Category Archives: Corn

Desert Dryness Continues, Garden Continues to Grow Well

Well, it is now official. We are now in a moderate drought here in Indianapolis. The very wet and cold March is now but a distant memory. Obviously, I have been watering the garden on a regular basis now. Despite the drought, the garden continues to grow and produce. Harvest still continues on the lettuce and the first harvest of broccoli will begin today, hooray!! I have started to harvest a few Green Arrow peas, with many more to harvest over the next few weeks. I have been having all kinds of problems with sparrows pulling on the leaves and tendrils of the pea plants. It got so bad that I had to cover the plants with a large row cover, for a time. I have since removed the row cover. A few birds have returned, but not as many as before, so hopefully those issues are passed. Harvest will also start soon on some of the Kossack kohlrabi plants as they are starting to get to harvestable size. The potatoes in the grow bags are just about finished growing and some of the potatoes have started to push up out of the soil, so some harvesting of these potatoes will start over the next few weeks (I am getting tired of watering these bags every other day anyways). The pepper and tomato plants are starting to flower and are getting some good size to them. I even noticed some small tomatoes and peppers on the plants already. The Diva cucumber plants are starting to climb up their cages and should start blooming in the next few weeks. Most of the Rattlesnake pole bean vines have reached the top of the bean towers. The tops of the March planted onions have started to flop over, which is a sign that they are nearing harvest time (it has been 90 days since they were planted out). These onions (Candy and Red Candy Apple) have really bulbed up nicely and it looks like I will have a really good crop of onions for the second year in a row. The Silver Queen corn is getting really tall and should start shooting up tassels soon. Wow, can you believe it is already June 24th. I will start planting seeds of lettuce, cabbage, kohlrabi, broccoli, and cauliflower, for a fall harvest, by early July. I have loaded you up with garden pictures for this post (see below). Happy Summer Gardening!!

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Potatoes Pushing up Through the Soil in the Grow Bags, Picture Taken 6-23-23

Green Arrow Peas Maturing Nicely, Picture Taken 6-23-23

Candy Onions Getting Big and Nearing Maturity, Picture Taken 6-23-23

Onions with the Tops Falling Over, Picture Taken 6-23-23

Lettuce Plants Still Growing, Picture Taken 6-23-23

Clockwise From Lower Left to Right: Cucumbers, Peppers, Bush Green Beans, and Tomatoes, Picture Taken 6-23-23

Silver Queen White Corn Getting Really Tall, Picture Taken 6-23-23

Kohlrabi, Broccoli, and Brussels Sprouts, Picture Taken 6-23-23

Broccoli Head (Variety Packman) Ready to Harvest, Picture Taken 6-23-23

From Left to Right: Rattlesnake Beans, Fordhook Lima Beans, and Ancho Peppers, Picture Taken 6-23-23

Spring Garden Fully Planted

The spring garden is now fully planted. All that is left to plant is one bean tower, which I will plant with some rattlesnake pole green beans in about three weeks. The weather has turned really dry, so I have begun watering most of the garden. The spring planted lettuce continues to grow well, albeit with some minor slug damage. Most all of the recent seeds that were sown have now germinated including Diva cucumber and Derby bush green beans. The Red Norland potatoes are growing really well in the raised beds and the grow bags. I noticed a few flower buds just starting to form on a few of the potato vines. Harvest has been ongoing on the lettuce, radish, and green onions. See pics below of most of the garden beds. Happy Gardening.

Kohlrabi, Broccoli, and Brussels Sprouts (Lower Bed) and Potatoes and Corn (Upper Raised Beds), Picture Taken 5-24-23

Potatoes (Upper Raised Bed) and Corn (Lower Raised Bed), Picture Taken 5-24-23

Onions, Lettuce, Radish, and Two Peppers, Picture Taken 5-24-23

Green Onions, Peas, Four Pepper Plants, Bush Lima Beans (not really visible yet), and Pole Beans, Picture Taken 5-24-23

Cucumbers (not really visible yet), Peppers, Bush Green Beans (not really visible yet), and Tomatoes, Picture Taken 5-24-23

May Garden Growing Well

The mid May garden is starting to really take off now. Broccoli and Kohlrabi seedlings were transplanted out into the garden during the fourth week of April and the brussels sprouts seedlings were transplanted out about a week ago. Additional lettuce seedlings were also planted out into the garden about the same time. Silver Queen sweet corn seed was sown on May 6th, and all seeds have now germinated. Rattlesnake pole bean seeds were sown a few days ago along with another planting of some radish seeds. A few pepper seedlings have already been planted out. All of the rest of the pepper seedlings along with the tomato seedlings will be transplanted out into the garden over the next week, as the danger of frost has now passed. I also planted out my celery seedlings about a week ago, although they are a still a little small. Fordhook 242 lima beans will be sown in the next few days.

