Pickin' Sweet Corn

We grow a couple of heirloom varieties of sweet corn each year like we've done for umpteen years or so.  Sweet corn is one of those things that has at least two rows allocated each spring.  It grows fast and grows tall.  It feeds on the nitrogen in the soil provided by composted chicken litter and that homemade funky smelly fertilizer we've learned to make.

When I said it grows tall, I'm not pulling your leg.  Eleven feet from ground level to the top of the tassel!  The height is impressive, but it's also a curse of sorts.  When spring rains come they're usually accompanied by winds ahead of the thunderstorm.  Those gusts tend to lay the corn on the ground.  In the past, I'd stand them up and press dirt around the base to hold them straight.  That was a time consuming and unsuccessful venture.

For the past several years, I've opted for a better solution, using the "Florida Weave" method that I use for trellising tomatoes, but more simplified.  I drive a t-post on each end of the row and weave baling twine in and out all the way down the row and around the other t-post.  Coming back I weave the twine on the opposite side and cinch it up tight to the t-post on the end.  That way it makes the corn stand up straight again, which is important.  The tassels produce pollen that fertilizes the ears and that pollen uses the wind and gravity to do its job.  If the corn is laying down, my guess is that a lot of the ears will have blanks.  Each silk thread equates to a kernel of corn.  If pollination is not successful the ears will have blank spots.

Just look at that beautiful red silk!

A Beautiful "Red-Head"

Here's how you know when the corn is ready for harvest.  That beautiful red silk will turn brown.  When that happens, you've got to be ready to pick.  If you wait, you are in danger of a big fat worm eating its way through the ear or the corn will not be as juicy as it would have been if picked earlier.

It was a hot, humid morning and by the time I had picked every ear that was ripe, I had soaked my shirt.  I brought the crate of corn into the garage and put it in the refrigerator to cool down.  I wanted to cool down to, but there was still work to do.

I cut the corn stalks and carried to Nicky, the bull.  Nicky was thankful.  Popcorn the buck was grateful as well.

Aww Shucks!

A customary corn harvest day always involves eating a bite-full of raw sweet corn right there in the corn patch.  I want to show you my favorite variety - Country Gentleman.  I like the name of this variety.  I think it sounds noble.  Wouldn't you like to be considered a country gentleman?  This is a white shoepeg corn.  I like it also because the kernels are arranged in random, haphazard fashion unlike the uniform organization of 'normal' corn.  Somehow I can identify with that jumbled, unorganized arrangement!

Here is the other variety - Stowell's Evergreen Sweet Corn.  These kernels are lined up in neat lines like you're used to eating when you enjoy corn on the cob.

We blanched all the corn on the cob for nine minutes, cooled it in a sink of iced water and then used a sharp knife to cut the corn off the cob, scraping the cobs to get all the juicy corn "milk".  Then I spooned it into quart ziploc bags.  Yes, we re-use bags that are still in good shape!

Later, we'll thaw and make our two favorite dishes with sweet corn - Corn Macque Choux and Elote (Mexican Street Corn).  I think if it ever stops raining, I'm going to go plant a couple more rows of sweet corn.  You can't have too much of this in the freezer or to eat fresh right off the cob.

2025 Sweet Corn Harvest

We planted two rows of sweet corn this year.  We usually plant a couple of heirloom varieties - Country Gentleman and Stowell's Evergreen.  They aren't prolific producers (only one to two ears per stalk), they grow very tall and tend to blow over in the wind and rain, but they are non-GMO and are sweet.  I gathered my clippers and a laundry basket and decided I would go ahead and harvest in the morning before it got too hot.  It didn't matter.  It was hot and muggy and my shirt was soaked through and through almost before I got started.

I watched as a four foot long king snake slithered into the garden, unfazed by my presence, and nestled into the snap beans.  He knew I wouldn't do anything to him.  He's a "good" snake.  Still, if I was picking beans and didn't know he was there, he'd give me quite a start, for sure.

The way I judge if the corn is ready to harvest is by looking at the silk.  If it has turned brown, like you see below, it's ready to pick.

If it still has a red-color to it like you see below, I leave it to mature for a couple or 3 days.  Of the two rows, I left about 15 stalks standing that I'll go back and pick in a day or two.

The cows (in this case, Nick, the bull, takes great interest in the corn harvest as they eat the leaves and stalk of the corn plant.

In the end, we got a laundry basket full of sweet corn.  Not a tremendous harvest, but not terrible, either.

