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Across the Fence:  How's the corn in your part of the country??  |
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Vintage Redhead
True Blue Farmgirl
233 Posts
Kaylyn
Saint Charles
IL
USA
233 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 08 2007 : 5:53:39 PM
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Out here in northern IL, we have a saying that corn should be "Knee high by the 4th of July." Well I'm here to tell you that driving the backroads to/from Rockford today, it is *WAY* higher than knee high...in some areas, it's already shoulder high!!
What's odd is that so many suburbanites keep complaining about a lack of rain. Hmmmmm....methinks the corn is a much better judge than people who sit in traffic all day.
The sad part: I keep seeing all of these *wonderful* farms being torn up to make way for new development. Don't we have enough townhomes, condos, and faux-mansions already?? I certainly think so. It breaks my heart to see suburbia leaping so far westward from the Chicago area. (BTW: a "faux mansion" is an enormous house that sits on a teeny-tiny plot and costs what a mansion *used* to cost...back in the "good old days.") It just makes no sense to me...tear down all of nature, slap up some houses, then start replanting nature all over again.
I much prefer corn during my drives. It keeps me grounded in reality instead of this believing that the entire world is suburban sprawl. And it lets my kids know that the world isn't all congestion and traffic signals... ~ K
~ Kaylyn ~ (Living in Suburbia with a FARMGIRL Heart!)
My Cause: http://nickspavilion.com/
My Life: http://vintageredhead.blogspot.com |
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JennyLou
Farmgirl at Heart
7 Posts
Jennifer
Columbia
Mo
USA
7 Posts |
Posted - Jul 08 2007 : 6:44:10 PM
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| We have an Amish community nearby...their corn fields are glorious as well as delicious...we had several ears for supper tonight!!! I love driving there, corn, farmhouses, horse and buggies, not to forget, the very best Amish bakery...YUMMMMM |
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Annie S
True Blue Farmgirl
756 Posts
Annie
Custer
S.D.
USA
756 Posts |
Posted - Jul 08 2007 : 7:04:27 PM
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I agree whole-heartedly with you!!!!! Driving back from Minneapolis this last week there were fields/farms with for sale signs on them for 80+, 160+ acres of rich farm land just waiting to be destroyed for expanding suburbs. DH and I felt sick about it. But guess the farmers can make more money that way than in raising crops. But too, so many small farmers are being bought out by larger corporate farms that will one day be the only farms around - the ma and pa farms will be a thing of the past. Progress is great, but sometimes it just has to put the brakes on and say slow down and think.
Peace and love.
Annie |
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Mikki
True Blue Farmgirl
1510 Posts
Mikki
Austin
Indiana
USA
1510 Posts |
Posted - Jul 08 2007 : 7:20:18 PM
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Our Amish community has lots of goodies too. My amish friend Fannie gets our milk ready each weekend. I love visiting and spending time with them. From our little get-away Amish cabin you can see our vegetable garden. Also sitting on the cabin porch you can smell the sweet lavendar, basil, thyme and other herbs late in the evening. I sat there after working in the garden, listening to the birds and the creek softly flowing. Aaaah, I was so intoxicated I didn't feel like walking back home. I have an early appointment or I'd just walk back over and spend the night at the cabin. Me and boxer puppy has a training session early in the morning. She is doing great!
