Your 2024 Garden

[Nomadicus]

This was my problem last year. Almost the whole crop was ruined. I decided to not plant corn this year, I'll just get what I want from farmer's markets, there's a lot around so no biggie

Now sweet corn is 6-7 dollars a dozen at farmers market and that makes it on the pricey side. Corn in the stores is 4 ears for $6 and holding. While in TN the farmers market never had corn for less than $5 a dozen for 1 dozen or 25 dozen. I had been used to getting good corn for $3 a dozen even from our major super market. I think the market prices reflect transportation costs now.

 

[Nomadicus]

If this rain keeps coming down until dark I'll be pulling corn with my coon hunters head light and a pellet gun.

 

[tripletfeb]

Now sweet corn is 6-7 dollars a dozen at farmers market and that makes it on the pricey side. Corn in the stores is 4 ears for $6 and holding. While in TN the farmers market never had corn for less than $5 a dozen for 1 dozen or 25 dozen. I had been used to getting good corn for $3 a dozen even from our major super market. I think the market prices reflect transportation costs now.

It's not that expensive here in northern Ohio. I can get a dozen for $2 or $3

 

[Nomadicus]

It's not that expensive here in northern Ohio. I can get a dozen for $2 or $3

You are in the Cornbelt and that helps. In TN we lived up on a mountainous plateau with little soil for planting crops. Not much sweet corn is grown around me by anyone I know. It's all shipped in. Even the big farmers market 25 miles away gets premium prices because they are getting out of state produce.

 

[Nomadicus]

The rain has stopped and as soon as the chickens are fed and watered where needed I'll start on the corn harvest. Still need to turn the kids out for some exercise and a bug or two before dark.

 

[Nomadicus]

We are done with the chickens and are ready to get to harvesting the early sweet corn that is ready. The main crop patch that was mid thigh high is laying almost flat on the ground. Weather station said 50mph winds were possible. They got one thing right. Instead of .03 inches of rain I had 3" in what I use for a gauge. I only needed an inch. At least I don't see standing water like it did when we got 6" in a storm.

 

[fuzzi]

I did a lot of watering yesterday, so none today.

I found some red nymphs on one of the squash plants. I knew they weren't beneficial, so I squished as many as I could. Looked them up, they're leaf-footed bugs. I also found some squash bug eggs and took them to the chickens who appeared to eat them. They also ate the piece of leaf the eggs were attached to.

One of my leaf lettuce plants finally bolted. I picked it, then squatted in the run and fed it to the flock. Some of the bolder chicks came up and grabbed at the leaves, eating what tiny bits they managed to snag.

I picked a lot of bush beans over the weekend but didn't have the time nor energy to freeze them. I did that this evening, got four bags (2 portions each) in the freezer.

Then I shelled 8 hardboiled eggs and submerged 6 in a jar of pickled beet juice. The other two eggs had the yolks exposed, which would make a mess if I tried to pickle them. They'll be egg salad tomorrow.

 

[TOR]

Just planted 1/2 acre sweet corn, have about 5/8 acre planted 5/18, one more 1/2 acre to go.
Last year sold sweet corn for 5 doz, person down road sells for 7, 25 min into larger town goes for 8 beginning season. Out from me more rural it is 3 to 5.
Prolly raise price to 6 this year.
Not that it cost so much more to plant this year, it is the cost of everything else.
Someone selling corn at 2 or 3 dozen I dont see how they make much unless planting acres and acres and all machanized.

 

[tripletfeb]

Just planted 1/2 acre sweet corn, have about 5/8 acre planted 5/18, one more 1/2 acre to go.
Last year sold sweet corn for 5 doz, person down road sells for 7, 25 min into larger town goes for 8 beginning season. Out from me more rural it is 3 to 5.
Prolly raise price to 6 this year.
Not that it cost so much more to plant this year, it is the cost of everything else.
Someone selling corn at 2 or 3 dozen I dont see how they make much unless planting acres and acres and all machanized.

Well, yes. I live in farm country, there is nothing but fields around. Corn, soybean, and wheat mostly. And hay, obviously. Some field corn and some sweet. They can sell it for $2.00 or $3.00 a dozen because there's so much of it

 

[Nomadicus]

Well, yes. I live in farm country, there is nothing but fields around. Corn, soybean, and wheat mostly. And hay, obviously. Some field corn and some sweet. They can sell it for $2.00 or $3.00 a dozen because there's so much of it

You need to have enough acreage to justify machinery to pick with to get the price down. For me an acre coming in at once is more than I want to pick by hand by myself. Younger years no problem. I picked a John Deere garden cart almost full tonight for our use. I got it before the coons did. Anything they find now they will have to work for and it will take a lot of looking for them to find a single meal left in the patch. 4 rows about a 100' long. We had already picked a short block of very early corn.