Shucking Corn

For once, getting out our garden late has paid off.  The blazing hot temperatures of June and July have passed (although we're still in the 90's a lot) and the corn and green beans are beginning to produce.  During the hot, hot time we noticed that we didn't see much insect damage.  The cucumbers and squash managed to miss getting wilt from the striped cucumber beetle that passes the disease from plant to plant.  The beans and corn, while not bug free, are in good shape.  The downside to the lack of busy little insects is that the pollination from the bees is down too.  That means less yield.  However, with cooler temperatures and a little rain the bugs are coming back.

However, on Monday afternoon my son arrived at the house to mention that the garden corn was ready.  They'd feasted on fresh corn while we were away for the week-end and pronounced it ready and delicious.  (I rely on him to monitor it since I hate walking through the rows of close, hot corn and dodging the big yellow and black spiders!)  I was overjoyed when he offered to pick it for me if I was ready to freeze it. 

Early the next morning he arrived with his three boys (15, 6, and 4 years old) to begin picking.  They trooped happily off to the garden with the two little boys trailing feed sacks to fill with the corn.  Soon I could hear shouts of "look at this big one" and "is this one ready" followed by affirmation and negation from their dad.  In short order they had finished what is a tedious and back breaking chore for me to finish alone.  The sacks were dumped under the big maple tree and chairs, stools and buckets were dragged up to sit on.  With that the shucking process began.

Shucking corn not only calls for the removal of the corn husks and silks but an opportunity for visiting and story telling.  My son started it with "You remember the time that dad went crazy fertilizing the garden and we picked a mountain of corn?"  As I gazed at the small hill of corn this drought stressed garden had yielded, I laughed and nodded.  I remembered alright.  It had been a hot summer day when the corn decided to be ready.  (Corn all becomes ready at once, you pick it, freeze it, and then it is over.  You have to enjoy it fast.)  I corralled my son, a friend of his who was unlucky enough to be visiting and my daughter and marched them to the garden to pick corn.  I cajoled, pleaded, bribed and teased to keep them picking until we had a mountain of corn taller than the kids piled under this same shade tree.  Then we shucked for what seemed like forever.  Then they were free and I got the job of cutting the kernels off and scraping the cobs for the freezer.  I put up 75 pints that day, which is an all time high for me.  One I really don't want to repeat.

In the middle of the story the youngest boy suddenly shouts, "Look!  I've got a worm"  "Let me see!" shouts the other scrambling through the pile of shucks to look.  The oldest boy adds, "I'll bet that would be good for fishing."  With that nothing would do but they had to have a container to put the corn worms in.  Soon they were shucking with a fury to find more worms for fishing.  In no time the corn was finished and all three boys were hurrying to the shop building to retrieve their fishing poles and head for the creek. 

Who would have thought that those nasty corn worms, that I hate to find, would be my greatest incentive for my little work crew!  I hope it works as well next year.