TWENTY-ONE VEGETABLES - Start a Community Food Garden - page 124

Corn has been domesticated in North America for 4,000 years. The taste of freshly picked sweet corn
is unbeatable. Grow the kinds of corn that have a good track record for your climate, whether yellow,
white, or multicolored.
Start Corn requires a lot of space in a vegetable garden and is susceptible to frost. Plant seeds only in
well-warmed soil to guarantee germination. Add a lot of compost to the soil before planting, and sow in
a sunny, wind-protected area.
Grow Plant seeds 1 inch deep with 3 feet between rows. If you are growing intensively, plant 1 seed per
square foot. Keep weeds to a minimum to encourage strong growth in the first month. Roots are shallow
and will spread out, so don't disturb them while weeding. Apply mulch to prevent weeds from coming
back. In dry weather, water well.
Harvest When the ears have filled out, corn is ready to harvest. The silks dry up and the end of the ears
feel rounded or blunt, rather than pointed. Pull back a bit of the husk to see if the kernels have filled out,
and pierce a kernel to make sure the liquid is milky rather than watery.
Store and Serve Best eaten within a day or two of picking, corn loses its sweetness quickly. Refrigerate
corn in the husk, spread out in a single layer. To freeze, blanch the cob in boiling water for 5 minutes,
rinse under cold water. Freeze the cobs whole in a freezer bag, or remove the kernels for storing in a
smaller container.
Just-picked raw young corn is best used in salads or salsas. Before using or cooking, shuck ears by
peeling off the husk and removing the stringy threads, called corn silk. Cook corn for the shortest time
possible. Five minutes for boiling, 10 minutes for steaming, and 15 minutes for oven roasting or grilling
will keep the corn from toughening. Corn can also be grilled or roasted in the husks.
CUCUMBERS
Cucumis sativus
Cucumbers are a prolific, hot weather crop. Vining cucumber plants can be grown in any amount of
space because they are climbers. Bush hybrids form a more compact plant. Varieties include slicing
cukes that are oblongs with smooth dark green skin. Pickling cucumbers are smaller with bumpy rinds,
and are crisp and firm. Asian cucumbers are long and slender, with fewer seeds.
Start Start cucumber plants indoors in peat pots, or direct sow in warmed soil. Plant 2 or 3 seeds an
inch into the ground, spaced 12 inches apart (the same spacing goes for intensive gardening). Sprouting
occurs in a few days in warm, moist soil. If the soil is heavy, mound it up before planting.