Corn thinning in the big garden

hangin'witthepeeps

Deeply Rooted
Joined
Apr 13, 2010
Messages
473
Reaction score
26
Points
137
Location
8a NE GA
I have never showed y'all the big family garden. Here is my husband thinning the corn.
6832_2012-05-14_20-25-10_498.jpg


Behind the cow panels is 32 tomato plants. The cow panels are green beans after that is butter beans, then corn, onions, cucumbers, squash, watermelon, a variety of peppers and the "old" onions going to seed and a collard plant going to seed.

6832_2012-05-14_20-25-39_851.jpg


6832_2012-05-14_20-25-22_76.jpg


You can see my mobile home in the distance and my aunts house behind the garden. My grandmothers house is behind me (I'm taking the pictures) and my sister lives to my right.
 

lesa

Garden Master
Joined
Nov 10, 2008
Messages
6,645
Reaction score
570
Points
337
Location
ZONE 4 UPSTATE NY
I love the idea of a big family garden! That is so cool. There is nothing like sweetcorn out of the garden.... Enjoy!
 

thistlebloom

Garden Master
Joined
Dec 1, 2010
Messages
16,473
Reaction score
17,411
Points
457
Location
North Idaho 48th parallel
You have a nice place there Hangin'. I think it's wonderful that you're so close to your family. Mine is scattered all over the country.
You corn looks great!
 

hangin'witthepeeps

Deeply Rooted
Joined
Apr 13, 2010
Messages
473
Reaction score
26
Points
137
Location
8a NE GA
I'm particularly proud of the corn, its mine. I freeze 200 ears every year. The rest is mostly my granny's. We do share, my granny is 87 years young and can't work it anymore, but we do it for her. We can over 150 quarts of green beans and more than 200 quarts of tomatoes ever year. That's the way we've always lived. We freeze and can lots of stuff and mostly we do it together. It's easier that way. I love living next to my family. I lived in CA for a year all by myself and it gave me a deep appreciation of my home and family.
 

nachoqtpie

Deeply Rooted
Joined
May 1, 2011
Messages
1,168
Reaction score
63
Points
157
Location
Jacksonville, NC
Wow!! That's really nice!! Someday I want a garden about that big! Of course... I don't know that I will NEED it that big.. unless we decide that we're going to start selling some, or donating it... Since there is just 4 of us, we wouldn't need AS much. :p
 

vfem

Garden Addicted
Joined
Aug 10, 2008
Messages
7,516
Reaction score
43
Points
242
Location
Fuquay, NC
Wow hangin'! I wish my family lived close enough to help. They share in the harvest a bit anyways, but it sure would be nice if everyone had the ability to pitch in.

Reminds me of the story of the 'little red hen' around here. :p

Good to see your husband doing the thinning though. I am TERRIBLE about thinning. I just can't rip out perfectly good plants without feeling a little sad. Like, I know its supposed to be done, and I'm helping the other plants thrive... but those poor things didn't do anything wrong!!! hahaha
 

hangin'witthepeeps

Deeply Rooted
Joined
Apr 13, 2010
Messages
473
Reaction score
26
Points
137
Location
8a NE GA
All the thinnings were feed to our horses. Other thinnings I do I feed equally to the horses and goats. I try not be be wasteful, because it just kills me to rip out a perfectly good plant (I buy corn seed every year) and then throw it away? Not me.

When the corn matures, we cut the stalk and corn sections at a time. We feed the stalks and shucks to the horses over a period of a few weeks. The goats get a few shucks, they won't eat too much of it, but they love the left over cobs after we cook them to eat.

Horses, goats and chickens get fed green bean "strings" and ends. I collect everything I can to feed them with.

I have wanted to raise a pig every year and don't do it. When I was little my dads family (they live one county over) raised pigs off garden waste. We would feed them the left overs from supper, left over whey from cheese, extra eggs from the chickens, tomato peels from canning, green beans strings and all the thinnings and hulls and shells and spent plants and in the fall we slaughter them. We would put meat in the freezer, BBQ some, salt cure ham, and cook the skin for lard and cracklings. No part was wasted. I, of course, could not slaughter a pig I raised. I would have to take it to the local deer guy. I just can't wrap my brain around the process of keeping a pig "penned". If it got out and ate the garden, it would be devastating to my whole family, not just us.
 

ninnymary

Garden Master
Joined
Dec 7, 2009
Messages
12,598
Reaction score
12,493
Points
437
Location
San Francisco East Bay
hangingwitthepeeps, that is a beautiful garden you have there. I love all the space and the way you all live together. I wish that was more common. I just love that nostalgic feeling, and when you sometimes get mad at each other, you can all go to your individual homes. :)

Mary
 
Top