[quote]
The heck with corn whiskey, go with rye. So much better.
Growing up, this is exactly how we did it. We had a huge cast iron kettle and dad would get it boiling over a fire. Had block ice frozen in milk cartons, the old paper kind, that we would put in a 55 gal drum of water. When the corn was ready to pick, no excuses, we picked (and picked and picked and picked), shucked and blanched as quickly as we could. There was no break in the action. I can’t begin to tell you how many bushels of corn I’ve shucked, blanched, and froze or canned in my life. We mostly cut it off the cob and canned it to save freezer space, but as I got older and grew my own, I freeze almost all of it on the cob.
We always planted Silver Queen. That and the varieties (SU varieties) available back in the day had to be picked, blanched, and frozen or canned as quickly as possible to preserve the sugar in it. Else the sugar would turn to starch. Today’s Sh2 varieties have been hybridized to the point where the sugar doesn’t break down as rapidly, preserving sweetness and increasing shelf life (think commercial sales).
When I started planting my own garden, I wanted to learn what made good sweet corn so I spent a lot of time studying it. Still never have been able to reproduce the taste of the corn that I grew up eating, or at least how I think I remember it tasting…
-The size of a fish is directly proportional to the time between when it's lost and the story is told. - Me -What's the best eating fish, you ask? I've found that for a lot people, its the ones that they happen to be able to catch, clean, and cook. - My Dad (1/13/37 - 9/27/16 I love you Pops) -Until you have loved a dog, part of your soul remains unawakened. Anatole France (paraphrased) -RIP my "Puppy Dog" 10/15/2004 - 1/14/2013. I'll never forget him. What a special friend he was. -Team Gonna Fish
Fred, I’m gonna give that a try on freezing in the husk…
Thanks:+1:
NN
If you don’t like it, I’ll be surprised. Will even warranty you one adult beverage of your choice. On the reply for having to plant four rows… two will be enough to do a great job for pollination.
Fred, as I was reading you reply I walked around the barn as 50 or so geese landed in my pond next to my garden. They didn’t stay long when they saw me. Learned the orka/freezer trick from my pawinlaw . He grew up as a share cropper and never saw electrisity till WW II when he went in the navy. I sure miss the old guy God rest his sole! We use to grow 2 football fields of corn, but it all came in at the same time and worked the heck out of us. I find it a lot less trouble to buy it at $4.00 a doz. bought some yesterday, sweet white must have come from mexico.
Geese have gone crazy over the last 10-15 years in this state. That corn may have come from the Everglade region, quit a bit is produced there over the winter. ? Wife picked up some ears a couple of weekends ago and they were very good.
It’s hard to grow it for what you can buy it for sometimes these days. Just fun to do for me and the wife. I quit with peanuts several years ago and just buy a bushel or two from Benton’s at Snyder’s Cross road. (HWY 63 & 21) They’ll be getting in the Spanish pretty soon from Florida but I prefer to wait for the local White (NC7’s usually).
My Dad’s dad was a share cropper and also ran a local dairy here in Walterboro… Coolers Dairy during the depression. Can you imagine making our youth use an outhouse? lol me for that matter.
As much as i dislike gardening I find y’all’s discussion very interesting. And I love fresh corn on the cob cooked on the grill or deep fried.
I was telling one of my coworkers (old country boy from loris) about y’alls posts. I usually give him a mess of spots & trout in the fall. And big mullet he smokes them yuck.
And he gives me fresh vegetables. He was telling me the collard greens & okra that he always gives me are from seeds his grandmother had. She passed about 15 years ago. He said he had about 25 lb of each. And thay had been kept in the freezer for all these years. Never heard such a thing. But he sure does grow some good veggies.
I am fragile. Not like a flower. But like a bomb.
I’ll have to see if I have any pics. Had some Collard plants that were 3 years old. I don’t chop the whole head off like you see in stores. I pick individual leaves as needed and when they start going to seed I just nip em. I’ve had several collards “go to seed” but you would have to have a dang half acre of em to gather 25# of seed! I could see getting okra seed, but never saved seeds. Okra is one of those crops that you have to pick it daily or it will go to the bad and be too tough to eat.
Give this a try on the big Mullet, bring one horse home fresh, scale whole (clean the black layer in stomach away), score, batter up with some House of Autrey (or something good you like), and deep fry. Raised up eating them caught out of brackish water near the Bluff Plantation, also love some fresh mud fish. I know, trash fish… Not so… On that note, I’ve turned a lot of friends on to some fried and grilled shark. Preparation and freshness. Of course I’d take a nice trout or flounder over a mullet but maybe not a spot tail. 
Hay, have y’ll ever used Hay straw as mulch for tomatoes and other plants?? I picked up a couple bales, pulled wire baskets, hoed between em, added thick layer of straw, tilled my way out adding straw as I went, as I try to avoid compressing soil.
