I was a bit worried about these ears. I had three that were earlier than the others. The others all either died or didn't germinate. But these precocious stalks of corn that germinated in the cold soil of spring grew well. The problem with having just a few is getting them to pollinate. Only a handful of stalks were giving off pollen when these ears needed it. I went out and hand pollinated on occasion. I wasn't perfect about doing it every day. Hand pollinating corn is easy. In the early morning go out and shake each stalk. You can see the pollen fall straight down. With wind it blows it one way or the other, but in the quiet of the morning it falls right on the ears.
You can see by the photo that it wasn't perfectly pollinated. But of the three ears this one was the worst off and this side of the corn was the worst too. The other side was beautiful and all filled out. And the taste? Well it was ambrosia. Really the variety is called Ambrosia. It is a very sweet corn, so if you don't like them sweet, you wouldn't like it. But both my hubbie and I both have a sweet tooth. It was warm inside so I grilled them along with the rest of the meal. BTW grilled green beans are heavenly too. Not quite up there with sweet corn but not far off.
If I can just harvest the other Ambrosia in the garden, I'd be a very happy summer gardener. I have Ambrosia melons growing. One so far has been killed by wilt. The other three seem fine. They are just starting to set melons. I'm praying the wilt stays off the others for long enough for ripe melons.
Oooooh, toss me one, OK? I'm still waiting on my sweet corn. Some of the silks are brown and dry, but I peeled down the husk on one ear and the kernels are not even close to ripe. It looks like pollination was good, it's just not ready. I used to grow corn in my larger garden, and it seems like when the silk turned brown and dry the corn was ready.
ReplyDeleteYou have my mouth watering right now. Can't wait to bite into a sweet ear of corn. I didn't plant any, but I'll be heading to the Farmer's Market in the next few weeks. Hopefully, there will some waiting for me.
ReplyDeleteOh, that looks heavenly! I can't wait to have a nice ear of fresh sweet corn! I didn't plant any. But, Whitie always has a lot!
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a wonderful meal! I also cave in in the first week of july and planted a tray of seedlings from the nursery - it was only $2 for a tray with 16 plants! don't know if there's enough time to grow it but hope to taste it.
ReplyDeleteOh how wonderful! We are anxiously awaiting our first corn, though I fear it's still a ways off! What a wonderful meal you put together! Congrats!
ReplyDeleteLooks wonderful. Makes me anxious for mine. Although I am trying not to get my hopes up. I have never grown corn before and the stalks seem kind of wimpy looking to me. We shall see.
ReplyDeleteYou're so right... nothing quite like sweet corn!
ReplyDeleteNice ears.
Looks wonderful! And I bet it tasted even better! I have never had the guts to try to grow corn. Space being an issue and I'm afraid to attract racoons which we have in abundance around here.
ReplyDeleteGreat looking corn to me, and plate, and salmon, and beans, and bread, lol. Congrats! :-)
ReplyDeleteYou are right, there really is not much that tastes better than home grown sweet corn, picked and cooked fresh. I have a small patch and have to do some hand pollinating too to ensure I get some filled ears. Mine are tassled and silked so the pollinating is going on as I type this. Hopefully I will get some delicious corn (in several weeks) too!
ReplyDeleteHope the wilt backs off from your melons.
Looks delicious!
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