Local corn yet?

Corn in this area is supposed to be knee high by the fourth of July. No where near ready to harvest.

I'm a city grrl. What do I know? LOL!

That said, has anyone gotten any really good corn around here lately?

Not yet, but I'm going shopping later and will check it out. Maybe The Fresh Market, if you're looking for top of the line produce.

P.S. that dish sounds awesome.

That sounds like a hobo dinner, throw it all in a large pot or a large new garbage can for the large crowd and boil half the day for tender goodness.

Gamegrrl you're inviting toledo talk right?

LOL upso! I should! But... Maybe next year. This is gonna be a very small scale gathering. Three or four of us at most.

Of course, I could use some help cleaning house to get ready. Come on over and help me chase dog hair tumbleweeds and I'll pay you with food. lol

We still have some frozen sweet corn from last year from Bench's that we plan to finish off this weekend.

Area grocery stores probably began selling sweet corn in May, but obviously, it wasn't grown locally. I'm guessing you could find imported sweet corn right now in local stores.

But if you want locally-grown sweet corn, then you'll have to wait until around mid-July. We usually begin receiving Bench's sweet corn from our CSA by the second or third week of July. But maybe it's earlier this summer, since everything else is earlier. Local sweet corn is available until about mid-October.

Comment from June 2011 that shows how some local residents are unfamiliar with our growing seasons:

June 24, 2012 blog post by our CSA:

That old saying about corn, "knee high by the fourth of July," does that apply to field corn or sweet corn?

Since local farmers begin picking sweet corn in July, it seems like sweet corn should be taller than knee-high by the 4th. Although as mentioned above, sweet corn grows to only five feet tall.

Right now, some of the field corn along Route 2 east of Toledo is about shoulder-high. With today's modern seeds, chemicals, and farming practices, if corn is only knee-high by July 4th, then that farmer probably has a problem.

Here are a couple harvest calendar links that will give you some idea of what produce is available at different times of the year.

• http://www.pickyourown.org/OHharvestcalendar.htm
• Fresh/Seasonal Local Food Map
• Ohio Harvest Calendar - PDF from Toledo Farmers Market

Image of the PDF calendar. click to enlarge

Anderson's Market has had some "Florida corn" recently that is pretty good. $1.96 for four, though, is pricey for corn.

I'm happy to pay a higher price for happymaking, yummy corn.

I love it young, sweet and tender. Not "milky", chewy and starchy. I barely do more than blanch it. Mr. Gamegrrl likes grilling it in the husk and putting butter, lime and parmesan on it. I'll stick with butter, salt and pepper.

Crap. Now I want corn.

Knee by the 4th of July was my Mom's reply to corn grown in our own garden.

"throw it all in a large pot or a large new garbage can for the large crowd and boil half the day for tender goodness"

Coming from an Irish family this made me chuckle all meals are like this :)

A good tip someone showed me years ago is my favorite way of making/eating corn.

• Pull back the husk carefully and remove the threads. Push the husk back around and soak all of the ears in some water for a bit to get everything wet.

• Put the whole corn on a grill and cook. The water will cook the corn inside the husk and gives it a wonderful flavor with a light smokiness from the grill. Plus the husk will act as a natural barrier from the flames so it's ok if the husk get's kinda brown or burnt just remove it in the end or pill back and hold on to the husk while you eat.

Enjoy :)

That's how Mr. Gamegrrl likes to do it, INeedCoffee. Then he puts lime and parmesan cheese on it.

That's what corn stickers are for, have used them since I was a kid.

I'm all about the barehanded method. Gettin' down and dirty with those wicked nibblets.

Saw these tonight and thought of this thread.

http://i.imgur.com/1aKhi.jpg

Only the 5th of July, when it should be knee high and these already have corn on them with tassles.

Guess it's going to be a good harvest this year.

Forgot to mention this was taken on Neowash Rd. near Waterville/Liberty Center

I wonder what kind of corn that is.

We did have corn on the 4th, but it was marginal. Still craving that Perfect Ear.

