We're at least a week away from the big corn harvest

The calendar tells me my sweet corn will be ready in about a week, but my eye says it will be a bit longer, maybe 10 or 12 days. But the Central California heat (which is finally aproaching 100 degrees) may speed up the growing season. It has been unseasonally cool in these parts. That's been great for the energy bill, and makes for wonderful evenings.

I can't wait to see if this will be a successful corn harvest. I haven't planted backyard corn in 30 years, but this time I read the directions on the seed packet very carefully. Like most men, I usually don't read directions, and that often gets me into trouble.

In addition, I don't exactly have the green thumb that my significant other has. That means my garden bounty has always trailed hers. And she is working with a big handicap. Her soil is mostly hardpan and mine is sandy loam. But she works the soil and talks to the plants. (Or it could be me she's muttering at). Of course, she has much more patience in these matters than I do. It is one of her many special traits.

But back to the corn. I planted about 50 corn seeds in three rows, and the four-dozen-plus stalks are now about four feet tall. I think they need to be at least another foot taller. There are 10 ears forming so far in my "corn field." I hope to find several more. It seems that all those stalks should bear much more corn. I'll check it out tonight.

My dear daughter is coming home to visit this weekend and I hope the corn will be ready for her before she returns to San Diego. I can't eat it because I'm on a low-carb diet. But I'll sneak a taste just so I can report the results on this blog.