So Many Beans and Promising Corn

One of my most favorite crops is green beans. They're SO easy to grow and the particular variety I like (Greencrop) is extremely prolific, even after the kids maul the plants in their enthusiasm to pick beans. The plant just bounces back and produces more and more and more. Bush varieties may not typically produce as much as vine varieties but this one is a contender. We pick a big bowl of beans from 8 plants about every 2 to 3 days. More frequently if I can keep DS from grazing, but he eats a sizable handful on his own every day.

The corn is also doing exceptionally well this year. Although I know I planted closer together than I should have almost every stalk has developed an ear and in a few cases there are two ears! The plants are over 6' tall now which is the tallest I've ever had a crop of corn grow. In the past I have just gone out and shaken the plants a bit and let the wind do it's own pollinating. I do always end up with the tips of the corn never filled out. This year I've gone out nearly every morning since the silks started showing and hand pollinating with a bushy paint brush. I just want to see if it really makes a difference. In this way I can target the tassels and anthers (dangly bits on the tassel) that are still full of fresh pollen and spread it to the new silks on all the corn, many times on plants that have tassels that are already done. You can tell that a silk has been pollinated if it turns dark and begins to shrivel within a few days. It's about time to put up my squirrel fence around the corn because those little critters will shred it open right on the plant and eat it up!

The male flower of corn, called the tassel. The dangly bits are the anthers which are pockets that contain the pollen, they will be a dark pinkish red when they are ready to release pollen and will turn orangy when they are spent.

The female flower of corn is called the silks. Each silk has to be pollinated to form the kernel that it is attached to. Silks continue to emerge for days, up to a week after the first silks show, so it's important to make sure it gets pollen continually to ensure a full ear of corn.

My whole crop of corn, in an 8'x8' bed, there are approximately 70 plants. I'll probably end up with around 45 ears due to some not developing silks, loss to bugs/squirrels, and underpollentation.

This stalk has two female flowers (silks) the top one is mostly pollinated and just forming kernels now and the lower one has new silks ready to be pollinated. I've had double silks before but the second one never formed an edible ear. I'll be super thrilled if this one does.