Box #13

Hurray for sweet corn! Corn is one of my favorite things to pick. I go along with a gunny sack snapping off cobs left and right no bending or kneeling required. Additionally, it’s nice and shady since the plants are quite a bit taller than me. I planted corn three different times so that it wouldn’t all be ready at once. Some plants have defied this system and are riper than others planted later. To determine whether or not certain cobs were ready this week we peeled back parts of the husk. So if you have cobs that are somewhat dehusked that was just us taking a peek and not some corn-seeking critter nibbling on your dinner.

Stinky Broccoli Our broccoli plants are mostly producing flowerets right now which are cute little mini heads that form after the main larger head is harvested. These little guys are tasty but also can get quite stinky. The reason broccoli (also brussel sprouts, cabbage and other members of the brassica or cruciferous family of veggies) gets smelly is because it contains sulfur compounds. These compounds help protect the plants from insects and animals. There has been quite a lot of research stating that these very same compounds help prevent cancer. The smell gets stronger when broccoli is cut. Since flowerets require many cuts rather than just the one for big heads they tend to smell more.

Tomatoes
I continue to be disturbed by the amount of mold in the tomato patch. To make matters worse, we got about three more inches of rain yesterday, I’m sure this will not help our situation. Never thought I’d say this but I think I’ve had enough rain…at least for awhile.

Melons
Last year we had a ton of melons in September right at the exact moment that everyone was sick of them. As a result I tried a few new things this year to try and get them earlier. These new ideas didn’t work out and it appears as though we will either have melons next month or not at all. Looks like it’s back to the drawing board on the whole melon front.

Starting to go the Other Way
The cucumbers and beans are starting to show their age and are beginning to die back. We will probably still run these next week and maybe the week after but to a pretty limited degree. On the upside, this will give me more time to start digging spuds again.

Another Round
We'll be pulling beets, turnips and carrots again soon. I'm thinking I may have over planted turnips and under planted carrots...sorry.