Doug McEvers

I would question the seed source and fertility. A couple of years ago I had good tomato plants, started from seed (Johnny's WI 55 organic) but one plant had no tomatoes. The rest of the plants produced well but one did not. It was green and healthy looking like the others but no tomatoes. I expect quite a bit of variability in plants grown from heirloom seed, some better producers than others, that is to be expected. This should also give a bit of nuance to the population, some liking that growing season and some not as well. We have been very warm here this summer, one of the hotter July's I can remember. I did not put out my transplants until June 18 this summer, had my first ripe tomato yesterday, August 25. The seed package says 80 days for this strain of WI 55. I count 69 days for this first tomato. Started late, maybe my best transplants this year, very warm, a lot of biological fertilizer and water and looking to be a very good crop. The WI 55 love to send out low runners in August, I trim them back. I also cut off any new blossoms once I have an adequate fruit set and put the energy into finishing the tomatoes.

Tomatoes here need a lot of fertility to really produce. I use pelletized chicken litter, gypsum, copper, zinc, boron, hard rock phosphate (TBR), potassium sulphate, liquid fish, Soil Biological and compost if I have it. Water deeply and not so often, watch the plants and check the soil for moisture. Mulch early on to hold moisture and keep tomatoes off the ground. Tomatoes want full sun throughout the growing season.

My garden with TLC and lots of water has done well, the row crops in the area are poor due to lack of rainfall. Fargo, ND has had 8.89" to date (June 25), normal is 16.70.



















some liking that growing season and maybe some not.

Thom,

That is quite a corn, very healthy looking plants. I need to be mindful of my seed for next year, we are so dry, might not be any on my larger planting. That in the garden has been getting water but is only seed from 2 cobs. My larger planting this spring was seed from 200 to 250 ears, want to keep a lot of diversity in the population. Had 1/2" of rain this morning, may have broken the ice.

Thom Bri wrote:Very interesting. I also grow OP corn. Some years I see bees on the pollen, but most years not. I have heard that corn pollen is not very attractive to bees. I suspect when I see them on the corn it is because there is a pollen dearth and they are taking whatever they can find even if it is second choice.

Do you have any pics of your corn?

Thom,

You may be right about the bees and corn pollen. We are very dry here, there is not much blooming, so this is what's available. Normally there would be quite a bit of white sweet clover on the margins right now, I need to take a prairie walk. Have been leaving thistles in the yard, monarch butterflies are all over them. The warm season native grasses are showing dormancy, about 6 weeks early. No pictures of the OP corn, need to update my system. What is the heritage of your OP corn and what do you select for if anything? The diversity between plants is really interesting, some high ears, some low, different heights, silk color. The one thing I do select for is standability, will not take an ear from a plant that is not standing strong. This is one of the weaknesses of the OP corns, not as much lignin as the hybrids. This is why it is much more palatable and digestible for livestock.

Mark,

You have jogged my memory, thank you. The MN 13 I have is a single variety from what I have been told. As far as I understand it, the seed was selected for early maturity by a man named William Mellum (1950's) in Ulen Township, Clay County, MN. This seed was passed on to a man who grew it in Falcon Heights, MN for a number of years. He passed it on to a good friend of mine. My friend shared some of the seed with me in 2012 I think and I have been working with it since. MN 13 is available as a 100 day corn locally, what I have been growing is thought to be 87 days. I plant it no earlier than June 1 to avoid crossing with other neighboring field corn, this seems to be working. My larger plot was planted on June 5 of this year, that in the garden on June 8. It just pollinating now, far behind the neighboring corn fields. It seems to be a favorite of deer, pheasant, ducks and fox squirrels.

Your post made me look in our 1957 Clay County plat book, there it was, William Mellum, Ulen Township. This corn was known as the Mellum Strain.

The bees are going strong again this morning on the heirloom field corn. Watched a ladybug feeding on the pollen grains on the corn leaf, some pieces of the puzzle are starting to fit. There was also a very tiny spider working the corn leaves as well, the minutiae are so interesting. The dew this morning provides water for the bugs, we still have dew even though our rainfall has been 1/10" over the last 33 days. Fargo, ND is approaching 1/2 of the normal precipitation for the year 2026. Resilience is being tested, would not have much of a garden without supplemental watering. In 2022, what I would call a perfect growing season, did not water the garden, so it can be done.

