The Corn. 7-10-08

Just starting to push a tassel out...

And a look at a couple of ears...





Here is something that bothers me a little bit. This plant has produced a tiller, or an offshoot. This is something you don't want to see in corn, and is something that has been for the most part bred out of corn. Raising corn is all about harvesting solar energy. I want 30,000 plants per acre. I want those plants to be spaced 6.97x30 inches apart. I want each plant to produce one and only one ear of corn. I want all of the plant's resources, to be directed at filling grain in that ear of corn. Basically I want each individual ear of corn to harvest the full potential of its alloted 1.452 square feet of sunlight. My goal is to provide each plant with enough water and nutrients so that the only thing limiting its ability to make grain is the amount of sunlight it receives. A tiller simply robs that particular ear of corn of its potential by siphoning off its water, nutrients, and sunlight. (special aside to Betsy: No this is not something to worry about, it is not that big of a deal, the farm will not go under because of a few corn tillers, etc.)

I know that you all already know this, since you have eaten corn on the cob before, but there are always an even number of rows on an ear of corn. At this early stage it is very easy to see the pairs of rows.