Aw shucks!  I began shucking the corn, removing the husks and silk.  Here is an ear of the Country Gentleman variety.  You'll notice that this variety is different in that the corn kernels are not arranged in uniform rows on the ear.  They're just haphazardly on the ear.

Here is an ear of the Stowell's Evergreen Corn.

We had a lot of damage this year from worms.  Most every ear had damage on the ends that I had to cut off.

After cleaning it all up, I took it inside where Tricia blanched it on the cob.  Once cooled, I cut the kernels off the cob and scraped the "milk" from the cob into a big stainless steel bowl.

We began bagging it all up in quart-sized zip loc bags.  We'll eat all this up later.  Our two favorite recipes to make are Mexican Street Corn and Corn Macque Choux.

Now that most of the corn is out of the way, I think I'll get some purple hull peas planted and maybe some pumpkins.

How Sweet It Is!

We just have two rows of sweet corn in the garden.  I didn't want to plant a whole lot as we still have a number of bags of frozen sweet corn from last year - both on the cob and cut off the cob.  The corn grew very tall this year, some of it reaching heights of 10 feet tall.  The tall stature of the corn was call for concern when, after a thunderstorm, most of it laid down on top of the okra growing to the south of it.  Fortunately, the sun came out one day later and most of the stalks stood right back up.

Sweet corn is ready for picking when the silk turns from a pink or red color to a dull brown.  This one here?  She's ready for pickin'.

I have a little goofy ceremony I do every year.  The first ear of corn I harvest, I stand right there in the garden row and eat it raw right off the cob.  So sweet!  So good!  I want you to notice something about this variety I'm harvesting today.  It is called, "Country Gentleman" sweet corn.  How 'bout that name?  Even if it wasn't good, I think I'd buy it just for the name.  I think the world needs more Country Gentlemen.

Country Gentleman is a white shoepeg sweet corn.  Let's talk about that for a minute.  Shoepeg corn?  What is that?  Well, it is named that for a 19th century shoe-making term for its kernels resemble the wooden pegs that were used to assemble the soles to the upper part of the shoes.  Another fun fact is that shoepeg corn is a favorite bait for catching Sockeye Salmon.  We're not fishing with it, though.  We'll eat it all!

Notice the disorderly, mob rule-type organization of the kernels on the cob.  Have you ever seen such a thing?  It's nuts.  Other corn is arranged uniformly, in straight rows.  It's as if Country Gentleman corn said, "Ain't nobody got time for that."  

But out here on our little homestead farm, we share the bounty with the other inhabitants.  I tossed the shucks, silk, and stalk over the garden fence and the cows, goats, and chickens had a field day (pun intended) eating it.

Some of the corn is real nice and pretty, with the whole cob full.

Other ears have kernels missing, both by lack of pollination and by damage from worms.  We put the ears in a pot and blanched the corn, allowing it to boil for 9 minutes before removing it and putting into a ice water bathe to stop the cooking process.

I used a sharp knife to cut the small kernels from the cob, making sure to scrape the cob to get every single last bit of 'milk' out of the cob.

Just for grins, I put it into a big measuring cup as I went...  The first one was soon full.

It was mighty tempting to not eat a bunch more right off the cutting board.  But, not being a sockeye salmon, I was able to resist the temptation.

We packed up the corn in quart-sized freezer bags to put in the freezer.

My favorite dish to make with this is Corn Maque Choux.  So doggone good!!  I'll show you something else we did with it in a couple days.  Sweet corn is fun to harvest, but the next best thing is eating it.

A Gorgeous Redhead in the Garden (And Other Fabrications)

A couple of weeks ago the two rows of corn in the garden began to tassel.  This is an important time in the development of the corn.  If fertilization is not complete, the ear of corn will be not full.  There will be gaps with a few kernels here and there - not much for eating.  It is also a time in which thunderstorms roll through and threaten to knock down your corn.  So far, so good.

We grow several varieties of non-GMO, heirloom sweet corn.  It grows very tall!

We don't grow a lot of corn - just two rows.  You never know just how the crop is going to be until you shuck the corn and pull back the silk and inspect the ear.  Would you look at that!  This is an ear of Stowell Evergreen Sweet Corn.  I generally eat the first ear standing in the garden.  It is sweet and delicious raw, right off the stalk.