Anderson's has home grown corn now.

The picture ineedcoffee linked is field corn, not sweetcorn. Sweet corn is usually only 1/2-2/3 as tall as field corn. Local sweet corn should be coming on any day now with the early spring we had.

I know in lower Michigan, sweet corn is usually ready for sale in late July. As kig10 said, it might be earlier because of the mild winter we had. Can't wait. One of great traditions of summer.

but because of lack of rain wonder if its been growing well.

a lot of the local sweet corn is irrigated, but the heat can definately cause pollination problems, like ears that aren't filled out all the way or kernels only on one side. We should know soon...

Churchill's is advertising homegrown.

Cool. I'll be out by their Perrysburg store on Wednesday and will pick some up. Thanks!

With all the urban gardening going on in the OWE, I keep hoping against hope that I'll see some streetside markets popping up. LOL!

Today (July 9), I saw Bench's food stand along Route 2 east of Toledo advertising that their sweet corn is now for sale.

On Sunday, our CSA informed us that Bench's sweet corn will be in our produce haul this week.

Bench's sweet corn will be for sale at this Thursday's farmers market in Perrysburg. It usually sells out early at this time of the year.

Here's some info contained in Sunday's e-mail from our CSA:

When I want to eat sweet corn quickly, I microwave it. This works great. I leave the corn inside the husk and microwave it on high for two minutes. Let cool for a minute. Remove husk and consume. Scrump.

Any other places that sell Bench's sweet corn (I see above about Perrysburg and their stand on Route 2). Would like to try it...

Bought some at Walt Churchill's today (sign said local). Very starchy and not sweet. Sounds like it's going to be a bad year in the Midwest for corn

early corn is always kinda bad

I live off Route 2 and enjoy Bench's. Will stop by this weekend and pick some up and give it a try.

"Churchill's is advertising homegrown."

Many grocers, including Andersons, consider "local" Kentucky and surrounding states. I like Andersons, but I don't think the term "local" should be so loosely used. Local, to me, is northwest Ohio.

Starchy, eh? Ask the store when the "local" sweet corn was picked. As mentioned above:

For Thursday's farmer's market in Perrysburg, I think Bench's will pick their sweet corn on Thursday or at the earliest, on Wednesday. I'll ask. If you buy some at the P-burg market on Thursday, be sure to eat an ear that evening to compare the taste to when you eat the rest days later. Five days after purchase (picked), the corn is still fine, but it's definitely best when eaten on days one and two.

"Homegrown sweet corn" is being advertised in the newspaper at Sprague's Farm Market & Greenhouse, 1327 S. Wheeling Street, Oregon. Never had it there, but thought I'd post it.

Thanks!

Heading out for work today, the same field I pictured earlier is starting to already show signs of drying. Lower leaves are turning brown and the corn is only as thick as a regular bratwurst. We really need some rain.

Went to Bench's yesterday. It was picked Saturday night according to the staff. It was FABULOUS !! Tender, sweet, etc....cannot wait to have it again tonight

Ack. Gotta send Mr. Gamegrrl out there! Thanks!

Local corn is in just about everywhere now. I went to Bench's a couple of days ago and got a baker's dozen of white corn. Fantastic! Pricey, though, at $6. Anderson's market in Sylvania is advertising that their local sweet corn is in from a farm in Swanton.

Cool! I will ask Mr. Gamegrrl to go to Anderson's today!

We have had corn from Andersons in Maumee twice this week and we thought it was very good.It was the bi-color type of corn.

Indian corn? didn't think you could eat that stuff.

White/yellow sweet corn, Linecrosser. Not Indian corn. Which is very cool in and of itself.

You sound amaized.

It isn't local (Florida corn I think the sign said) but we picked up some mighty damn tasty bi-color sweet corn from Andersons Talmadge store Saturday. Not a blemish on any of it that we had and sweet as candy.

Thank you for the heads-up, Foodie! Some fresh corn sound outstanding right about now!