Pinwheels and Stars - MSQ

 

Baby Quilt - Carley Jarrard Dyer

 

Beginning Quilt Series - FQS

 

Carpenter Star - Hannah

 

Nanny's Biscuits

 

Sweet Corn

While we were all celebrating the 4th of July, Granny was cooking and putting up the first of the corn.  She let us know that evening, the corn was ready.  We watch the silks on the ears to determine when it is time.  The stalk puts on ears and the ears start to silk, once those silks turn dark and the ear gets full, we pull it.  You don't determine when you want to do corn.  There is a window between when it's full and when it sours. If it sours, you'll know it.

Tuesday morning, before day break, Tony and Jerry went to the garden and pulled 3 and a half rows of the sweet corn.  Granny was right, it was perfect.  Even though Tony did not side dress it, we had big beautiful ears.  There were very few worms in it. And the deers had not eaten any of it.  We were blessed.




Tony pulled the corn and shucked it before he went to work





When we do corn, we do it all at Granny's.  We have done it for so many years that we have our knives and pans ready, along with our buckets and rags.  This year Tony, Jerry, Granny and I hit the ground running.  Well, Granny hit the ground running.  When I got there at 8:00, she had cooked breakfast for 5 people and had made a banana pudding.  I felt guilty for sleeping late. 

Once Tony had the corn shucked, Jerry and I silked it and cut off the bad places.  Even though we didn't see any worms, we saw evidence.  That's to be expected; however, it was minimal.  About 5 years ago, I learned a trick to silking corn.  We started using washclothes to silk it.  It works like a charm.  For years we used a small brush.  The bristles would burst the kernels and make everything so sticky.  Merrit sweet corn has very few silks compared to field corn.  So, the washcloth works well for silking.  You do have to change rags when you do as much as we do; but, it is still easier.



I'm behind on my silking



After we silk it, we use washtubs and 5 gallon buckets to wash the corn through two waters.  This takes alot of containers.  And alot of water.  You want the corn clean before you cut it off.    The water also keeps the ears cool and prevents them from souring.   Because there is so much starch in sweet corn, souring is always a possibility.  We are extra careful to keep it in shade and in the water.

Once you get it silked and run it through two waters, it is time to cut it off.  Here is where skill takes over.  There are two ways to cut off corn.  Cream and whole kernel.  We did it both ways.  Granny likes cream and my family likes whole kernel.  When you cut off, the most important thing is to have a very sharp knife.  Creaming it you clip it twice and scrape it to get the juice out.  Whole kernel is easier because you only cut once and it is close to the cob.  You really don't even need to scrape it unless you want a little juice. When Tony and I first married, Granny was ticky about the way corn was worked up.  I cut away from me; but, Granny cuts toward her.  It really doesn't make that big of a deal as long as you are consistent as to the depth that you cut.  At 91, it is a thing of beauty to see her work.

This year even Tony and Jerry cut off...whole kernel!

There is no telling how many ears came off that 3 and a half rows.  We had all we could do for one day and after we cut it and cooked it....we were finished with the corn.  The next morning, early, Jerry went out and pulled the remaining sweet corn.  Granny called in the neighbors and shared it with them.  Giving away makes room for God to bless you!

This is what Jerry pulled to give away, ain't God good!!



Lay it By

When you plant a garden and work it, you are waiting on the day when you can "lay it by".  After all the work's done...all the planting, plowing, hoeing and thinning; you can sit back and let mother nature do her thing.  There's nothing else to do but watch it grow.  We layed it by this week.  And, it is beautiful. 

Today is the 11th straight day with above 90 temperatures and we have had only one significant rain in two weeks, so we have watered everything but the corn.  In spite of that, the corn is tosseling.  The tossel is the grain that comes out the top of the stalk.  The stalk and leaves are green and the leaves are flat, not twisted.  All of that and we did not "side dress" it.  Granny said that we needed to put some "soadie" on the ground next to the plant so that it will make a fuller ear.  Soadie is the fancy word for amonium nitrate.  It is what makes it green and pretty.  It is also what you would use to build a bomb!  Tony thinks we'll be fine without the soadie, we shall see.

Tossel




90 degrees, no rain, no soadie...looks good!

Before we layed it by, Tony had to plow the peas for the 1st time.  He planted them the week before last and they are coming up.  Among the peas are quite a few weeds.  Plowing takes care of the weeds between rows; but, it will still need to be hoed to get the weeds between the plants.  Tony used the tractor to plow.
He also plowed the okra.  He had to be extra careful because the plants are still small.  And the soaker hoses we laying next to the plant.   



There were some odds and ends that needed to be done.  Tony has always used ground cover between the bean rows and on each side.  This is great for weed control.  By rolling it out, it does not need to be hoed and you can walk easily when picking beans.  At the end of the season, Tony will roll up the cover and use it again the next year.  The vines are starting to bloom and soon we will see some beans.  The first beans will be close to the ground which is another benefit of ground cover.  It is alot cleaner than red dirt!

Between the bean rows.



Jerry also caged the tomatoe plants.  It will keep the plant growing up and makes it easier to pick the tomatoes.  We use just basic fencing and roll it into a cage.  Jerry drove a post in the ground and tied it to the cage to keep it from falling over.  As the plant grows, we will make sure the limbs stay inside the cage.  This helps to keep the plants off the ground and healthy and gets plenty of sunlight to the fruit.

Tomatoes before they were caged.

Caged

Okra

Squash...it is blooming!