Think about it!
We hit the garden running this morning; at 7:00 am, we were trimming and harvesting. I did some serious deep watering in two of the beds that were “sagging.” Deep watering was slow and long, so I set the timer and did other chores.
We pulled the onions that had gone to seed. It’s easy to recognize a bolting onion. The plant shoots up a solid stem, and a flower pod appears at the top. This soon produces a globe-like flower, and shortly after pollination, seeds form.
We will place these in a cool, dry spot with plenty of airflow and, in two weeks, cut the stems/roots off and use them in cooking. We can always dice them up and freeze them! I voted for French Onion Soup!
We pulled the onions that began to go to seed.
They came from this planter, so we will move other onions into this one and free up a spot in the yard.
After harvesting, dry or cure the onions in a warm, dry, well-ventilated location, such as a shed or garage. Spread the onions in a single layer on a clean, dry surface. Cure the onions for two to three weeks until the onion tops and necks are thoroughly dry, and the outer bulb scales begin to rustle.
This planter will get transplanted to another.
The corn is doing quite well, and soon we will be dining on fresh corn in the cobb. We may even get two crops this year because planting by July 1st will produce more by October.
One more week, and we will have corn from the garden.
The cobs are ready to pick when the silks at the end turn dark brown, usually around six weeks after first appearing.
The second area, our yellow corn, is tasselling right now, and if you look very carefully at the stalk, the corn is beginning to form, and the silk will be available for pollinating shortly after that.
• An average ear of corn has 800 kernels arranged in 16 rows.
• There is one piece of silk for each kernel.
• A bushel of corn contains about 27,000 kernels.
• Each tassel on a corn plant releases as many as 5 million pollen grains.
• Corn is an ingredient in more than 3,500 grocery products.
• One bushel of corn can make 33 pounds of sweetener, 32 pounds of starch, or 2 1/2 gallons of ethanol fuel.
• Corn is the world’s 3rd most important food crop measured by production volume, behind wheat and rice. In terms of acreage planted, it is second only to wheat.
The yellow corn tassels are up and ready to visit the ladies.
The kale has gone wild, so we have a recipe that places clopped kale on a cookie sheet in a hot oven with some oil and salt, and kale “chips” are the result.
This afternoon, we will have kale chips!
Meanwhile, inside, Mary washed the Swiss chard, which she sauteed for breakfast to add to the stuffed zucchini. This will be a great breakfast!!
We had stuffed zucchini from yesterday for breakfast, which was amazing. I had two big pieces and also had sauteed Swiss chard. I was full and realized I perhaps had 250 calories for the entire meal!
It was time to go to the Elks, so we called our friend in Villa Park, but there was no answer on her phone. We expected she was too sick to take an eleven-minute car ride to the Elks and visit friends she had not seen in two years, so we left two messages. We will try again next week. Suffering from Agriphobia makes people come up with excuses, and after a while, the excuses become real.
We went to the Elks for Girls’ Night Out, and Dianne joined us. I shared her beef sandwich, which was very good. We returned home and awaited the arrival of Robin. While waiting, we worked in the garden.
Robin joined us at 4:30 pm, just after the electricity in the neighborhood went out. We got a call from Edison, and the power went out at 4:04 pm. It was odd; we lost one side of the 220 vac line; in the office, my computer and lights went dead while Mary’s was still working.
We decided to go to Ace’s instead of cooking. We enjoyed a glass of wine and a nice dinner at Ace’s.
The corn was not quite ready yet, but now we know it takes another two weeks!
On the way home, we called our friend and planned to visit, but, as usual, she said she was sick, so we went home instead. Having Agriphobia is horrible, but we know of two others that got it with the COVID-19 pandemic; they also refuse to leave their home and have made excuses not to go out. One lady used to take tickets at the Phoenix Club but now is a recluse.
When we returned home, we had a drink by the outdoor fireplace. We all crashed at 8:30 pm.
