Corn

I was able to get the post that I tried to write last night. Here it is:

Corn

Life is busy, and I am a little discouraged about my headway in math. I am on the third unit, half way through, and I have 4-6 left to go before September when I start a co-op chemistry class. I have found some of it hard to understand and times, when the examples they give do not exactly match the problems I am doing. I am than left with questions about things. I am going through it on my own, partly because my mom is not much better at math than I am, and she is so busy I don't bother asking for help. But, if I take life one day at a time, it tends to look a little better...sometimes.

Anyway, gardening is always a good thing to to do. And the amount of stuff I research on the internet cannot compare to what the average public schooler would know. Besides, I am researching and doing the things I plan to be doing for my work, my life.

I decided today that I wanted sweet corn. I decided where I was going to put it before I made the decision to buy it. We went to Lowes to pick up a few things, along with corn. I got a variety that looked good. Didn't spend a lot of time figuring out which one I would really want, just picked one. I got two packets, they were inexpensive and I didn't know how much were in each. It turns out that there are about 250 in each! I also picked up some blood meal, and got the wild flowers that someone was going to pay for for my mom's birthday.

I got home and tilled up the area where I am planting the wild flowers. It was quite easy at this point, for I think 3 years ago we had a friend till it up for the first time basically ever. Than I think two years ago I tilled it with a mattock (yipes). And last year I may have done the same with pick axe. So, it had been turned over for the last 2-3 years. And this was the third time I had tilled it this year. I tilled it back in March, and than again in April to get it to a fine tilth. Today I tilled it to disparage the weeds and give the flowers a good head start. After tilling it I brought the tiller back down to the garden area, but I decided to do some tilling on the other side of the creek, so I could plant some lettuce that might survive the burning summer heat. So I tilled it up (careful not to let the tiller fall into the creek! What a disaster!) and I am hoping to plant another 30 heads or so in there.

I previously in the after noon had tilled up the area where I was planning to put sweet potatoes. I had gone over it quite a few times, the last time to keep the ground moving so the weeds are harder to grow. This time it was just to loosen the soil just a little so I could mound it. Jedidiah helped me make the bed where I wanted to put the corn. It was about 24-30 inches wide, and 20ft or so long. I planted the corn about 4 inches apart, we will see how they do. I did about 250 kernels of corn. And hope to do the other bed in a week or two. I want to space them out by a little bit. I will do sweet potatoes in the middle. Once the sweet potatoes are big they will act as a living mulch. I am expecting the corn to be ready sometime in August. I expect a big harvest! And lots of bulk compost! :)

I sprinkled some blood meal over the corn because I could not very easily spread horse manure. So, we will see how they do.

I am still picking up the silk worms from the brassicas. My shelling peas are flowering. So I should get a sizeable harvest of peas this spring. But I hope for a bigger one this fall.

I sprayed most of my plants, especially the ones that had aphids on them with a spray of garlic, onion, and a little dishsoap. No oil this time. Last time the oil burned the plants when the sun came out. I am hoping this should get rid of most of the aphids.

I planted some more acorn squash in a box also.


English Vintner

English Vintner