The spring planted lettuce is really taking off now, and harvest continues on that about every fours days. Harvest also continues on green onions and radish. All of the Red Norland potatoes have now poked up through the soil and the vines are starting to growing. The peas, after a slow start, are now starting to grow and the onions are really taking off now.

I have an update on the new lettuce/green I was trying for the first time this year, it is called Mizuna. See post about that here: http://blog.timssquarefootgarden.com/wordpress/index.php/2023/04/04/lettuce-planted-weather-is-improving I am not a big fan of this green. I did not like the flavor and it actually started to flower (bolt) very early. I pulled up the plants and fed what was left to my chickens (they seemed to like it). Besides, I need the extra room for additional plantings of lettuce.

I will post another update, including pictures, in about another week.

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Outstanding Corn and Tomato Harvest, Fall Garden Planted

Can you believe it is already August 9th. The summer is really flying by!! The garden finally received some much needed rain last night and this morning, Hooray!!! The last of the the Silver Queen white corn was harvested on August 3rd. It was a most excellent corn crop this year. Harvest started on the Roma tomatoes for real on August 1st. I probably harvested at least 30 pounds of tomatoes and was able to process and freeze 10 containers of tomato sauce. The six plants are still absolutely loaded with ripening tomatoes. This is certainly my best year for tomatoes in at least 6 or 7 years. Harvest continues on the jalapeno, hot banana, and super chili peppers. I have been drying the super chili peppers and freezing the others. The 5 poblano pepper plants are producing some peppers, but not as many as I like. Harvest also continues like crazy on the Rattlesnake pole beans. These have really produced well for me this year. The celery continues to produce well, despite the dry conditions. I have had to water these plants quite a bit. The fall garden is starting to take shape. The spring planted broccoli plants were pulled up and were replaced with more broccoli seedlings about 3 days ago. The raised beds were planted with broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and kohlrabi seedlings over the last few days and lettuce seedlings were also transplanted out into the garden. Scarlet Nantes carrot seeds were planted out in the garden the last week of July and have since germinated. This seed bed was watered well and then covered with boards for 3 days to help keep the seeds from drying out. The carrot bed is now covered with a row cover to give it a little shade in this hot and dry weather. As the weather cools a little I will remove the row cover. Happy Late Summer Gardening!!

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Three Very Full Bags of Roma Tomatoes Ready for Processing, Picture Taken 8-1-22

Last of the Harvested Silver Queen White Corn, Picture Taken 8-3-22

Silver Queen White Corn Ready for Eating, Picture Taken 8-2-22

Many Roma Tomatoes Still on Plants. Notice the Row Cover Over the Carrot Bed to the Right, Picture Taken 8-5-22

Late July Garden Harvest, Drought Continues

Well, the drought continues in my area of Central Indiana, but I did get about an inch of rain yesterday morning, which was much needed. Harvest has started on the Silver Queen white sweet corn about 5 days ago. Fresh sweet corn is fantastic!! What I don’t get to eat fresh, I will freeze. The corn will only stay good and sweet for about another week or so. About a week ago there was storm that blew down some of the corn. Luckily, it only blew down a few of the plants which were ready to be harvested anyways (see pic below). I have been harvesting the last of the broccoli side shoots. These plants will be pulled up in another week to make way for my fall broccoli transplants. I will be sowing bush green bean seeds, where my spring planted onions were growing, very soon. I will also be sowing carrot seeds either today or tomorrow. Harvest continues on all of the peppers, pole green beans, celery, kohlrabi, and cucumbers. With the cucumbers, I was able to put up 7 jars of refrigerator pickles. Harvest has also begun on the roma tomatoes, with many many more to come over the next few weeks. I will be harvesting many of these tomatoes within the week to start making and freezing tomato sauce. I will hopefully be transplanting broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi, and lettuce seedlings out into the garden in another 10 days or so. My brother and I have been raising 4 new egg laying hens since late February, 2 Barred Rocks and 2 Rhode Island Reds. They are now about 20 weeks old and all have started to lay eggs. We now have a total of 7 hens. All are laying eggs except the oldest one, which we have named “white chicken.” She is over 7 years old (see pic below). Fall will be here before you know it!

