdoors that night.

We got word of a cold snap coming any day so I went outside my kitchen door that night and began shucking the corn. Some of them well, most of them had a worm at the top near the silks. They didn't eat much and I cut off the eaten part at the very top. I would knock the worms into a mason jar to serve to my hens. They love them!  I had a feelin' I would never get all these done but with each one I got faster and better. I wondered how we were going to eat all this corn?

I got the water to boil on the stove. Parboiled for 9 minutes

Then I plunged them into cold water to cool.

I laid them out on a towel to dry.

Then I put them in feezer bags and slipped in a straw and sucked out the air.

The next day, I delivered 2 dozen to my neighbor behind us and 6 to our neighbors next door. My husband took some with him to a co-worker and the father of my grandson's friend took 2 dozen home to his family! We all had delicious corn to enjoy ! Seems like everything just works out.

How was your harvest this year?