The reason I am growing field corn in the garden is two-fold. I am interested to see how selection of specific ears might show up in this year's crop, this is how old varieties might be improved. Secondly, the deer love this heirloom corn and I better put up my fence soon, they will eat the plant along with the green ears. It is thought the older heirloom varieties take up more nutrients than do the more modern ones, the deer know. This should also equate to more nutrient dense grain but that is yet to be considered here.

This is a field corn and I do not know about using it for food. Have been working with it for about 12 years and the MN 13 I have has been selected previously for early maturity (about 87 days) for this part of the country. My quest is to see if it can produce sufficiently to replace some of the modern corn varieties. Roundup Ready and the neonicotinoid infused corns are not bug friendly. Modern farming is devastating our pollinators. I will in time send a sample to organic yellow corn milling companies for an evaluation but not this year, need more research here.

Anne Miller wrote:How does corn taste from large and heavy kernels?

If we could replace some of the 95,000,000 acres of US corn with more Earth friendly varieties, I would be happy and so would the bugs.

Have to report what I am seeing on my MN 13 open pollinated heirloom corn growing in the garden. The hum of bees the last few days on the tassels is something else, audible from a distance. The bees carry the pollen on their body and you can see these pollen sacs. There are also mating lady bugs on the corn leaves, my beneficial insects are having a big party on the corn. This is how it used to be, the farm crops were bug friendly and with this biodiversity was sustained. I also have this same corn planted elsewhere on the farm but have planted some in the garden because I found 2 ears last year that had large and heavy kernels, nearly 50% heavier than the average. Want to see if the garden corn will replicate to any degree ears with large and heavy kernels.

There are cucumbers and pumpkins blooming, they are loaded with bees as well.

Isn't it interesting we are circling back to the way things used to be, is the age of rugged individualism over? The food forest is a bit of what I have in mind here on our farm. I am sharing space in my garden with friends so they are seeing first hand the value of soil care. At first glance you might say that is a dirty garden, but when you look closer there is a reason for all that exists there. Plant biodiversity is where it's at whether it be garden, agricultural land or other. For a number of years I would add the straw from my native seed cleaning to the garden and this is where I started seeing an improvement in yield and less insect pressure. I seeded oats this spring in the entire garden and that is part of the soil building for this season. I also let anything grow that wants to and just clip the annuals before they set viable seed. I am getting the benefit of a living root.

I have the idea of highlighting what used to be in this farm centric area. The soil is good and with proper steps can be very productive, I must prove this first on our farm. Building soil (raising SOM, soil organic matter) is not a quick process, at best according to most I have read is about 1/10 % per year SOM increase. This comports with my 33 year old restored prairie soil tests. We went from around 2% to 5% SOM in those 30 plus years. My area used to be a hub of local activity, all centered around the small farms, hard work and "sharing" that went on between the people. Can this type of culture be revived? Time will tell, I am going to do my part.

Foliar Feed Report # 1

I applied a one ounce Natur's Way Soil Biological to one gallon of water foliar spray yesterday at 9:00 AM. Would normally start earlier but it was cloudy and somewhat cool. I sprayed everything in the garden less the potatoes, they are mature or nearly so. The MN 13 field corn did not look any different this morning, it had recently been fertilized and watered. Here is where I saw a change in one day, zucchini was much greener and robust and cucumbers looked more green to me. We missed the rain yesterday so I have to think the foliar feed made a difference. It is also cooler this morning so that helps in a dry period. The zucchini plant is part of our garden that we share with some good friends. They also grow Roma tomatoes, radish, green beans, beets and peppers. I do the fertilization and they do some watering. This zucchini plant has never been really prolific like in some past years, but it has produced some and is blooming these days. Very noticeable change in vitality in 24 hours. Donald Schriefer, the famed environmental agronomist says the change in field crops can be noticed within 24 to 36 hours after a foliar application. Foliar feeding is done to increase chlorophyl in the leaves and send more sugar to the roots. The roots feed the plant but the leaves also feed the roots, a 2 way street.


https://www.naturs-way.com/soil.htm

I have used this product for years but only on the occasion where thing look weak. It is supposed to be used within one years time and the gallon I have just about used up is at least 7 or 8 years old. There must be good things in there that do not lose potency over time like the humic acid and I think molasses. Jerry Brunetti in his book, The Farm As Ecosystem, has many recipes for foliar and drench type fertilization. I need to review this as he was a visionary on soil and animal health.

We have acres of willow in our grassland, the occasional burn will set them back. Too dry this year for a burn so the willows are going strong. I have been reading up on the time to harvest, the dormant season is best. Basket weaving is too intricate for me, something larger scale, trellis like creations. Because we have so many they grow straight in those thick stands.