Corn harvest 2014

Today was the day, apparently. I don't know if it's the "right" time to harvest corn in Saskatchewan. Or if it's typical to harvest all in one day or to pick a few each day as they seem ready. I grew up with a mom who was always gardening, and we kids were often involved in the process...but when I was 12, I wasn't exactly taking note of the time of year we picked corn or if we did it all in one day or not. So now that I have my own garden, I find myself flying by the seat of my pants a little (what an odd expression!) and asking my mom questions when I'm just really not sure!

But in any case, today was corn day. I went out to the garden this morning just to see what was ready and ended up pulling up half my corn!  I must say, it does make it more difficult to harvest when your corn decides to take a nap halfway through the growing season. 

 It is also more tricky when your mammoth squash plants use your corn as a climbing apparatus. Not only did I plant my corn rows too close together so I could barely fit down the rows (not normally a huge issue for me!) but now I also have vines as thick as my wrist criss-crossing back and forth between the rows of corn, coming as high as my chest, with the occasional squash hanging here and there. So maybe it's a good thing my corn fell in the wind...this way I can pick my corn like blueberries and not have to worry about making it to the middle of the patch!

I have two great little helpers who are usually with me in the garden. 

They can usually entertain themselves pretty well while I'm working. It was especially easy while the raspberries were at their peak!  I would just set Kayden down next to a bush and she would make her way around, eating as she went!  (Boiling water gets out raspberry stains, by the way) By the time she had made it around a bush, I was usually finished what I was doing and we were all still happy. During the really hot days in summer, we would take the truck to the garden for no other reason but to have some shade for the kids. It worked well because it was a treat for them to play in there and they were out of the sun. Win-win :) 

For my birthday, I got a wheelbarrow from my parents. We've made a few trips with that too :)

We've worked out the easiest way to travel via wheel arrow: Levi and his heavy 28 lbs in front over the wheel and Kayden's 19.5 lbs behind him.  I tried to have them side by side at first but by the time we reached the garden, my left arm would be dying while my right arm was not feeling anything so...this works much better!

This is how much corn I picked today:

When we got back to the house, the kids BOTH helped me shuck/husk it!  I have to say, there are few things cuter than having your 19 month old helping you shuck/husk corn!  And my 3 year old was pretty adorable helping too. I didn't even have I ask them to help. They just got right to work. I was all ready for lunch and they just kept working so I figured I wouldn't discourage their work ethic!

After that, we cooked some corn and had some for lunch!  Well, truth be told, Kayden couldn't quite wait for the cooking part so she enjoyed her first cob raw. But once it was cooked, we all dove in and enjoyed the fruits of our labour. Yum!

Now I just need to decide how I'm going to process this corn!  I'm not a huge fan of frozen corn but without a pressure canner, I can't can it. I've done some creamed corn already this year so do I just make more?  Or do I try some frozen corn and see if it's alright? Or do we just eat corn on the cob morning, noon and night until it's gone? Yes, I think we might do that. Mmm...