M-m-m-m . . . Corn!

The lone tomato plant we've got - 'Mr. Stripey' - is finally large enough to need support. It's leaning, but not from the weight of tomatoes, because it's only got a couple of marble-sized ones right now. There are several blooms, but it's been really slow to get going.





The sweet corn, on the other hand, is ready early! Normally, we don't eat it fresh from our garden until the first week of August. But we did grow a different variety this year. 'Sugar Pearl' is a white corn that is an early, sugary enhanced hybrid and I picked ten ears of it tonight.

We had them for supper and I have to say that it could possibly be the best tasting sweet corn we've ever grown. Crispy, extremely sweet, and ears filled out nicely.

Butter was slathered and salt was sprinkled and I proceeded to eat four ears, while Romie had six. I ate in rows from one end of the ear to the other, while Romie ate his around and around. Don't you wonder how we develop such different eating habits?

We had several stalks of corn fail to set ears this year. It probably has something to do with the weather - hot and a severe lack of rain. But the stalks that did develop ears look like those ears are going to be nice and fat. Next year, I plan to do a little research on how to really raise good sweet corn, and we'll plant more of 'Sugar Pearl.'

While we will have to wait awhile before we have a ripe large tomato from our garden, the 'Sungold' cherry tomatoes have started maturing. I don't care for fresh tomatoes, so Romie will get those all to himself. I did try one of the Sungolds, just to see if it really was as sweet as everyone says. Yes, it's quite sweet, but it still tastes like a tomato.

We're enjoying green beans from the second planting as well as still getting some from the first, and we've been eating spinach from the second planting, too. The 'Chilly' chili peppers are loaded and the eggplant is in bloom. There are lots of melons, both canteloupe and watermelon, and I look forward to the day we pick the first of those.

I'm still somewhat amazed that we can grow these things for ourselves and they're actually edible. Better than edible - they're ambrosial.