# Better than Olathe Corn?



## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Up until now, the best tasting corn we have found has been the famous Olathe corn grown in western Colorado each season and available in our stores usually in August. 

Presenting triple sweet Honey Select Corn...grown right here in East Texas. According to our "experts" it is actually better than Olathe and the best tasting corn ever to grace our pallets. It is so good, we are eating everything fresh and not freezing or canning any....and what we can't keep up with our neighbors and friends are happy to get. 

In the first photo below, the first planting (already harvested and consumed) is shown in the upper right hand corner, the second planting (which we are currently just now beginning to consume) is shown in the middle right of the photo, the third planting (which should be ready beginning about the 4th of July) and shown in the lower right, the fourth planting shown to the left of the first planting, and the fifth and final planting shown on the left of the photo (expected to be ready about Sept. 1). 

The ears as shown are long and slender as compared to other varieties I've grown and the kernels are somewhat small...but each one is bursting with unmatched flavor. 

Look out Olathe...East Texas honey select has got you beat!


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## Wado (May 15, 2011)

*Sweet*

Looking good, glad you survived the weather. I could eat sweet corn every day fresh like that. Where do you get the seed? I usually pick mine up at a feed store down here and about all he gets is G90.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

http://parkseed.com/honey-select-triplesweet-hybrid-corn-seeds/p/05527/

Taste probably varies some with soils...but it beats G90 here all to heck!!


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## Wado (May 15, 2011)

Meadowlark said:


> http://parkseed.com/honey-select-triplesweet-hybrid-corn-seeds/p/05527/
> 
> Taste probably varies some with soils...but it beats G90 here all to heck!!


Thanks, I bookmarked that page. Boy I have a mess to clean up in my garden. The grass is waist high and there may be a gator living in it.


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## MichaelW (Jun 16, 2010)

Looks good, will have to try some.


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## Ready.Fire.Aim (Sep 22, 2009)

Thanks Meadowlark, I ordered some to try. I plant sweet corn for an additional fall crop.

If you put in the promotional code PARK16, you get 15% off the order. 
In addition, the corn seed is on sale.


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## monkeyman1 (Dec 30, 2007)

Meadowlark, what do you use to keep the worms out of your corn?


Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus purchased selling eggs.


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## wet dreams (May 21, 2004)

Ahhh I've been trying to get you guys to try some for a cpl of yrs.....I think I have told a few ONCE you try some Honey Select you wouldn't grow anything else......well?? Several feed suppliers have it but not all, its higher than most, we finally got a cpl of feed stores here to carry it also but you better get it quick as word has got around. The Honey Select will hold sweetness longer on the stalk than most other sweet corn, you don't even need to cook it, I've ate several ears in the field..


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

monkeyman1 said:


> Meadowlark, what do you use to keep the worms out of your corn?
> 
> ...


MM1, a whole lot of nothing.

If I harvest the ears right when they are first ready, the bug damage just isn't a problem. Notice in the picture the short, more deeply yellow, couple of ears....those were ears I missed(or second ears) in the harvesting of the first planting...and bug damage on those two was definitely noticeable.

Also, good practices, such as clean stalk processing, cover crops in the off season, and rotations really help minimize the worms to the point they aren't a problem.

In years past, I used Sevin dust on the tassels during growing and it was effective...but we stopped using it, or anything at all, because we eat a lot of corn and its just not worth the risk of unwanted pesticide effects to loosing a small % to the bugs.

Harvested correctly and with good practices, the damage is easily well less than 5% on each ear and that's a small price to pay for purity, IMO.

We will eat it 5 times a week all the way through September this year as well as provide a lot of corn to family, friends and neighbors. It's a good feeling knowing that they are getting the pure stuff.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

wet dreams said:


> Ahhh I've been trying to get you guys to try some for a cpl of yrs........QUOTE]
> 
> Yep, and I appreciate it. When reading Parks seed catalog this past winter, they really talked up the "triple sweet" aspect. Its not just marketing...its really great taste.
> 
> Thanks for telling us about it.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Ready.Fire.Aim said:


> Thanks Meadowlark, I ordered some to try. I plant sweet corn for an additional fall crop.
> 
> If you put in the promotional code PARK16, you get 15% off the order.
> In addition, the corn seed is on sale.


That's good to know...they are very proud of their seed, and rightly so.


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## monkeyman1 (Dec 30, 2007)

Meadowlark said:


> MM1, a whole lot of nothing.
> 
> If I harvest the ears right when they are first ready, the bug damage just isn't a problem. Notice in the picture the short, more deeply yellow, couple of ears....those were ears I missed(or second ears) in the harvesting of the first planting...and bug damage on those two was definitely noticeable.
> 
> ...


