I still have so many flowers and the green beans are still going strong. The tomatoes are winding down now; these five are Scotia (3), a super productive plant, and Black Prince (2).
Category: Decorating
Anticipation
My corn is not yet ready for harvest but I am very excited about the King Philip corn I planted this year. It is a historic Wampanoag flint corn native to New England (named after the Wampanoag chief Metacom who adopted the name King Philip) and has copper-colored, reddish kernels. Flint corn has a hard outer layer around each kernel (protecting it from rodents) and is mostly used for coarse corn meal. It can also be dried and used for popcorn. In addition to King Philip corn, I grew glass gem corn again this year. While mostly used for decoration, glass gem corn can also be ground into meal or popped for snacking.
Late Summer Flowers
First Micro Bouquet of the Summer
More Glass Gem Corn
I am obsessed with these colors. I harvested four more ears and they are the most beautiful jewel-tone colors.
Glass Gem Corn
I harvested my first glass gem corn today. I was hesitant as on paper they should be ready for harvest (it has been 120 days since I planted them), but the husks were still not as dry and papery as required. But I was not disappointed. Two of them had yellowish-brown husks and one a maroon/reddish husk. The reddish husk gave the most beautiful jewel-colored corn (see above). I am really happy with this little experiment.
October Harvest
Early October harvest: a couple of tomatoes, some green beans, the first glass gem corn (kind of a test to see whether it was ready to be harvested as the husks are not really dry and brown yet) and flowers: Zinnias, dahlias, Jerusalem artichokes and asparagus
This Year’s Garlic
Today, I finished the garlic preparation for the this year’s harvest. I cleaned and braided 26 softnecks (and had another 11 heads that were split or not braidable) and also cleaned and destemmed 26 hardnecks. So overall, I harvested 63 heads. That should last me well into next year. However, I just realized that I forgot to save the biggest heads for planting this fall, so I need to cut four large heads from the braid prematurely. I will also save the four largest hardnecks.
Glass Gem Corn
Today I planted the glass gem corn seeds my neighbor had given me. First time growing glass gem corn. It is so pretty! I planted four seeds each in two wide containers on my back porch and will plant the rest (maybe ten seeds) in my plot, although I do not have much hope for those because of the rampant rodent problem in our city. I am hoping the seeds will germinate and the corn on my porch will be protected from the birds.