This year I tried the new triple sweet corn in my Houston vegetable garden. Triple sweet comes in three varieties: Serendipity (bi-color), Honey Select (yellow) and Avalon (white). I ordered from Park Seed. The three are about the same in everything except color. I planted Serendipity directly in the ground on March 1. Germination was slow because these varieties need 65+ degree soil temperature. Only about 1/2 of the seed came up; but I planted two seed per spot so the stand was ok. I planted Honey Select in a celled flat under the grow light and every seed came up. I transplanted to the garden when the shoot first showed out of the soil. Even though it was planted several days later it was ahead of the Serendipity. I planted the Avalon in flats also about a week later. The result was 3 varieties maturing over about 3 weeks. All were area planted on about 1 foot spacings. I also hand pollinated to ensure that leaves did not block out the silks.
The ears are on the small side (6-8″) but the quality and yield are outstanding. We made a mistake and overcooking the first batch. Store corn usually takes 8-10 minutes of boiling, but these varieties should be cooked no more than 5 minutes. These varieties have more of a “corny” flavor than the super sweet and sugar enhanced varieties, a characteristic that I like.
I picked my first tomato today, a smallish Merced. As a reader observed, the Sweet Chelsea tomato takes over the garden, but it is loaded with fruit. I have been pruning the ends of some of the wilder stalks. Next year I plan to do some early pruning on it. It would grow best in a tall cage maybe 3′ in diameter with the side branches trimmed to force it to grow up instead of out. I think the determinate varieties have stopped setting fruit. Night time temperatures in the 70s are not conducive to setting fruit.
The first bean crop from my Houston vegetable garden was picked today, about 62 days from when I planted the seed. Beans are advertised to be ready in fewer days than that, but it was quite cool when I planted them on March 1 and germination was slow, but good. The plants for very healthy and loaded with beans. We picked almost 3 pounds from a garden space of 28 square feet; a lot of food from a very small piece of land. Derby beans so outperform all the other varieties I have tried that I no longer experiment. I had beets planted in the location is the winter garden.
The earlier corn is tasseling and silking. I have been doing some hand pollination. One disadvantage of area planting (which I use for everything) is that leaves of the corn can shield the silks.
Onions have all been harvested and are on shelves in the garage. I had good luck keeping them for some time last year. I continue to pick leeks and still have quite a few left. Also, a lot of collards, but everyone is tired of greens. The fennel that I cut off at ground line has put out nice new shoots and will be ready in a couple of weeks.