The Year I Grew Sweetcorn

@JudyEv (323674)
Rockingham, Australia
September 16, 2022 8:03am CST
MyLotter Fleur (@Fleura) wrote about the sweetcorn she grew. You can catch up here: https://www.mylot.com/post/3525469/my-attempts-to-grow-sweetcorn I was reminded of the time I had it in our vegetable garden. It was back in about 1976 and we’d just bought five acres on the outskirts of Esperance in Western Australia. A portion of the backyard was fenced off as a chook-yard (chook = hen). We partitioned off about half the yard to use as a vegetable garden. Because it had been a chook-yard for some years, the soil was a mix of earth and chook manure, which meant that the vegetables grew really well. When you planted seeds or seedlings, you had to step back quickly before the plants hit you under the chin. That’s how fast they grew. (That’s also a joke.) Anyway, the sweetcorn did wonderfully well. I really enjoyed being able to go out at five o’clock, pick a few ears of corn and be eating them shortly after. The photo is of our house-sit place.
23 people like this
23 responses
@BarBaraPrz (45226)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
16 Sep 22
I see daffodils! And I thought 'daffodils?' until I remembered you're going into spring not fall.
4 people like this
@BarBaraPrz (45226)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
17 Sep 22
@JudyEv I can't imagine freesias being a pest, they're so lovely.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Sep 22
@BarBaraPrz If, for instance, bulbs are chucked out on a rubbish heap, they just keep multiplying and spreading each year. Mostly it doesn't matter but sometimes they go where they're not wanted.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Sep 22
Yes, we're going into spring. I love the daffodils under the trees. Down the road there are dozens of freesias but they are actually a pest now.
2 people like this
@rebelann (110776)
• El Paso, Texas
17 Sep 22
I wish I could afford a house like that only smaller. It's that porch I really want.
3 people like this
@BarBaraPrz (45226)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
17 Sep 22
@rebelann Yeah! I wants a porch, too.
2 people like this
@rebelann (110776)
• El Paso, Texas
17 Sep 22
Wow, I'll bet that the house itself is protected from the worst of the heat and cold.
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Sep 22
There is a porch of sorts on every side of the house so you can follow the sun (or the shade) around with your book.
3 people like this
@youless (112091)
• Guangzhou, China
16 Sep 22
Is the attached photo your home? It is quite beautiful. I especially like there are so many plants around As to the corns, usually I will use them to make the juice. Of course I also use them to make a dish, too.
2 people like this
@Fleura (28941)
• United Kingdom
17 Sep 22
I have never heard of corn juice before!
2 people like this
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Sep 22
@Fleura I haven't heard of corn juice either.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Sep 22
We are house-sitting at this place - looking after the house, garden and animals while the owners are away on a holiday.
2 people like this
@xFiacre (12536)
• Ireland
16 Sep 22
@judyev That’s how our veggie patch was in Malawi. No sooner did you plant something than it was on the table. Drying clothes was the same - as soon as a line of wet clothes was hung out you started at the beginning again taking it down dry. Of course we had people to cook and clean for us so we didn’t reap any benefit!
2 people like this
@xFiacre (12536)
• Ireland
17 Sep 22
@JudyEv We had a gardener, houseboy, cook, washer woman and nanny. Such information gives a rather negatively-slanted view of our family perhaps. What a come-down it was coming back to Ireland and discovering that clothes didn’t wash themselves.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Sep 22
Our summers are like that for drying clothes but at the moment it's a bit dampish. I think I could quickly get used to a house-keeper or cleaner.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Sep 22
@xFiacre Things were different back then. I know a woman with four children who came to Australia from India and suddenly had to do without any help whatsoever. I presume that meant learning to cook.
1 person likes this
@Chellezhere (5946)
• United States
16 Sep 22
"Knee-high by the 4th of July" has been a good omen for a high-yielding corn crop in the USA for ages.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Sep 22
Okay. I hadn't hear that saying before.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Sep 22
@Chellezhere Nothing - except that now most of us know it's important to Americans.
1 person likes this
• United States
17 Sep 22
@JudyEv Why would you? What does the 4th of July mean to Australians and New Zealanders?
1 person likes this
@oahuwriter (26786)
• United States
17 Sep 22
Yes, fresh vegetables out of a garden, unbeatable taste! My Aunt's father in law had a garden in California, when I visited, way back in the 70s. My Uncle locally to bought small land and grew vegetables which he shared with his sister, my Mom, navy when. Taste, terrific, fresh veggies, back when.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Sep 22
They have a different taste altogether, don't they, when they are fresh from the garden.
