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Post by chrysanthemum on Sept 1, 2022 19:53:30 GMT -6
A good portion of those new raised beds we finished out with purchased OMRI certified aged manure compost that we can pick up in bulk from a landscape supply store in the area. Maybe it’s my homemade compost that I sprinkled around recently that gives it the extra sparkle, though. Those bits of eggshell decorate a lot of my beds.
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Post by chrysanthemum on Sept 3, 2022 20:15:44 GMT -6
This is embarrassing to admit, but I just recounted my corn plot the other day, and I only have seven plants. In the beginning it was eight, but one of them never prospered and eventually withered away. I guess the number eight just stuck in my head, so I was surprised when I actually counted and realized that I only had seven plants. They’re almost all tasseling now, and most have at least one ear showing signs of silk. A couple have two ears. I’ve been doing a little shaking and hand distribution of pollen. I hope we’ll get some ears filled out at least. The corn doesn’t look great overall, but at least it’s growing and developing fairly normally if not robustly.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 5, 2022 16:54:26 GMT -6
Chrysanthemum,
Those look better than any of the corn I was able to pull off this year. None of mine survived the drought and grasshopper plague, well not well enough to call 'corn'. A few of them 'survived' but not one prospered. 2022 will go down as one of the toughest seasons ever.
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Post by chrysanthemum on Sept 10, 2022 20:32:43 GMT -6
Thanks, heavyhitterokra . I can recognize them as corn, but they’re pretty thin. I’ve been working on hand pollinating, and I’m excited because the last of my seven stalks is now showing silks.
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Post by woodeye on Sept 10, 2022 22:39:43 GMT -6
Thanks, heavyhitterokra . I can recognize them as corn, but they’re pretty thin. I’ve been working on hand pollinating, and I’m excited because the last of my seven stalks is now showing silks. Alright! That's great news...
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Post by chrysanthemum on Sept 23, 2022 21:23:08 GMT -6
I don’t have a picture today, but two of my stalks of corn have really started to dry up, to the point that they’ve broken at the top, meaning that the part of the stalk above the leaves with the tassel has broken. The other stalks are still green. I’m pretty sure that Glass Gem Corn is 105 days to maturity, and today is only day 88 since I’ve planted if I’m doing my math right. I only have tiny ears that I’m not even sure are filled out on these two stalks. Should I go ahead and harvest early since the stalks are dry or is there a benefit to leaving them in place at this point? (I am also a bit worried about more coons, but the mesh protection seems to have done well so far.). I figure that maybe the drought just stressed these plants so much that they’re giving up the ghost a bit earlier than normal.
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Post by hmoosek on Sept 23, 2022 21:28:08 GMT -6
chrysanthemumI don’t know how far along my stalks of glass gem are. They are only about 3.5 feet tall. I planted them in with the Pigott Family peas. I planted 5, but only 3 of those are growing well.
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Post by chrysanthemum on Sept 23, 2022 21:54:01 GMT -6
Mine are all over my head, but they’re pretty thin and spindly by the time they reach the top. That’s probably why they broke. We got some pretty stiff breezes a few nights ago (no rainstorms, though), and I wondered if maybe a bird perched on the stalks or something, or is the corn stalk breaking just something it does as it dries down? This is my first experience with a corn that isn’t a sweet corn, so I’m quite unfamiliar with leaving it to dry.
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Post by chrysanthemum on Sept 25, 2022 20:28:03 GMT -6
Here are a couple pictures of my Glass Gem Corn patch. I don’t know how dry is dry enough for harvesting. Should I just let it go to 105 days no matter what? Should I harvest any that is already brown? We had a brief rain storm last night, which was much appreciated, but I’m not anticipating wet weather causing mold or rot or any problems like that. I just like to harvest when I can to reduce potential animal spoilage or theft, so I’m wondering if anyone has any advice. I could take just one and see what it looks like, but I’d love some expert opinions before I do.
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Post by woodeye on Sept 25, 2022 23:04:44 GMT -6
chrysanthemum, I'm not an expert so I'm flying blind on this, but if the shucks are brown I'd have to at least peel them back enough to take a gander at what the kernels look like.
I'd more than likely pick the brown ones if it was me. I may be wrong, but that's what I would do...
