Corn as we know it today does not grow anywhere in the wild. It is a plant that was developed by an unknown group of people in Mexico between 7,000 and 12,500 years ago. They used a wild grass called teosinte which had small kernels that were separated on the cob, unlike our modern day hybrids.
Zea mays is how we classify corn botanically today. There are thousands of varieties of corn classified as either sweet corn or field corn. Sweet corn is for human consumption and is the corn on the cob we eagerly wait for every summer. Field corn is grown as animal fodder and used to produce cornmeal, corn syrup and corn bio fuel.
Corn is a hot weather plant and will not grow during the cool temperatures of spring. Wait to plant until the soil warms up to at least 6o° and all danger of frost has past. Plant corn seed 9 to 12 inches apart in rows that are 24 to 30 inches apart. For intensive spacing, plant 9 to 12 inches apart in all directions. Since corn is wind pollinated, always plant two rows or use intensive spacing. This will help facilitate pollination.
For a continuous harvest, either stagger your plantings a week or two apart or plant several different varieties that mature at different times.
Mulch the soil well and provide at least one inch of water per week.
There are three types of sweet corn: standard normal sugary, sugary enhancer, and supersweet.
Standard sweet corn contains a sweet gene that regular field corn does not. This type is best suited to eating immediately after picking, as in “start the water boiling before you go out to the garden to pick the corn.”
Sugary enhancer hybrid corn contains an enhanced sugary gene that makes it sweeter than standard sweet corn and also much more tender and creamy. This type of corn is the best and most tasty for eating fresh and it is considered superior to all other types of sweet corn.
Supersweet hybrid corn has a higher sugar content than standard sweet corn but has a crispy, tough-skinned texture and lacks the creamy texture of the other sweet corn varieties. This is not noticeable in fresh corn on the cob but does affect the quality of frozen and canned corn. This type of corn is considered superior to all varieties for fresh eating unless it must be stored, shipped or mechanically harvested. This makes it a natural for the urban home vegetable garden.
Corn is ready to pick when the kernels are fully formed but not completely mature. This occurs about 20 days after the first silk strands appear. When ready to harvest the kernels are smooth and plump and milky juice appears when punctured with a fingernail. The silks will appear dry and brown and the unpicked ears will feel firm.
Because sweet corn only remains in this stage for about seven days, check them frequently so that the kernels do not become too mature.
And don’t forget to start the water boiling before you go out to the garden to pick it.
Cucumbers' cool flavor and high water content quenches your thirst and fills your stomach.
The phrase “cool as a cucumber” does have some basis in fact. Cucumbers growing in the garden on a hot summer’s day can have an interior temperature as much as 20 degrees cooler than the air temperature.
Cucumbers originated in India and have been cultivated for at least 3,000 years in western Asia. It is thought that the English word for cucumber is from the Indian word kachumbar. The Latin botanical name is Cucumis sativus.
They were mentioned in the bible and also in the ancient tale of Gilgamesh, a story that pre-dates the bible by thousands of years.
The Romans went to great lengths to grow cucumbers under cover so they could eat them at all times of the year. They are reported to have used them to treat scorpion bites and bad eyesight. Roman wives who wished to conceive wore them tied to belts around their waists.
Cucumbers are not overly picky about the type of soil they grow in, as long as it drains well and has a pH slightly lower than the neutral 7. They need full sun and respond well to additions of compost to their growing bed.
Plant them directly in the garden about a week before your average last spring frost. Space hills in a grid about 3 to 4 feet apart and sow 3 to 4 seeds per hill. You can also grow them in a row and climbing up a trellis; space the hills about 2 to 2 1/2 feet apart.
When the seeds germinate in 7 to 10 days, thin to the strongest seedling in each hill. Mulch the soil after it has had time to completely warm up, in early to mid June, depending on your location.
Cucumbers are ready to harvest about 60 days after germination. Check the plants daily and pick the fruits when they are about 6 inches long. Do not let them mature or grow too large. These large fruits will be inedible and the vines may stop producing.