2 people like this
@oahuwriter (26786)
• United States
18 Sep 22
@JudyEv Yes, it's a blast of freshness.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (130088)
• India
16 Sep 22
The wild trees in the garden which are there by choice do not let the garden to grow the way it did when there were no such trees. But I prefer the look - cool and lush green
2 people like this
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Sep 22
Cool and lush green is a very good look for a garden.
2 people like this
@FourWalls (61324)
• United States
16 Sep 22
I miss eating corn, especially fresh off the corn stalk! Sweet childhood, where my grandmother would go out into her garden and get the corn we’d have for lunch. And you weren’t exaggerating too much about the way corn grows in proper conditions!
2 people like this
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Sep 22
Fresh corn tasted quite different to the cobs bought in shops. And it does grow quickly.
2 people like this
@marlina (154183)
• Canada
16 Sep 22
I never grew my own corn, one needs land for that.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Sep 22
We just had a few rows but they yielded well.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (454979)
• Switzerland
16 Sep 22
I only planted decorative corn one year, it was so pretty. I should plant again next year. For how long you are going to house-sit that place?
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (454979)
• Switzerland
17 Sep 22
@JudyEv This is great, I know that you enjoy those large open spaces.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Sep 22
We are here till next Friday but will be back again on 9 October for another 8 or 9 days.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137251)
• United States
16 Sep 22
Mom and dad gave my youngest brother, Mark, and I a space for our own garden. It used to be a chicken yard, too. I don't remember our ages but the veggies we planted were really tall and delicious from our garden.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137251)
• United States
17 Sep 22
@JudyEv All fresh manure can burn plants but when aged just right, it will grow the best crops.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Sep 22
You have to be careful putting fresh chook manure on plants as it can burn but in the yard it had aged very nicely.
1 person likes this
@Kandae11 (53601)
16 Sep 22
The house looks very pretty on that rise. It is a very nice feeling when you can reap what you have planted.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Sep 22
It is on a bit of a knoll and looks very attractive from just about every angle.
2 people like this
@CarolDM (203478)
• Nashville, Tennessee
16 Sep 22
Such a beautiful tree. Love those big ones. Funny joke about the garden. I know you enjoyed the corn.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Sep 22
I love the daffodils under the tree too. Fresh corn always tasted really nice.
2 people like this
@CarolDM (203478)
• Nashville, Tennessee
17 Sep 22
@JudyEv Those yellow blooms are a delight for sure.
1 person likes this
@Beestring (13063)
• Hong Kong
16 Sep 22
I love sweetcorn. I sometimes have pork with cream corn rice.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Sep 22
That sounds a nice dish. We eat a lot of pork. It's relatively cheap here.
2 people like this
@Beestring (13063)
• Hong Kong
17 Sep 22
@JudyEv That's a very common Chinese dish here.
1 person likes this
@RebeccasFarm (84402)
• Wheat Ridge, Colorado
16 Sep 22
Haha that is a funny joke. I never knew the beauty of Australia now Judy til I saw these house sits you do. I am stunned it is so lovely there.
1 person likes this
• Wheat Ridge, Colorado
18 Sep 22
@JudyEv Yes I see, though I did adore your little place the big ranch when you had it.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Sep 22
This is in one of the more temperate areas so it's green for longer in the winter and spring.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
18 Sep 22
@RebeccasFarm That is only about 15 minutes from here. We visited our old neighbours there but you can't see much of our place from their place - just the paddocks.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (93556)
• Marion, Ohio
16 Sep 22
That would be great soil to plant in.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Sep 22
It had been a chookyard for some years so the soil was very fertile.
2 people like this
@Fleura (28941)
• United Kingdom
16 Sep 22
It is nice to be able to pick things and eat them literally within minutes. We normally cook our corn in the microwave, one minute per cob, it works a treat.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Sep 22
Some things work really well in the microwave.
1 person likes this
@Fleura (28941)
• United Kingdom
17 Sep 22
@JudyEv Popcorn too!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Sep 22
@Fleura So I believe but we don't like popcorn. We used to put our two coffees in the microwave and call it the test pattern. Remember when TV channels had test patterns? You're probably not old enough.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (153180)
• United States
17 Sep 22
There's nothing like fresh picked sweet corn.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
18 Sep 22
It is SO different to bringing cobs home from the supermarket.
1 person likes this
@sarik1 (6721)
19 Sep 22
It is nice .
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
19 Sep 22
It is a very pretty property.
• India
16 Sep 22
I like sweet corns but I don't know the tedious process of how it's produced
2 people like this
@JudyEv (323674)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Sep 22
You plant the seeds and eventually the cobs form on the stems. Then you pick them, cook them and eat. Easy peasy.
2 people like this