Not officially, but I proclaim it as Corn Day in this household, since this is the first time harvesting corn in my new veggie patches! I love the fact that corn comes in its own enviromnentally-friendly packaging. But did you know this packaging can be a problem in the field when harvesting? According to this website, and a few other farming websites, corn can overheat in its husks if harvested during the heat of the day. To avoid this only harvest corn in the morning, before the heat has had a chance to build up, or have vacuum cooling equipment as part of the harvesting equipment on site. For home gardeners, it is easy to harvest the same day you plan to eat them, and this keeps as much sugar as possible from turning into starch inside the kernels. Putting the water on to boil before going outside to pick the corn ensures super sweet corn!
Also from that same website, I learned that more sugar is produced on cooler sunny days rather then hot days. I think I inadvertantly timed my corn perfectly to harvest on the first day of Autumn. I am going to grow even more corn next Summer, and this time use a mulch to keep the moisture level more even as I only put the sprinklers on the veggie patches once a week. But for now, I can’t wait til my next cob.