I looked over to the next row of corn and lo and behold, what do I see but a gorgeous redhead standing in our garden.  What is she doing here?  No, Tricia is not a red head.  She has black hair, but calls it dark brown.  I am referring to the brilliant, candy-apple red tint of the silk on an ear of Country Gentleman Sweet Corn.  (I like the name of this variety.)

Country Gentleman is a white sweet corn.  It is sweet and delicious, but has another unique characteristic - the kernels aren't organized in rows.  They are arranged in a haphazard, almost random arrangement.  It doesn't matter what it looks like.  It tastes great!

As I stand in the garden, if I am patient, the afternoon sunset is punctuated by the tassels atop the corn stalk.  The hot sun gives way to a semi-cool breeze and a beautiful sunset.

It is quiet and peaceful - apart from buzzing, swarming hordes of hungry mosquitoes, it would be paradise.

But I'll bring my bucket of corn inside.  Once I shuck it, we will boil it and slather butter and salt on top.  Fresh sweet corn.  

That's some good eating!  Always a good idea to floss after eating corn on the cob...

Country Gentleman Corn

A couple of nights ago on my way to the barn, I snapped a few pictures of our corn silhouetted against the western sky as the sun sunk over the horizon.  For some reason it is a pastoral scene that makes me think of simplicity, peace, authenticity, and rest after putting in an honest day's work.  Strange, I know.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  Those are just a few words that describe what the picture means to me.

Green Acres is the place to be...

If you try real hard, you can put yourself right in this picture.  There is a slight south wind blowing and although the day was hot (real hot), there is a slight coolness to the evening air, giving human and beast alike respite from the humid pressure cooker that we call July in South Louisiana.

Farm Livin' is the life for me...

Right on the other side of the garden, if you looked hard, you could see all the laying hens habitually lining up on their roosting bars in the chicken tractor after a fun-filled day of roaming around 3 acres eating bugs, scratching through cow patties for anything that might look appetizing (to a chicken).  If you listened closely, you could hear Nellie's bell around her neck ringing as she checks on her baby, Annie, that we locked up in the goat barn so that we would have goat milk for tomorrow morning.  Bully moos for his mama, Daisy, as we have him locked up in the stall separate from Daisy (calf Daycare) so that we'll have cow milk for tomorrow morning. 

Everything seems right with the world and everyone is in their appointed resting place for the evening.



Land stretchin' out so far and wide, Keep Manhattan just gimme that countryside!

Even the dragonfly has found a spot on the corn tassel to rest.

Speaking of the corn, it is tall.  I got out the tape measure and extended it to the top of the tassel.  It measured 10 feet 10 inches tall!  This is Country Gentleman Corn, an heirloom corn I like to grow because it is a little different.  I'll show you why in a minute.  I also like the name - Country Gentleman Corn.  It sounds so genteel, noble.  Gotta be good corn with a name like that, right?

Standing tall.

In the pictures taken in the evening, you might have thought it was a cornfield.  Actually no.  We lost most of our corn crop to a series of storms that came through, laying down the corn and then breaking them.  Then, Nellie the goat, developed a taste for corn and devised a way to stand up on the fence and pull the corn plant to her and eat it.  Doggone goat.  I attempted to discourage her snacking on our corn by hanging sheets of tin against the fence.  It looks unsightly as all get-outs but it does the job.  The corn you see below is all we have left.  But its better than having no corn at all.


Off to the left, Annie is on top of the burn pile - silly goat.

So today we'll harvest the Country Gentleman Corn.  You can tell it is ripe as the silk has turned brown.  A few days ago, the silk was a reddish color.

Ripe and ready for picking

Here is another reason why I like this corn.  It has character.  In most other corn I've eaten, the kernels are organized in orderly rows.  The corn kernels belies the name Country Gentleman Corn.  You'd think a country gentleman would be organized, right?

An ear of Country Gentleman Corn

Well, I'd better get this all picked and inside.  Looks like the birds like my Country Gentleman corn, too!


If not the storm, the goat.  If not the goat, the birds...

One bucket of corn.  Let's go inside, shuck it and put it up. 

Bucket of sweet corn

As I picked the corn, I threw the cornstalks to the girls, who promptly devoured it.

Corn fed beef?  Don't even think about it!  These are our milk cows. They're part of La Familia!

The cows don't get to eat the actual corn - just the stalks.  We will eat the corn and I can't wait!


Fresh Country Gentleman sweet corn, shucked, de-silked and ready to cook.

Good night, everyone!