Silver Queen Corn Blown Down by a Storm, Picture Taken 7-23-22

My Spoiled Chickens Enjoying Some Leftover Corn Cobs. Their Name Are: White Chicken, Ruby, Rosie, Aubrey, Abbie, Tipper, and Domino, Picture Taken 7-24-22

Summer Garden Harvest Update, Fall Seeds Started

Well, it is now official, most of Central Indiana is now in a “moderate drought” according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Needless to say we need some rain, but we did get at least some about 5 days ago, which helped a little. Despite the drought, my garden continues to produce an abundant harvest, as long as I keep up on the watering. The spring onion crop this year might be a record for me. The Red Candy Apple onion produced about normal, but the yellow Candy onion looks like a record harvest as I have some truly gigantic sized onions (see pic below). The harvest on the Red Norland potatoes looks to be near a record as well this year (see pic below). The Tango celery is growing really well (as long as I keep the plants watered) and harvest has started on these as well. The spring planted lettuce has finished for for now, but I will be transplanting lettuce seedlings for fall harvest in about another month. Harvest on my green beans has started. I am trying an heirloom pole green bean this year called Rattlesnake. It has started producing harvestable sized beans over the last week or so and I have been very impressed with this bean so far (see pic below). It also looks like I will have the best crop of Roma tomatoes as I have had in at least 5 or 6 years, as I have been able to keep the early blight in-check this year. I tried using landscape fabric under the tomato plants this year, and this seems to have helped. I anticipate harvesting many tomatoes in about another month or so. The broccoli harvest this spring has also been pretty good. All of the main heads have been harvested, and now I am enjoying the many side shoots that have been sprouting. The white Silver Queen corn is growing like crazy right now (see pic below) and harvest should start on in about another 3 weeks, YUM!! I have been harvesting Hot Banana peppers and a few Jalapeño peppers.

Even though it is only the middle of July, it is not to late to start planning your fall garden. I started seeds of broccoli, kohlrabi, cauliflower, and cabbage on July 3rd in cell packs. They have since germinated and are growing on the covered back porch. I will be transplanting these seedlings out into the garden on the first or second week of August.

Yellow Candy Onion Nearing Harvest, Picture Taken 7-9-22

Red Norland Potatoes Harvested From One 4ftx4ft Raised Bed, Picture Taken 7-13-22

Silver Queen Corn Growing Nicely, Picture Taken 7-9-22

Desert Gardening Anybody? Why The Heck Not!

Well, Central Indiana has been desert dry with many days with temperatures in the 90’s over the last 3 weeks. I have not seen it this dry in June since the drought year of 2012. My garden has not seen any measurable rainfall in 3 weeks and it was already dry before then, Yikes!! I have been watering parts of my garden about once every 5 days. Despite the heat and lack of rainfall, the garden has been producing relatively well. My spring planted peas are not doing too well, but they are nearing the end of their season anyways. Over the past few weeks I have been harvesting broccoli, lettuce, and peas. I will start harvesting kohlrabi today. The Red Norland potato vines have started to turn brown, so harvest on those will begin soon. The warm season crops like corn, beans, tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers are doing fine in all of the heat, as long as they get enough water. The Silver Queen white corn is growing like crazy and has just started to send up tassels within the last few days. The spring lettuce crop is almost finished and most of the rest of the plants still growing will start bolting soon. The tops of the spring planted onions have started to flop over and turn brown, so I will be pulling those up to cure within the next few weeks. See the pics of some of my garden below. All pics were taken on June 22nd.

