Guys and Gals in The Corn Patch

Some of the girls on this little corn cob were conjugating with some of those boys from the wrong side of the garden. FOR SHAME. I tried once more to keep these two cousins separated by planting two weeks apart but alas, you take a tassel and a silky lass at the same maturity and you know what's going to happen, yup babies.

 

If you think I'm a bit prejudice, well, I am. I prefer my Painted Mountain remains painted and my sweet corn sweet and ner they join together. Hopefully, in the next couple years we will have some land and I can put these two kissing cousins far enough apart that they don't get any love sick ideas and I can begin saving seed.

 

Now mind you, most of the gals did me up proud and chose to flirt with the their own kind. The results being lots of babies.  

And some were rea...l busy in the back seat of the garden for the kernels stretch wa... y to the end of the cob.  These gals did exceptionally well.

But in every patch there are the wall flowers that aren't picked and remain old maids, never having nice yellow pretty babies. These gals did not fulfill the measure for which they were planted and should be ashamed.

Now sometimes it is the gardeners fault because she or he didn't see that these gals and guys were close enough together to entertwine but sometimes no matter what you do, there are some who refuse to step up to the plate and do their job.


This year I think I might of lit upon something. I didn't get my corn thinned because of family duties and most of the gals were pregnant. You'd think in our windy country that the guys would have enough rides to get to the gals but I'm wondering if their mode of transportation is going a might bit fast sometimes and doesn't get stopped until the raspberry patch and they certainly aren't having anything to do with them. Unlike beets who aren't too picky and are one of the fluzzies of the garden. So I'm wondering if the lack of thinning worked like a snow fence, slowing down the flighty pollen. The patch was too thick but I'm thinking next year fairly thick just might be a good idea.

Some of you are wondering just who are the gals and guys of the corn family. Well first of all you need to know they do not have a co-ed dormitory. They are housed separately and the guys are the tassels where all the yellow pollen is stored. The gals are the silks above the ear of the corn cob. Each silk is attached to a kernel of corn so each of the little silky ladies must meet up with some pollen or there won't be a nice juicy yellow kernel to eat.

When polleniztion is complete and the kernels, the babies, are well formed,  then the silk turns brown. That is one way you know your corn cob is completely formed for some cobs are skinny and some are short and fat and so that's no help.


 I'll share again with you new followers my aunts way of freezing corn. Beats to no end handling hot cobs so keep checking back and I've yet to tell you about our school clothes shopping trip but the grand kids will soon arrive for a sleep over and we've got to get the tent up for we have yet to have a sleep over with them in the back yard, something we did every summer with our children. We have awesome skies here at night, dark and full of stars. Sometimes even a Milky Way, the Northern Lights, or a shooting star appears. Sleep tight, I'm sure we won't tonight. LOL