Fall is definitely here. My neighbor’s northfacing rooftop is covered with a light frost this morning, and there’s a moist chill in the air despite the crisp sunshine brightening the abundant autumn golds and reds. The race is now on to get the last of the summer veggies out of the garden and into storage (or my tummy).
Last Corn Harvest of 2008
Yesterday I harvested the last of our summer corn. I was about a week or two late to get the sweetest of the sweet, but the kernels weren’t all turned to starch and the earwigs hadn’t quite made permanent homes in the ears. Earlier in September I harvested many of the still-super-sweet ears and froze them after blanching as corn-on-the-cob winter treats. Yesterday’s harvest was still lovely, but the taste wasn’t as great, so I removed the kernels, blanched them and froze them in bags to use in soups and chili where their slight-starchiness won’t be as apparent.
Although I grew up working on my family farm, growing, harvesting and preserving foods, I continue to be amazed at how much work goes into producing your own food. And, I’m still a little taken back by how much the harvest volume seems to shrink when you get down to the actual food contained within each plant. The huge chairful of corn cob ears, covered in silks and husks on the right quickly diminished into a small basketfull of ears, some only with partially formed kernels.
Last Cobs of Summer
Some with only partially formed ears. (Remember, this is the late harvest and many of these ears were the secondary ears on plants from which we had already harvested huge cobs earlier in the season.) And then, as the kernels were removed from the cobs the food became even smaller, filling only half a large collander or about 3 pints of frozen kernels. On the other hand, the husks, cobs and silks filled about half a yardwaste bag!
After I finished up the corn, I cut back my lemon verbena, which I’ve discussed growing in the past, for the last time this season. Soon it will begin to color and whither to die back for winter, so I did the cutting and preserving to ensure I’ll enjoy its tangy flavor all through the winter. Later I’ll share how to learn more about preserving this fantastic herb along with a wonderful recipe for a lemony cocktail you won’t want to miss!
Tags: corn, lemon verbena
[...] Summer corn harvest [...]