Popcorn!

Some of the ears of Calico popcorn that I recently harvested

I've gardened for many, many years, but this is the first year I've grown popcorn.  Part of the reason I've not grown it before now is I just didn't have the room for it, OR sweet corn, but this year we created a new garden space which has opened up quite a bit of garden real estate for us.   My dad grows popcorn once in a while, and I remember evenings at home, helping to shell some popcorn (usually Strawberry Popcorn) so we could pop it.  He often had popcorn on the cob hanging decoratively on the fireplace in the living room, and whenever the mood for freshly-popped corn struck us, we'd grab an ear or two, shell it and pop it!

I had a spot in the garden where I'd planted some winter rye last fall, and that is where I decided to plant two varieties of popcorn: Calico, and Early Pink.

Calico, one of the two varieties of popcorn I planted this year

Calico popcorn seed

Earlier in the spring I cut the rye back but didn't till the area, so it looked something like a lawn. I wanted to experiment with planting directly into the un-tilled rye stubble figuring the cut rye would act something like a mulch.  So, I grabbed my hoe and went to work digging the necessary trenches for the seed.

Planting directly into the rye stubble

Once planted, I only had to wait 3 months before picking time, and that happens to be right now!

Why hello there, Mr. Calico Popcorn!

It's fun to shuck the ears of popcorn and see what color is waiting beneath the layers of husks.  The colors are intense and gorgeous!  No human could create colors so extraordinary!

Calico Popcorn

 The colors remind me of jellybeans!  I can almost smell jellybeans....

Early Pink Popcorn.  I think it crossed with the Calico...And these colors are stunning, too!

Another shot of the variety of colors of Calico popcorn 

A lot of the popcorn that I picked could have dried a bit longer on the stalk, however, we've had so much rain lately that some of the corn was beginning to mold.  I didn't want to take the chance that many more of the ears would succumb to mold, so I picked some before their time.  The husks were mostly dry, but not completely so...hope that doesn't make much (if any) difference in corn quality.

An ear of Calico popcorn that is beginning to mold

The following excerpt on growing/storing popcorn was taken from the Horticulture and Home Pest News:

"Popcorn is grown for its tasty, exploding seed. Heating the kernel converts the moisture inside the kernel to steam and turns the seed inside out. The quality of the end product depends on the conditions during growing, harvest, and storage.

Growing

Several different varieties are available to home gardeners. Be sure to select a variety that will mature in your area. Sow seed directly in the garden in spring in several short rows. This ensures good pollination. Thin as recommended on label directions. Do not plant sweet corn in the same garden with popcorn. The quality of the sweet corn will be reduced if it is cross-pollinated by popcorn.

Water, fertilize, and weed regularly. Any serious stress like water deficiency can greatly reduce yields and the quality of the popcorn.

Harvest

Allow the kernels to dry in the field as long as possible. When harvested, the kernels should be hard and the husks completely dry.

After harvest, remove the husks and place the ears in mesh bags and hang in a warm, dry, well-ventilated location. The ideal moisture content for popcorn is between 13 and 14%. Once or twice a week, shell a few kernels and try popping them. When the test kernels are popping well and tasting good, shell and store the rest of the kernels. If the popcorn is "chewy" or the popped kernels are jagged, it is too wet and needs to continue drying.

Storage

Store the kernels in sealed, airtight containers. If stored properly, popcorn should retain its popping quality for several years. Unshelled corn should be stored at temperatures near 32F and high relative humidity. The storage location should also be rodent proof.

If stored popcorn fails to pop, it may be too dry. Add 1 tablespoon of water to a quart of popcorn. Cover and shake at frequent intervals until the popcorn has absorbed the water. After 3 or 4 days, test pop a few kernels to see if it is ready. Add more water and repeat the process until the popcorn pops well."

After The Rain

Rain fell overnight and early this morning.  I love to wander through the gardens here at Cairnwood Cottage in the morning after a rain...

This morning glory on the arbor at the entrance to our patio seems to be glowing from the inside out.  Viewed from below.

Morning glory and spider's web on the arbor at the entrance to our patio this morning

Close-up of the arbor/spider web morning glory

Little green cherry tomato basking in the morning rain

Gladiolus 

Speaking of Beans....

A few of the jars of green beans I've canned this year

I like green beans.  A lot.  If I could plant only one thing in my vegetable garden, it might be green beans (string beans/snap beans).   I like them frozen.  I like them canned.  I like to eat them, Sam-I-Am.

This year I planted 10 varieties, and a lot of them.  As you can imagine, I've got green beans coming out my ears!  Some years I have problems with bean beetles, but thankfully they've not been a problem this year.  I'm making plans for next year, saving seed and deciding which beans are worth saving and which are not.

Beans worth saving and planting a ton of  next year:  HELDA.  This is the first year I've grown Helda pole beans.  Someone on my organic gardening list mentioned them and they sounded intriguing, so at the last minute I ordered some from Territorial Seeds.  I have nothing bad to say about these beans.  As I mentioned, they're pole beans and quite vigorous growers.  They produce huge pods that don't fill out and get "beany" until late...I really don't like green beans that have big old seeds in them; I'm a pod person.   It's not unusual to get 10 inch beans that are STRINGLESS and tender.  Yes, stringless!  They're a Romano type bean.  Positively lovely!  

 One HELDA pole bean, 10 inches long, not at all unusual!

 

 HELDA pole bean

Next year I'm going to create an arbor where the beans can grow up and over so that the ripening beans will hang down for ease of picking.  I can see it now....a shady tunnel walk with massive beans within easy reach.  Sigh.  And these beans produce and produce and produce!  One tepee of beans this year has produced an amazing amount of beans for me.