Thanks, I knew you grow organically.

Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus purchased selling eggs.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

The corn just keeps coming....about 300 ears so far and counting. 

I've noticed that the productivity has increased substantially with the heat and dry weather. The third planting is mature now and many have 3 ears on each stalk and all have at least 2 ears. I've never seen 3 eared corn in East Texas before. 

We just can't eat it all, even though we have tried, and have given much away. The cows are now the beneficiary of some of the secondary smaller ears....and they line up at the fence every time they see me pulling corn, LOL. 

Cooking about 30 ears tomorrow for a group...gotta love that fresh corn.


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## Dick Hanks (Aug 16, 2007)

Those are 2 great pictures Lark. That corn was picked at the perfect ripeness. I especially like "in field" picture. That is some incredibly weed free ground around those stalks.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Thanks Dick....you ever see any "3 ears per stalk" corn? My first time seeing that but East Texas isn't known for its corn, LOL. 

Weeds aren't much of a problem here after years of cover cropping...in the far left of that "field" picture you can see the current cover crop in progress.


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## Dick Hanks (Aug 16, 2007)

Meadowlark said:


> Thanks Dick....you ever see any "3 ears per stalk" corn? My first time seeing that but East Texas isn't known for its corn, LOL.
> 
> Weeds aren't much of a problem here after years of cover cropping...in the far left of that "field" picture you can see the current cover crop in progress.


 I can't say for certain Lark, but off-hand, I don't remember ever seeing a 3 ear stalk of corn in either sweet or field corn.

Do you think it is the result of the variety, or maybe better than normal growing conditions? How many seeds are you planting per stalk?

Most of our other veggies give a little clue from the blossom size or configuration if something unusual is about to happen. Corn is very secretive.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

If in doubt ask the internet....so I posed this question *"how many ears of corn per stalk?"
*
Wow, some really interesting reading resulted, LOL.

Turns out three is pretty unusual, but not unheard of.

Variety may be a contributor...not sure because its my first time to grow honey select...maybe others who grow it can chime in?

Growing conditions are also a factor.

Its pretty clear that the third ears are inferior. Second ears have always been inferior in my experience and third appear to be even more so.

Interesting stuff. I have to wonder if one were to remove the second and/or third ears if the remaining first ear wouldn't develop larger? Think I'll try that as the next planting reaches that stage.

I'd bet the old time gardeners of past generations could shed a lot of light on this topic. We have lost so much of that knowledge...and worse, many now days could care less.

Thanks for reading Dick.


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## peckerwood (Jun 9, 2012)

As soon as I read where you were wondering if thinning ears would make bigger ears,I thought "I sure wish I could ask PaPa,he would know",then I read the rest of your post.I'd sure like to hear your thoughts on fall corn.I planted some a few years back and it done great and was almost ready to pull,and Army worms hit over night.I've sure been thinking hard on trying again.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Go for it, PW! I got some planted that will mature in Sept. If the bugs get them, well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. 

One of the nice things about late corn is the weather is more stable and less chance of those big downdrafts that lay the corn flat. My first planting this spring must have been flattened 3 or 4 times.


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## Wado (May 15, 2011)

*Triples*

I recall one year I had lots of doubles and only a rare triple, you did something right! I read somewhere the commercial growers of corn ( not sweet ) strive for singles, one big single vs. two or three small ears. Something to do with the plant sending nutrients to the first ear. Regardless, that's some pretty stuff. The worms for some reason attacked only a few of my rows and some went unscathed. I have two martin houses in the garden, maybe they picked the little brown moths off before they could lay eggs. I couldn't do any spraying because of all the rain but it's hard to say if that really helps. I was pretty disappointed in my overall yield with seven pounds of seed in the ground. Can you tell me if that seed is available year around or would it be wise to order some now?


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Wado,

Yep, that would be my guess also...bigger ears with singles. However, total eatable corn is probably a lot higher with doubles, I'm guessing. I'm going to experiment a little with one planting...strip all the secondary and triple ears and see if the result is positive or not. 

Bugs weren't a problem this year here either. I was expecting the worst, but instead was really surprised at how little damage there was. I hope that holds through September. 

Just my opinion, but I'm convinced that "clean" gardening is actually far better than spraying, not just for the health benefits but for the reduction in pests. 

If it were me, and assuming not talking about a fall crop which should already be planted, I definitely would wait to buy seed until this winter for next year. If you buy it now, it will be last year's seed. Probably still has high germination rate but not as high as fresh seed.


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