Corn

The home garden is the only way to enjoy unusual heirloom varieties of corn. Even our wonderful Pasadena farmers market is not able to offer these. Their white and yellow varieties of sweet corn are a pretty good alternative, however.

Corn changes fast after picking because the sugars change into starch. This is a BIG reason to have it in your own garden. Stagger plantings so they do not all ripen at once.

These heirloom corn varieties can be eaten raw right when picked or steamed 2 minutes in a microwave vegetable steaming bag.

Good plant nurseries offer varieties that one would expect to do well in No San Gabriel Valley. There are even more varieties available as seeds. Even in our heat, corn needs to be in full sun.

As usual, even watering is a must and not overhead. Always water at the base. Harvest when husks are dark green, silks are dry and brown but still supple, and full-size kernels reach to or near the top of the ear. For most varieties, that will be about 20 days after the silks appear. I usually get one worn inside at the top for each ear. Have not discovered how to prevent this. I just cut the tip of the ear off.