Be on the lookout for aphids, mites and cucumber beetles, 3 common pests of cucumbers. Treat aphids and mites with a strong spray from the garden hose followed by a red pepper spray. Handpick cucumber beetles and manually destroy them. These beetles will be more prevalent when the seedlings are just emerging from the soil.
Cucumbers can only be eaten raw fresh or pickled; there is no other known way to preserve them.
Captured a zucchini blossom this morning on a plant that’s barely bigger than a transplant. It’s actually the second one that opened. I missed the first flower—you can see it wilted in the background in the photo at left.
Zucchini come on like gangbusters and don’t let up until the weather cools in fall. Stories of grocery bags filled with zucchini that were left on neighbor’s doorsteps were circulating in the neighborhood a few years back, but no one came forward as the alleged recipient.
All squash are native to the Americas, but zucchini is a mutant, or sport, that originated in Italy. It’s name comes from the Italian zucchino, which means “little squash.” Botanists called it Cucurbita pepo, a member of the same family as cucumbers and melons. In the United Kingdom and New Zealand, zucchini are referred to as “courgette,” while Australians and Americans call it “zucchini.”
Whatever you call it, you have to call it versatile. You can serve zucchini cooked or raw, sweet or savory. Zucchini is grilled, fried, deep fried, stuffed, or baked with an endless variety of spices and seasonings. And virtually everything you can do with the fruit of zucchini you can do with the blossom.
In fact, one of the ways you can “temper” the amount of zucchini your plants produce is to harvest the blossoms. Stuff them, dip them in tempura batter and deep fry them. Bake them. Put them raw into salads. Use them as a filling for quesadillas.
Sometimes you can find a perfect zucchini blossom still attached to the tiny zucchini fruit at its base. These are much sought after by gourmets and pricey restaurants.
You grow zucchini the same way you grow cucumbers. Plant them in late spring, after all danger of frost has past. Plant five or six seeds in “hills” of soil. When the plants are about two inches high, thin to the strongest two or three plants. This is best used for “bush” varieties of zucchini, which form a compact bush-like plant.
For varieties of zucchini that grow into a vine, it’s best to grow them vertically. Zucchini will climb a vertical trellis or net with just a little help from you. Vertical growing keeps the plants off the ground and makes it easier to see the fruits.
Make sure to harvest zucchini every day. Pick fruits before they reach six inches in length, when they’ll be the most tender and flavorful. If you miss a few and they get a little large, peel them, seed them, grate them, and make zucchini bread. Or add a couple of cups of grated zucchini to any chocolate cake recipe.
But try to resist leaving them on your neighbor’s doorstep.
If you look towards the bottom of the flower stems in the picture at left, you’ll see the seed pods already formed. They look like horizontal twigs sticking out the sides of the stems.
What have I learned from this little experiment?
Kale plants will survive winter providing they are adequately covered.
You must remove the mulch in early spring, as soon as the weather begins to get above freezing. Otherwise, the leaves will wilt, become inedible, and the stem will become moldy. The entire plant will die.
Seeds will form and ripen by late spring, in plenty of time to plant for fall harvest.
The experiment will be repeated this year, using seeds that are forming right now.
But this year, I’ll use what I’ve learned.
Next spring, we’ll be eating fresh kale a month before the spring-planted greens are ready.
Asparagus is the "princess" of all vegetables. Why else would their roots be called crowns?
Asparagus officinalis is thought to originate near the eastern Mediterranean and Asia Minor where it has been cultivated since about 200 BC.
The only perennial vegetable commonly cultivated in the home garden*, asparagus has been prized as a spring delicacy ever since.
Start with healthy, disease-free roots. Purchase one-year-old roots from a reputable nursery or catalog. Properly planted and cared for, an asparagus bed will produce spears for 20 to 30 years.
