This week I harvested the first of the cherry tomatoes, there was not a lot, only enough for my CSA members, but the flood of tomatoes will soon start at Quarter Acre.
The popcorn stalks are over 6 feet tall and have tasseled out, the tassel being the flower that emerges from the top of the stalk. The ears are developing beautifully, the silk hairs are laying out waiting for the wind to move the pollen down from the tassels.
Corn has both a male flower, the tassel and a female flower, the ear, on the same plant. Every potential kernel on an ear develops its own silk that must be pollinated in order to fully develop into a kernel. Since corn is wind pollinated it is best to grow corn in blocks rather than long individual rows, a block should be at least three rows wide.
I’m expecting to harvest the popcorn ears in September, then the ears will finish drying from the rafters for about 3 weeks until it will be ready for popping. I can’t wait for this year’s popcorn as the 2012 season popcorn is long gone.