Thoughts on Growing Pesticide-Free Sweet Corn

My family is quite conscious of our community's desire for produce that nourishes, tastes great, and has low impact on the environment. We want to be able to provide that to them, and so began our quest to grow pesticide-free sweet corn. The learning curve has been quite a ride! From variety selection, to cover crop usage and selection, from weed control to just how much damage can be done by four-legged & six-legged pests, and even how and when to properly harvest, there are dozens of factors that go into how successful a sweet corn crop will be.

Variety selection might have been our most important step in protecting our crop from pests, and providing a long-lasting harvest. We chose varieties that would withstand cooler weather in the fall, so we can keep providing corn for a long season. Our other criteria included: a long holding life on the stalk, so we don't have to pick it all at once; a long shelf life after picking, so you can take home a dozen and eat it all week if you want to; a nice large ear and an extra-sweet, tender kernel for tasty goodness. But the trait that's been the most beneficial is the length of the husks - they're longer than many others, so the tip of the ear is down below the end. This hides the kernels from the insects that would burrow into the tip of the ear and chow down before we'd get to it. That means far fewer - almost zero - ears with worms in, even though there are no insecticides applied.


And that brings me to the "getting to it." That longer husk has made it challenging for some of us (ok, me - Christina) to learn how to select ears when picking. After picking every day for two weeks, this week I finally got the hang of it and realized that I'd been picking some of my corn early! It was tasty and tender, but not quite big enough. Now that I really know what I'm doing the corn I'm picking is a better fit for everyone who's coming to eat it.

Dry, Hot Conditions Contribute to Summer Stress for New Trees

by Bert Cregg, Horticulture and Forestry

From Landscape Crop Advisory Team Alert, August 13, 2010

The warm temperatures of the past couple months coupled with low precipitation in many areas have caused many trees in Lower Michigan to begin to shut down. As I've noted before irrigation during the summer is critical for newly established trees and shrubs. By "newly established," I'm referring to trees that have been planted in the past two years. Even with the best of circumstances, newly planted trees should be irrigated every seven to 10 days during the summer. This year, however, is not the best of circumstances and even well-established trees are showing signs of stress.

What are the signs? For some trees, such as maples, we're seeing early fall color. In some cases, we'll get some red, but more typically we'll just get some yellow. We're also seeing some leaf folding or leaf rolling. I have noticed a lot of cottonwoods, tulip-poplars, and sycamore that are shedding leaves. It's important to remember that conifers are suffering in the heat as well, even though the appearance may not be as dramatic as some shade trees. When the weather gets as hot as it has and rainfall is lacking, it's important to get landscape trees some water. If our current patterns continue, we may see effects into this fall and beyond. For maples, although we're seeing some early fall color, we may lose a lot of leaves, so there are fewer around for the regular fall show. Also, as trees are stressed in the late summer and fall, they are less able to acclimate going into winter. Therefore, we may see more evidence of winter injury come next spring.

What to do? To the extent practical, try to irrigate trees showing signs of stress as soon as possible. If you can't get to all your trees; prioritize .Water newly established trees first. A lawn covered with leaves from a large old tulip-poplar may be hard to ignore, but it will likely survive and recover; whereas the next few weeks could be make or break for trees planted this year or last year. Remember: don't kill with kindness. One good soaking once a week is better than drowning the tree every day. Make sure to avoid surface run-off. Dry soils often crust over and resist infiltration until they are wetted. If your watering by hand, go from tree to tree, giving each a little water and cycle through a few times to make sure water is infiltrating. And, of course, mulch, mulch, mulch.

Zucchini (Thanks to the Dinner Diva, Leanne Ely)

While Leanne's article is about zucchini, I bet any of the summer squashes would be great with both this trick and the recipe!

From Tips, Tricks and a Recipe
Today's focus is on Zucchini
I am lucky enough to have some planted in my garden and it's going crazy. I've had about 4 zucchini so far and YUM, delish! Here are some things you need to know about zucchini:

Massively low in calories--one large zucchini is only 16 calories!

Plenty of phyto nutrients including beta-carotene, B vitamins, a little vitamin C and plenty o' potassium!

Here's Today's TRICK:
To change things up, I grate my zucchini, sautéing it in garlic and olive oil, topping it with a little freshly grated Romano cheese and fresh ground pepper. Nice side dish and almost rice-like or pasta-like in texture.

Here's a TIP:
Small to medium sized zucchinis are most tasty. Look for a smooth, unblemished skin and nice dark green color. Tasty zucchs skin should feel soft, but the zucchini itself should be hard and not squishy (that means its past its prime, yuck!)

And your RECIPE:
(from Saving Dinner the Vegetarian Way)

Mediterranean Orzo Salad
Serves 6

2 1/4 cups orzo
2 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
15 Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
6 green onions, thinly sliced
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 large tomato, seeded and cubed
1 1/2 green bell pepper, seeded, deribbed and chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh dill, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
3 tablespoons mayonnaise

Prepare orzo according to package directions; Drain and rinse under cold water. Drain again very thoroughly. Place in a large bowl.

Stir in the zucchini, olives, green onions, celery, tomato, and green bell pepper.

In a small bowl, beat together the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, oregano, dill, salt and pepper. Pour over the salad and toss to coat well. Sprinkle on the feta cheese and toss again. Add the mayonnaise and toss gently. Chill at least for 2 hours and bring to room temperature before serving.

Per Serving: 575 Calories; 34g Fat; 14g Protein; 57g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 28mg Cholesterol; 528mg Sodium. Exchanges: 3 Grain (Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 1/2 Vegetable; 5 1/2 Fat.

SERVING SUGGESTION: Serve with a simple caprese salad: sliced ripe tomatoes, layered with fresh basil leaves, sliced mozzarella and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. Fresh ground pepper over the top finishes it beautifully.
Copyright (C) 2010 www.savingdinner.com Leanne Ely, CNC All rights reserved.

Recycling Used Political Signs

What to do with those political signs in your front yard, now that the election is over? Drop them off at Trim Pines! We'll find some very creative ways to reuse and recycle them for you. We can use the wires and the cardboard, and when we're done we'll be careful to scrap them instead of landfilling.

One of the ideas that got discarded (pardon the pun): To use the cardboard in our hayride/bonfire marketing: "Use your least favorite politician's sign for kindling in your own bonfire"

An idea that is being saved for fall: Use the wires for row cover supports in the market garden. They'll help extend the season for many tasty veggies. Sounds like mini-involvement for the community in growing local produce! I can't wait to try it.