Space asparagus roots 12 inches apart in rows (trenches) 30 to 36 inches apart. Don’t give in to temptation and plant them closer together to increase yields; asparagus needs a lot of room to grow leaves over the summer. This helps the plant store energy to produce spears the following spring.
Dig a trench about a foot deep and loosen the soil at the bottom. Add peat moss, well-rotted manure, and slow-release granular fertilizer. Mix these in well with the loosened soil at the bottom of the hole.
Create a slight ridge down the center of the trench and place the roots at the peak of the ridge. Spread the longer roots out along both sides of the ridge and cover with about an inch of soil. The plants will be below the surface of the surrounding soil. Fill in the trench over the next few weeks, covering the tips of the spears as they emerge until the trench is level with the rest of the garden.
Do not pick any spears the first year. During the second year, pick sparingly for just one week. Pick for two weeks the third year after planting. For the fourth year, pick for four weeks. Beginning the fifth year after planting, you may harvest as much as you like for a full eight weeks. Once asparagus season is over, allow the plants to put on as much top growth as they can and you’ll be rewarded with a good crop the following spring.
Keep your asparagus patch well weeded. Mulch with straw or cocoa hulls to discourage weeds and help hold moisture in the soil. Provide plenty of water. Every other week, water enough so that the soil is completely moistened eight inches below the surface.
Depending on your location, the first spears will appear from early April to early May. For the next eight weeks, your patch will provide you with fresh asparagus daily.
Roast them, steam them, grill them, or stir-fry them.
Just don’t overcook them.
Please.
* * *
*Yes, I know rhubarb is technically a vegetable and it is commonly cultivated in the home garden. But we think of it and use it as a fruit.
Florence fennel grows luscious bulbs for salads or roasting.
In Greek mythology, the gift of the knowledge of fire came to man in the form of a fiery coal tucked into a fennel stalk.
In Medieval times, fennel was used to treat disease and was considered sacred. It was hung from rafters to bring good luck to the household and put in keyholes to ward off ghosts and evil spirits.
Fennel was one of the “meeting” seeds of the Puritans; it was chewed to stay awake during church meetings and most often given to quiet fussy children.
Foeniculum vulgare is regular garden fennel grown for its seeds and herbal foliage; Foeniculum vulgare azoricum is the Florence fennel that grows the licorice flavored bulb eaten as a vegetable. Both varieties are perennials grown as annuals in much of the Northern Hemisphere.
Plant fennel in early spring as soon as the ground can be worked. Because they have a deep tap root, fennel doesn’t like to be transplanted. Direct seed where they are to grow.
Don’t plant fennel near beans, tomatoes, cole crops, coriander, or dill. Fennel is said to exude a chemical from its roots that adversely affects the growth of these crops.
It grows 3 to 4 feet high; plant near the back of the herb garden.
Sow seeds in garden about 1/8 inch deep and 4 to 6 inches apart. Thin to stand about 8 inches apart. Keep well watered until established, then do not over water.
When Florence fennel bulbs are egg sized, hill soil up to blanch them. You can begin to harvest about two weeks after that. Harvest leaves for use as a seasoning at any time. Regular garden fennel produces seeds in mid to late summer. Harvest seeds when they turn brown, before the plant scatters them.
Florence fennel bulbs are delicious roasted with a little olive oil and then sprinkled with Parmesan cheese during the last few minutes.
Fennel leaves’ delicate licorice flavor pairs nicely with fish or cheese. The seeds find their way into sausages, breads—particularly dark pumpernickel rye—cakes, cookies, and pies.
Fennel is an all purpose herb that adds its fragrance to cosmetics, soaps, liqueurs, and potpourri mixes, as well as culinary uses. Medicinally, it is said to aid digestion.
Fennel is a cold hardy vegetable that deserves to be grown more often in the home garden. Seed collectors will love it; fennel is a prolific producer of seeds.
It fits right in with one of my gardening concepts: buy it once, collect the seeds, grow it free for life.
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