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Vegetables-Next Page» | ||||
| No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden. But though an old man, I am but a young gardener. Thomas Jefferson |
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 Corn (Zea mays) 
Corn was cultivated by New World civilizations for more than 4,000 years. Settlers from the Old World who came to the Americas made corn a staple in their diets. |
CORN There are four major categories of corn: Sweet corn--which comes in white, yellow and bicolor. Popcorn--a low-calorie snack. Flint--ornamental multicolored Indian corn. Dent--field corn used to make corn meal and animal feeds. Corn plants generally produce two ears per stalk--so for fresh eating, it's wise to plant 10-15 plants per person. Corn is a very heavy feeder and will do best in an enriched soil. Plan ahead by adding heaps of compost to the corn patch, and by chopping in cover crops like beans,alfalfa or clover, which produce lots of nitrogen. Corn plants don't transplant easily. They also don't like cold weather and frost will kill them. They do like lots of sunshine. |
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| The native American word for corn--mahiz--became maize, which is the correct common name for what we call corn. The ancient Mexican method of planting corn, beans and squash together still works. The corn stalks act as trellises for the climbing beans and squash plants. In addition, this combination helps retain nitrogen in the soil which keeps it fertile.  Corn is processed and used in a multitude of products. Some of the edible products are corn syrup, corn meal, corn starch and corn oil--but processed corn is also used in the manufacture of cardboard, crayons, fireworks, wallpaper, chewing gum, shoe polish, surgical dressings and soap. |
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"Steep thyself in a bowl of summertime." Virgil
Virgil may have been talking about a bowl of sliced freshly picked tomatoes, with a sprinkle of salt, olive oil and a pinch of basil. Mmmm! |
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| TOMATO The tomato is the most popular vegetable garden crop grown in the United States. In fact according to Rodale Press, tomatoes are grown by 98-percent of all home gardeners. There are four basic types of tomatoes: Cherry--the smallest, generally eaten whole. Plum--thick-walled tomatoes with an elongated shape. Medium--like those in our picture--good for slicing. Beefsteak--larger than Medium. Like most garden crops, tomatoes need deep rich soil and regular watering. They have extensive root systems and need deep watering and lots of mulch to hold in moisture and prevent weeds. |
 Luscious Tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum)  Tomato blooms |
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| Most tomato plants are "indeterminate". They keep growing and producing until they are killed by frost or disease. Indeterminate types grow long vines that sprawl all over the garden. Pruning helps them behave and put more energy into fruit production. |
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| "Determinate" or bush tomato plants form flowers at the tips and then stop growing. You can plant tomato transplants deeply with only the top two sets of leaves showing. This encourages additional roots to grow on the portion of the stem that is buried. Tomatoes enjoy an abundance of sunshine and lots of compost. They don't like extreme temperatures and will fail to set fruit when nights are below 55-degrees or when daytime temperatures reach the 100's.  If your tomato plants have blooms--but no fruit, shake the plant gently to release pollen. Tomatoes are self-fruitful and the good vibrations help ensure pollination. Add a couple of inches of mulch to your vegetable beds so that the soil can retain moisture. Mulch also reduces the need to weed. The best mulches are coarsely chopped so that air can circulate. Mulch can be made up of compost, straw, newspaper, leaves. |
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