HELDA pole beans are prolific producers!  I planted one tepee of them around a compost bin--here is a "nest" of beans waiting to be picked

SEQUOIA.  I've been growing these beans for quite a few years.  They're a purple-podded bush bean of the Romano type.  Again, stringless.  I honestly don't have the time to fiddle around with stringy beans, so if they're not stringless they don't get planted here again.  I love purple podded beans, which, by the way, turn green once cooked.  They're easy to pick because they stand out from the green foliage, and I'm sure they must have more antioxidants that their green counterparts.  And they're just so cool looking!  Sequoias have a good flavor and don't get overly beany until they get old.

I'm also growing GIANT STRINGLESS , a bush bean, green, and as their name suggests, stringless.  PROVIDER is another that I'll be saving seed for to plant again next year: bush, green, stringless.

Saving bean seeds is a snap.  Simply let the bean grow out and dry on the plant.  Shell the seeds from the pod, let dry a bit further and store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place, then plant next year and repeat.

"The Kitchen Is Full of Grape-y Goodness"

Concord grapes ready to be made into wine!

So, I finally got around to picking the Concord grapes.  I should have picked them last week, but I was just too busy/tired.  Rain is predicted for later in the day, and I simply had to get out there and pick grapes!  I have a newly-planted vineyard of 10 vines (mostly Concord and Niagara), but they're too young to produce just yet.  The grapes that I picked today were from one vine that I healed in about 18 years ago when I'd got the vine but didn't know quite where I wanted to plant it.  I stuck it in the ground and never did figure out where to put it, and there it's stayed all these years.  It's currently climbing up into an apple tree and has wild blackberries growing all around and through it.

Grapes climbing up and into an apple tree

 Needless to say, the grapes are a major pain, literally, to pick.  The constant jabbing of the blackberry thorns is a grim reminder that when I buy something, I really need to know where I'm going to plant it!

The grape vine, apple tree and blackberries create quite a jungle, and apparently birds have found it to be a safe and secure place to raise their families.  It does seem impermeable to predators of all sorts!  I had a very difficult time getting that close to this nest:

Bird's nest and wormy apple!

So, grapes are picked, a 5-gallon bucket of wine is in the works, and I made about a gallon of Concord liqueur with the remaining grapes.  Now, we wait....

When I Am An Old Woman...

Royal Burgundy (left) and Sequoia bush beans

When I am an old woman, I shall pick purple beans and put them in a red colander....

Gee, Have I Ever Mentioned That I Like Free Stuff?

 Free bricks!

 In case  you missed it the first time, I like free stuff!  Freecycle is an amazing thing, and a network that I use often, both to give things away that we no longer need, and to receive things that I need but don't really want to spend a bunch of money on to purchase.  As their website states:  "It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills."  Rather than throw it away, why not give it to someone who can use it?  Today I scored a truckload of approximately 400 free bricks.  These weren't a Freecycle find, but rather the friend of a friend gave them to us.  I have so many things I could do with these bricks:  wood-fired brick oven, greenhouse base, edge walkways, raised bed edging, outdoor fireplace, etc. etc.  They won't go to waste, and there's not nearly enough to do everything I'd like to do with bricks!

Used greenhouse plastic

 Another recent freebie item that I scored was a bunch of used greenhouse plastic.  A friend of ours has a large greenhouse business, and he has to replace the plastic every 5 or 6 years or thereabouts.  That's a LOT of plastic that would end up in a landfill somewhere!  He tries to place it in new homes....we got two piles of it for use on my future hoop house.  I can think of several other things to use it for too, but the hoop house is my first priority.  I realize it won't last as long as if it were new, but it can be replaced every couple years, free, if need be.

 New step leading up to my compost bins 

 For years I've been wanting to put a step into a small slope that leads up to the compost bins from our back yard.  Earlier this spring while wandering through the woods, I found the perfect rock....big, nice and flat.  I lugged it down to the house and finally just last week got my rear in gear and dug it into the little slope.  It looks nice there, it's nice and level, and now I don't have to worry about slipping and falling on my behind when I trudge up to the compost bins when the grass is wet.  Sweet...another free item.

Now if we can just find the time to create everything out of these freebie items (bricks, plastic) that need creating....

Munch!

Climbing Cécile Brunner rose--post munch

Sometimes gardening can be very frustrating, and I often find myself pining for The Garden of Eden...what must that have been like before humans screwed it up?  I often imagine that Heaven must be a garden of Eden sort of place...anyway....

Yesterday I was admiring a perfectly formed bud on my climbing Cécile Brunner rose.  It was about to burst open, and since I just got this rose I'd never seen its blooms before and was anxious to see the rose unfurled.  Today when I spied the rose....horrors!  Something has munched it!  See above photo.  The rose smells divine, but it looks like it's been through a war zone.  Sigh...

Green tomato "Early Girl"---post munch

 Another "Early Girl" tomato---post munch

Then I walked out to check on my chickens.  I sneak a peak at the tomatoes I have growing from hanging pots every time I go out there since they're right on the way.  Yesterday, these tomatoes were perfect green dudes waiting to ripen.  Today....something's munched them!  See above photos.  Sigh....

What flattened my corn?!

And yesterday morning my corn was looking fine and dandy.  Then we got a little rain and a slight breeze.  I looked across my corn patch and much to my horror....where'd it go?!  Upon closer inspection it appears to have been flattened by either the breeze or water weight from the rain.  See above photo.  It doesn't seem to have been uprooted, but rather just bent over in some places.  Some stalks are actually snapped right off mid-way up or near the top.  I know planting the seeds at the wrong depth can make corn fall over, as can various grubs that attack the root, but this stuff seems bent.  I'm hoping I can prop it up, perhaps...Sigh....

Well, at least we got some rain!