~~Blessings, Mikki Jo
www.mikkijo.etsy.com
http://burningmeadowsprings.blogspot.com/
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mommatracy
True Blue Farmgirl
490 Posts
Tracy
My. Olive
NC
USA
490 Posts |
Posted - Jul 08 2007 : 7:29:00 PM
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| Corn usually comes off during the 4th of July around Southeastern North Carolina. I could write paragraphs about putting up corn here in NC but '''''later. Right now it has been so darn good. Declicious, sweet, juicy, perfection! Man, I could eat it right out of the field raw. It is that good. Children of the Corn? Yeah, children who love good sweet corn straight off the cob. A hundred years ago( 1982)I took my 2 young toddlers to the field with me and pulled corn to eat and put in the freezer. My folks grew acres of it and turned us,seven kids, the Brady Bunch loose, to gather all the corn we wanted. Free. What a good time we had. Tracy |
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Marybeth
True Blue Farmgirl
6418 Posts
Mary Beth
Stanwood
Wa 98292
USA
6418 Posts |
Posted - Jul 08 2007 : 7:31:44 PM
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We also say 'knee high by the fourth of July' I think that was in State Fair-the movie. Also at harvest time 'as high as an elephants eye'. Most of the corn here goes for silage for the dairy farms. My mother used to tell me that my father who was from nebraska used to distain any corn grown in Washington. "Bah, field corn!" The cows give good milk. Hmmmmm. They are already picking Broccoli-field packed right to the stores. I love this time of year, all the way to October. It is fun to learn the ways in the different parts of this great country of ours. MB
www.strawberryhillsfarm.blogspot.com
www.day4plus.blogspot.com www.holyhouses-day4plus.blogspot.com
"Life may not be the party we hoped for...but while we are here we might as well dance!" |
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Patsy
True Blue Farmgirl
592 Posts
Illinois
USA
592 Posts |
Posted - Jul 09 2007 : 05:58:43 AM
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Corn here is looking pretty good. It was really dry in June but at the last of the month, we got much needed rain and it perked right up. I think they used to say knee high by the fourth of July before they had all the chemicals they put on it now to make it grow higher and faster.
Kaylyn, my sis lives in Joliet and it makes me really nervous when I go up there and see all the wonderful farmland being eaten up by homes that they now can't sell. Why do folks have to live in 3000 sq. ft. and up homes? Lots have been built and lots of homes now sit empty.
May God bless those who love the soil,
Patsy
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Jul 09 2007 : 07:07:17 AM
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Actually, we always said, 4th of July, high as an Elephants Eye" for this part of the country (mainly around Henderson, Kentucky, when I was little). Sadly, it's nowhere near that. With the drought we've had, it's just too little too late. The pieces I've had from the farmers market have been good tasting, but not good looking. Hasn't fully developed, but the sugar's there.
Hoping for a better year all around next year!!!!
"In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt." Margaret Atwood
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abbasgurl
True Blue Farmgirl
1262 Posts
Rhonda
USA
1262 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2007 : 5:48:35 PM
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It's a "corn year" in the fields surrounding our house, meaning the entire property is surrounded by tall, lush, dark green, corn. Corn years are my favorite. You can sit on the porch, listen to the wind whisper through the field, and feel like you are tucked in among the leaves. The sense of seclusion & privacy is wonderful.
Everything here is growing beautifully, best garden in years. I am mostly amazed at the beautiful lettuces. We have had lots of rain & cooler than normal temps.
Jonni, I sypathize...we have had those years too. And yes, there's always next year. 
Kaylyn, I'm with you. I much prefer a rural view. I always take the senic route when I drive cross country-will do just about anything to avoid a city! I haven't been to St. Charles in a few years...it used to be quite lovely, and so many interesting things going on up there! Sorry to hear the sprawl is reaching you. Traffic is a booger, yes?
Rhonda
I'm a one girl revolution. |
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Runbikegrrl
True Blue Farmgirl
250 Posts
MaryAnn
Waterbury Ctr
VT
USA
250 Posts |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2007 : 05:42:56 AM
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Ours here in NC should be ready in about 2 weeks. Not soon snough as far as I'm concerned!
It started looking a little bleak and lower leaves started truning brown way before tassles started. However, we have been receiving Florida-like showers in the faternoons/evenings, so all should be right on track now.
Coolest thing was 2 weeks ago when I went out to check everything early in the a.m. and heard really loud buzzing. I looked up and saw thousands of honey bees all stuffing their little pollen baskets FULL of pollen. Kind of weird to me since I thought corn was wind pollinated. Wonder how corn honey tastes
We have 3 fields. Two with Silver Queen (only the best) and one other hybrid that's supposed to be super sweet too.
Last year the japanese beetles were horrible!! We tried those hanging lures and ended up attracting probably every beetle in the county!!!
