Corn Thread for 2014

[thistlebloom]

Nice! Will you sacrifice just a teeny tiny bit to see what kind of cornbread you get?

 

[baymule]

Nice! Will you sacrifice just a teeny tiny bit to see what kind of cornbread you get?

Absolutely! I am dying to see if I get GREEN cornbread!

 

[Jared77]

That would be super cool!!!

 

[journey11]

Corn is ready! This is Delectable, bicolor (se) hybrid sweet corn. We picked about 30 ears today and the girls were eating them almost faster than I could shuck them.

I have a bit of an emergency question... The corn ear borers have appeared just today (been watching for them). Not much damage has been done so far, just needed to cut the tips off. Is there anything I can do to help the remaining ears that aren't ready yet? I thought of maybe using a syringe to drop a little mineral oil in the tips, but I wondered if there would be any harm in putting a little Neem or Spinosad in with it?

ETA: I also have some Bt, but it's a little dated and I'm not sure it would work...maybe worth a try.

 

[baymule]

Since you will be eating it soon, I would just use the mineral oil. That is some beautiful corn ya got there!

 

[seedcorn]

I would just harvest as needed. All but one of ear worms are cannabolistic. They'll be busy fighting each other before they cause much damage.

 

[journey11]

I would just harvest as needed. All but one of ear worms are cannabolistic. They'll be busy fighting each other before they cause much damage.

That is cool. I did not know that. I did see multiple worms in some of the ears and just one big one in others. I was afraid they would ruin the whole ear. I didn't have them last year at all...must have been lucky timing.

I went ahead and hurried out to do the mineral oil before the sun went down on me. I ended up harvesting a lot of corn that I would have let go a couple of days more otherwise. My DH likes the kernals fuller and starchier. They were close. What we grilled for dinner was delish. The others that weren't quite ready at all, I put about 1 or 2 mL of mineral oil in the tip. I hope that was enough. I didn't have much left, but fortunately I had some on hand that I use to polish eggs with after washing. Hope it was enough to do the trick! I've seen them chewing up the leaves of the shorter patch of corn on the other end of the garden too. Those I will have to spray soon as the rain lets up.

 

[Hal]

Journey I only ever recall getting the worms in the sweet corn, never had them attack anything non sweet here.
I never treat them as they only get the tips and I grow far too much corn to treat.
Just thought you might find that interesting.

 

[seedcorn]

That is the reason you only saw one big one. He made a meal of the others.......

 

[journey11]

I was a bit panicked when I saw them. Thanks for all the reassurance!