Did some online reading saying hay straw was great and when breaks down, it’s great for the soil. Gonna snag couple more bales tomorrow to finish it out, but the hard work is done for the mators, with baskets back in place. Plan to till my way towards the row of squash, adding straw as I go. Planning to surround squash as well unless told otherwise…
Thanks for all the advice prior, and moving forward!
NN
Your post inspired my wife and kids. Using some old tree fort wood, they built raised beds and planted squash, peppers and onions. My wife just put down a layer of hay much. She says they used it all the time when they were kids. Looking forward to some fresh squash and peppers if the deer don’t eat them.
"Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It's Hand", but really, who cares?
They make several varieties of pepper spray as a deer repellent and many online videos for homemade stuff. It works ok. My garden just dried out enough to walk in. Still doing decent.
I usually grow a small garden just because I enjoy it and the food is great. I don’t typically grow stuff that’s almost as good from the grocery store. There is a massive difference between homegrown tomatoes and store bought tomatoes, but not that much difference in fresh squash, or crucifers. I grew some beautiful cauliflower last fall, but honestly it didn’t taste any better than what I buy at Kroger, so I probably won’t be planting that again. As for corn, once I ate McKenzie’s frozen creamed corn (white or yellow), I knew I’d never grow corn again. I have “fresh” creamed corn all year long as long as Kroger keeps stocking McKenzie’s.
I am growing a few tomatoes (Rutgers, Cherokee purple, and some yellow hybrid beefsteak tomato), several varieties of hot and sweet peppers, Yukon gold potatoes, Detroit red beets, lady peas, Danvers carrots, Bloomsdale spinach, and a few herbs and flowers. Sounds like a lot but my garden plot is only 8x12ft. I can hoe the weeds in about 5 minutes. I have drip irrigation hooked up to a timer, so water is not an issue or a chore. Some of the items I am growing in containers on the back deck. I just water those with a hose as needed.
This year is my 3rd generation of planting heirloom tomato and pepper varieties from seed I saved the previous year. In my mind, that will produce stronger plants that are acclimated to my microclimate. We will see if that eventually pans out. Either way, I enjoy saving seed.
Of course it's my opinion. Whose opinion were you expecting?
Of course it's my opinion. Whose opinion were you expecting?
I have used hay before and it works fine, but you will get more weeds next year.
-The size of a fish is directly proportional to the time between when it's lost and the story is told. - Me -What's the best eating fish, you ask? I've found that for a lot people, its the ones that they happen to be able to catch, clean, and cook. - My Dad (1/13/37 - 9/27/16 I love you Pops) -Until you have loved a dog, part of your soul remains unawakened. Anatole France (paraphrased) -RIP my "Puppy Dog" 10/15/2004 - 1/14/2013. I'll never forget him. What a special friend he was. -Team Gonna Fish
Not Hay, but wheat straw is what I’m using.
Thanks Bowhunter
NN
Have dug some potatoes, radishes and a bunch of carrots. Helped the wife scrape 120#. Now we are getting some blueberries ripe, if we can beat the birds to them.
Sweet Corn is just fixing to tossle, so put some seven dust out. My Butter peas got eaten by the deer. Squash and cucumbers should be ready in a couple of days.
My wife puts a net she gets from Walmart over them. Quarter inch works a little bit better it don’t get down over the leaves. If we don’t cover them we don’t get any berries .
And they crap blue all over the cars.
I am fragile. Not like a flower. But like a bomb.
That looks good. Nice job…
-The size of a fish is directly proportional to the time between when it's lost and the story is told. - Me -What's the best eating fish, you ask? I've found that for a lot people, its the ones that they happen to be able to catch, clean, and cook. - My Dad (1/13/37 - 9/27/16 I love you Pops) -Until you have loved a dog, part of your soul remains unawakened. Anatole France (paraphrased) -RIP my "Puppy Dog" 10/15/2004 - 1/14/2013. I'll never forget him. What a special friend he was. -Team Gonna Fish
[quote]My wife puts a net she gets from Walmart over them. Quarter inch works a little bit better it don’t get down over the leaves. If we don’t cover them we don’t get any berries .
And they crap blue all over the cars.
/quote=Originally posted by Off the chain]
We tried the nets with little help, Wife and I decided to plant enough for us and the birds, been working out pretty good unless we get a late frost.
Well, the deer ate the tops of our pepper plants and some of the squash before the leaves got big enough to be really prickly. We potted the rest of the peppers and moved them to the deck. Man, I am starting to hate deer. If I was a bow hunter…………………………………………
"Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It's Hand", but really, who cares?
I am fragile. Not like a flower. But like a bomb.