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janetinva123
True Blue Farmgirl
363 Posts
Janet
newport news
va
USA
363 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2007 : 08:55:03 AM
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i am visiting my daughter in Clarksville Ten and everything smells like corn. The water taste like corn, when you wash your clothes it smells like corn. I love corn but the taste is way different than the smell. Here there are many private and coorporate corn fields. But i love it here, i am seriously thinking of moving here to buy my farm.
Jc
http://beloved-creations.blogspot.com
http://beloved-creations.com |
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ddmashayekhi
True Blue Farmgirl
4739 Posts
Dawn
Naperville
Illinois
USA
4739 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2007 : 11:55:23 AM
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Kaylyn, I live just south of you and the cornfields here are quite high. I just bought some from the Lemont Farmer's Market. The ladies that run the stand live in Lynwood (south east of Chicago) and they said they haven't had a bit of rain by them. Everything is burning up like crazy.
We suffer from the same "faux mansion" and development complexes as you do. It breaks my heart to see the farms vanish one at a time (and not all that slowly). Our area incorporated 5 years ago & they are just starting to talk about "preserving" our historic past. I can only shake my head at that, they allowed that past to vanish in the way of so called "progress".
Dawn in IL |
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cabinmoose
True Blue Farmgirl
218 Posts
Lorna
Forest Hill
MD
USA
218 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2007 : 12:18:27 PM
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Our corn fields here in MD are very tall too. Possibly even taller than I....lol
But they just recently shot up! They were not to happy looking a couple weeks ago.
As far as the development, it occurs all too frequently here. There are new developments all over and the houses just keep getting bigger and bigger.....it really is sad.
Lorna
Lorna Orick,
Forest Hill, MD |
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willowtreecreek
True Blue Farmgirl
4813 Posts
Julie
Russell
AR
USA
4813 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2007 : 12:32:11 PM
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Corn is already passed for us. Any left in the fields now will be used for feed and halloween decorations! I was able to get some last week but the sugars had already broken down and it was starting to get meally.
Jewelry, art, baskets, etc.
www.willowartist.etsy.com
www.willowtreecreek.com |
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sweetproserpina
True Blue Farmgirl
535 Posts
meg
Vinemount
Ontario
Canada
535 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2007 : 1:49:08 PM
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My little row of corn (heritage black aztec) at work is still real short. Only about knee high. We had a bad spring - cold and wet- so it was very slow to start. Up the valley though they are fairing better and I've just started to see sweet corn for sale at the fruit stands. Yum!
"Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive--it's such an interesting world."
http://theprimroseway.blogspot.com/ |
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Horseyrider
True Blue Farmgirl
1045 Posts
Mary Ann
Illinois
1045 Posts |
Posted - Jul 21 2007 : 04:50:41 AM
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Ohh, I wish you could take a ride with me, on horseback, through the lane to the woods! It's like a tunnel of corn! It's been a banner year due to the timing of the rains. Tasseling just occurred last week on the field corn, and the sweet corn is in the stores now. Going down the lane, I cannot see over the tops of the tassels, and that's on a 17hh horse!
BTW, it's not tall because it's sprayed. It's tall due to the variety. Sweet corn is almost always shorter than field corn, and is a brighter green leaf and tassel. If you take a look at a field trial area, you'll see some of the different heights, and all get the same treatment and rainfall.
Is there anything that smells so sweet as corn tasseling up??? This year we only had it for a few days before the rain knocked the pollens to the ground; but it was still heavenly. That must be the origin of the phrase "sweet country air." |
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Kat07
Farmgirl in Training
12 Posts
Kathleen
75 East Bolton Rd #23
Oakley Ca
USA
12 Posts |
Posted - Jul 21 2007 : 8:26:48 PM
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Hi where I live and grew up in northern california has great corn we just had our 15th annual Cornfestival in Brentwood Ca. about one hr. from San Francisco so sweet and crispy mmmmm soooo good roasted.
Barefootin and diggin in the dirt!! |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2007 : 03:41:46 AM
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Just for kicks, last year I planted field corn and sweet corn in the same row. (It was going to be fed to zoo animals anyway). Pretty cool when the kernals looked like sweet corn on steroids and the stalks towered over my head.
Maybe it helped that I also used zoo-doo compost! |
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Across the Fence: How's the corn in your part of the country?? |
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How's the corn in your part of the country??