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Post by hmoosek on Sept 26, 2022 1:45:43 GMT -6
chrysanthemumI wish I could be of more help, but it’s been since I was a youngster since I’ve saved “seed corn.” Plus, I wasn’t saving it for seed, just to feed the chickens with. We always waited for the stalks to dry down before gathering. I wish I could be of more help.
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Post by macmex on Sept 26, 2022 6:36:26 GMT -6
Once the ears show brown there's no harm in picking them and letting them dry in a safe, well ventilated place. In my garden I always have to keep an eye open for squirrels which will feast on the ears with little warning.
I haven't grown Glass Gem but based on what I can recall about it, I suspect it was heavily selected for spectacular kernels but little attention was given to sturdy stalks. Thirty years ago a whole lot of native corns which were still in existence had been through genetic bottlenecks and gone many years without much selection. So much so, that some who worked with these corns opted to cross between them to try to renew vigor and then re-select for their distinguishing traits.
If I recall, Glass Gem isn't really an old heirloom which had been maintained for generations, but rather a breeding project of a Native American gardener who crossed some of these old corns, selecting for beautiful, glassy kernels. This is a good thing. There's almost certainly room, however for someone to plant an acre or so of this corn and start selecting for sturdier stalks. For that matter, anyone who grows for seed has the opportunity to improve the strain they're growing.
When you have very few plants, however, it's best to keep seed from every single plant that fits the variety description.
I just took a look and discovered that Carl Barnes bred Glass Gem. Carl was an absolute legend among seed savers. I think he passed away about 15 years ago. I chatted with him in 2008 about Mesquakie Indian Corn. A lot of folk don't realize that in order to do all he did with so many corns, Carl, often used very small grow out plots. He accomplished a LOT. But there is plenty of room for others to take these corns and improve. It's a never ending task.
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Post by chrysanthemum on Sept 26, 2022 22:38:15 GMT -6
macmex , thanks for that expert advice. It was what I needed to hear. Your comment about squirrels got my attention and motivated me to go right out and pick the two brown ears of corn. The first year we moved here, we had a huge crop of peaches on a tree in our backyard. They were just getting ripe, and we came out one Saturday morning to discover that squirrels had taken every single peach save one! I’m not sure we had any warning. This year we had a tiny crop of tiny peaches, but one Sunday evening I saw a few peach pits on our walkway and realized the squirrels were gearing up. My daughter and I got baskets and started harvesting that evening because we figured that otherwise there wouldn’t be any left by morning. Here’s what I got from my corn “harvest.” They’re tiny, and the one that’s only half pollinated is strangely twisted, but the kernels that did fill out look just beautiful. I had read some of the history of Glass Gem Corn, and I think it’s a fair assessment to say that it is a new variety selected from crosses of old heirloom ones. I’m growing it because my two youngest kids watched a video about it with me and were so excited to try growing it themselves. I like to let them have some things they really want in the garden, and Glass Gem Corn was their thing this year. I’m really glad they got the thrill of helping “unwrap” these corn cobs today. I plan to save seeds from every ear we get this year because my “plot” ended up being way smaller than it should have been. I know it’s not great for genetic diversity, so I want to keep as much as I can. We’ll save enough to plant more generously next year and have backups in case of problems. If there’s any left over that we don’t save for seed, we’ll either try cornmeal or popcorn. There’s not going to be much from these tiny ears.
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Post by woodeye on Sept 27, 2022 3:38:54 GMT -6
Those are beautiful, so glad you got to harvest them before a squirrel did. With all the different colors, each ear would be like opening a surprise package. Cool!
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Post by macmex on Sept 27, 2022 8:14:07 GMT -6
Good deal! Once you get a good amount of seed, try to plant 250 plants, minimum. I believe at that size population one can really start to do some selection. Still, "some corn" is better than "no corn" and "saving seed imperfectly" is always better than "not saving seed."
Another idea, when you work up to a larger amount of seed would be to see if you can trade some seed with someone else growing the same thing. This would expand your gene pool.
Finally, one more suggestion for a later time: On can increase the genetic depth of a planting of corn by planting some seed from a couple batches of seed grown over the time of several years.
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