Silver Queen White Corn, Picture Taken 6-22-22

Diva Cucumbers Starting to Grow Up the Cages, Picture Taken 6-22-22

Tops of Candy and Red Candy Apple Onions Starting to Flop Over, Picture Taken 6-22-22

Hungarian Wax Peppers Starting to Get Big, Picture Taken 6-22-22

Red Norland Potato Vines Starting to Turn Brown, Picture Taken 6-22-22

Broccoli Head Just Before Harvested, Picture Taken 6-22-22

Mid June Garden Update – Very Hot and Dry

The mid June garden is growing pretty good despite the very hot and dry weather over the past 5 days. The garden this time of year seems to grow overnight. Harvest began on the broccoli yesterday, with more heads to come, although it looks like most of the heads will be a smaller this year, probably due to the weather. The spring planted peas are suffering with all of the heat but, with any luck, I should be able to start harvesting at least some peas over the next few weeks. I have started watering the garden over the last week because it has been so dry. The Red Norland potatoes have just about finished growing, but I did water them a few days ago due to the fact that they are growing in raised beds. The potatoes growing in the grow bags need to be watered every other day in this heat. Some potatoes might be able to be harvested in about another 2 weeks. Some of my onions tops, especially the Red Candy Apple onions, have started to flop over. Some of the spring planted Kohlrabi are nearing harvestable size. Some of the lettuce plants (Salad Bowl and Green Ice) will be pulled up and fed to the chickens over the next few weeks, as they are starting to bolt. The Sierra and Nevada lettuces are still doing okay. I did place shade cloth over the lettuce to help them with the heat stress. The bush green beans have started to flower, so I expect I will be harvesting some beans in about 3 weeks or so. The Silver Queen white corn is growing like mad and is already at least 3 feet tall. The peppers are growing really well and I even noticed a few small peppers on the Hungarian Wax pepper plants. The Diva cucumbers are starting to climb, but have not flowered as of yet. No pictures with this post, but look for pictures of the garden in my next post, coming soon. Stay Cool and Happy Gardening!!

Early June Garden Update

Sorry for the long delay in posting a garden update. Things have been very busy in the garden over the last few weeks. Harvest has completed on the last of the spring radishes and the green onions. The lettuce continues to grow like crazy and harvest continues on that at least twice a week now. The Red Norland potatoes vines are really starting to get big and have also started to bloom. It looks like I will have a good crop of potatoes this year!! The white Silver Queen corn is already about 6 inches tall and the plants were side dressed with some high nitrogen fertilizer about 2 days ago. The Diva cucumbers were seeded about 2 weeks ago and they have sprouted but are still a little small. Bush green beans (Derby), bush lima beans (Fordhook 242), and pole green beans (Rattlesnake) were directly seeded into the garden about 2 weeks ago and they have germinated. The pepper, tomato, and celery transplants are starting to get some good size to them. I even have blooms on the Roma tomato plants and the Hot Banana pepper plants already. The peas (Green Arrow) have just started to bloom, although they do no look like they will produce as well as they did last year, but time will tell. The onions (Candy and Red Candy) are really starting to get some good tall green tops to them. The broccoli (Packman) and the kohlrabi (Kossak) are starting to get really big. The garden is getting a little dry, so I starting watering some, especially the potatoes, since they are in raised beds.

Silver Queen White Corn, Picture Taken 6-3-22

Kohlrabi and Broccoli, Picture Taken 6-3-22

Beans, Peppers, Cucumbers, and Tomatoes, Picture Taken 6-3-22

Mid May Update – New Blog Feed Email Provider

Been very busy in the garden over the last week. All of the spring garden has now been planted including transplanting of all the celery, pepper and tomato seedlings. I am trying something new this year with the tomatoes. I am using black landscape fabric around the plants to see if it reduces the leaf disease issue that I have had over the last several years. Harvest continues on the lettuce, which is growing like crazy. There has been a little bit of slug damage on the lettuce, but it is not too serious at the moment. Harvest also continues on radishes and green onions. The potatoes continue to grow nicely in the raised beds and in the grow bags and some of the vines are approaching 8 inches tall. Cucumbers, bush green beans, and bush lima bean seeds were also recently sown. I am trying a new pole green bean this year called Rattlesnake. It is an old heirloom variety. I will keep you posted on how it performs. The Silver Queen white sweet corn seeds were sown about 9 days ago and they have already emerged. See pictures of some of my garden plots at the end of this post.

If you are reading this blog post via email, then you might have already noticed that I have a new blog feed provider, followit. You might want to customize how your feed is delivered to you by visiting followit through the link provided in the blog feed email. My old feed blog provider, Feedblitz will no longer work. A few of you might also be receiving emails from Feedburner. I will be deleting my Feedburner account soon so you will not be receiving emails from Feedburner after it is deleted.

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