The first year on a farm is full of learning experiences. Our most recent had to do with corn.
We planted our first tiny cornfield this year, by hand, in the sweltering heat of summer. That is a story in itself (which you can read about here)…but the real excitement came when it was time to harvest.
There’s nothing quite like timing on the farm. It’s a hurry up and wait kind of thing. And when things are ready, they are ready. You can’t wait until your calendar is free to deal with them…you make your calendar be free in order to deal with them.
And so it was with our corn. We couldn’t wait to clamp our teeth down on the first cob of the season…
Until we were buried in corn. We ate corn until our bellies were full. We froze corn until our freezers were full. And still…we had far more than we’d use.
From our “tiny” corn field.
The problem with planting a whole bunch of corn at the same time is it will ripen at the same time. Which means it’s ready. All at the same time.
Silly farmers.
So what do you do with a field full of corn and time running out?
You give it away.
Yes, we hosted the first annual Clucky Dickens Farm Great Corn Giveaway. We got on the phone and social media and told everyone we knew “come and get it!” If they were willing to drive out to the farm, we were willing to pick and bag.
And come out, they did. We gave away nearly 100 dozen ears of corn.
So in the end, we learned that we probably don’t have to plant as much corn next year. Or at least, we should do a few plantings so it isn’t all ready to pick the same week.
Then again, the people who attended our Great Corn Giveaway probably thought we did just fine. 🙂
