Sweetcorn and veggie garden plans

I harvested all of our sweetcorn this week.  The whole lot was picked for a few reasons:

1. Most of it was ready
2. I can't water all of my veg beds anymore - there just isn't enough water
3. I need to start preparing beds for the winter crops

I've grown sweetcorn a few times now.  The first time was beginners luck and, though I didn't plant much, I ended up with lots of perfectly formed cobs.  The second time was a complete failure, resulting in about four poorly formed cobs.  This year was somewhere in the middle. I had a few perfect cobs, lots of poorly pollinated cobs (despite my efforts to hand pollinate) and some that just didn't form at all.  So my resulting harvest needed a bit of sorting.

Sorting the harvest

I was able to serve us up a meal of perfect corn-on-the-cob.  It was the best we'd ever tasted!  So sweet and juicy - yum!

I was also able to serve us a stir fry with "baby corn" using the cobs that were immature and didn't form.  The boys were thrilled that I'd been able to grow one of their favourite veggies, but disappointed that "that was it" and that it was actually an accident!

And with all of the cobs that hadn't pollinated properly, I cut the kernels from the cobs, blanched them and froze them for use when I can't get cheap, fresh corn.

You know, we used to eat so much frozen corn and peas, I used to buy a bag of each weekly!  It was all the kids would eat in terms of veg, and it was so eeeeeeaaasy.  I would "cook" a bowlful to serve as a side dish, or chuck it into a pasta or rice dish.  These days, our veggie garden is so much more productive and the kids are much more experimental with veg (mostly because they don't have a choice!) that I barely buy frozen veggies.  I've also stopped buying any frozen veg that isn't Australian grown (mostly frozen peas, corn and potatoes are grown in New Zealand, which just seems sad to me), and so I have to buy a more expensive brand, and I'm less inclined to use it quickly.

So, now I have an empty garden bed and it is time to start preparations for the next big round of plantings.  Until last year, I pretty much didn't bother with a planting for winter veg, and then last year, I left it too late.  So this year, I have a pad and pen and lots of planting charts and I'm planning well. 

I intend to grow beetroot, purple sprouting broccoli, carrots, lettuce, coriander, wong boks, silverbeet and snow peas as our basic veg for the cooler months.  I'll also be putting in garlic and onions.  Two of my big veg beds will get a green manure treatment - soybeans in one and broad beans in the other.  The beans will give the soil a good dose of nitrogen and I'll also be able to harvest the beans - some for us and some for the chooks.

After such an incredibly dry summer, all of my beds also need a boost of organic matter, so I'll be adding in compost, horse manure (its not the best manure as it often results in weed growth, but its easy for us to come by) and also things like the corn stalks which I will bury beneath the soil to break down on their own. 

Some of the summer crops still have a month or so to go, but that's OK, those that are done will be clearing the space for the first plantings, and the plants that need to be sewn in cooler weather will go in later.

I plan to try to grow most of my new plants from seed again, and have ordered more seed for those I'll be planting.  Some things will be planted directly in the garden, and those that need to be planted in seed trays will be planted in my cold frame (the window in top will be replaced with shade cloth to make it a shade house).

So much to do, but I'm really looking forward to continuing to produce 90% of our families vegetables through the winter months.