For the third night in a row our kingdom has come under attack back the evil raccoon king. My beautiful ruby red corn has been destroyed leaving only one corn cob for eating. My husband's wonderful raised beds in a fenced in area were attacked next. He chose to grow Silver Queen corn.
Kernels As Silver As Pearls
Silver Queen corn is our absolute favorite. It's super sweet and delicious. The kernels are white and shiny. Sadly, you can't find it anywhere where we live. You can only find yellow and bi-colored corn which can't compare in taste to fresh Silver Queen. We knew if we wanted this delectable treat we'd have to grow it ourselves. My husband dug deep into the mountainside to build raised beds in the side of it, he filled them with beautiful and rich soil, and he tended to the corn everyday.
Out of 25 corn plants ready for harvest, only five Silver Queens survived the attack. It was horrible. We woke up to look out the window only to be greeted by carnage. Corn plants broken and felled. So much work went into growing our corn. That damn raccoon king had a feast over the course of three days wiping out around 40 plants when you take mine into account. We tried to fight him with new fences and barricades and a human catch and release animal trap.
Thankfully my husband and I staggered our planting. We both have corn planted weeks after the first seeds to ensure we had corn at different periods. We're going to have to build a tall fence to protect them. I hope it works. Nothing worse than to spend money and time to garden, only for raccoons to steal your crop.
At least our very first homegrown tomatoes are safe
We picked our first tomatoes today. We picked them while they were still mostly green. We fear letting them ripen outside. I'm sure the forest animals are waiting for a meal.
We also picked our forgotten beans.
My husband randomly planted one bean plant in his corn patch. I forgot it was there until today. The plant was packed! I got enough beans to feed me, him and our daughter. Sadly, they should have been picked a while ago. They were a bit tough in texture.
Tonight's Dinner Was A Feast!
We had grilled salmon, asparagus with cheese sauce, fresh Silver Queen corn, and purple bush beans. It was delicious. Salmon is one of my favorite meals. It was great having fresh veggies to go along with it. At least we got a taste of our corn. Hopefully, we can protect our future crop from the evil raccoon king.
Those look delicious (esp. the salmon-veggie meal), @marxrab. Nothing compares to growing your own food. And I hope taller fences can shield your corn plants from raccoons. By the way, have you tried a natural repellent such as cayenne spray? I heard they help repel pests around plants.
I looked up cayenne spray and I think I might try that. Thank you for the idea. Maybe it'll cover of the smell of corn or at least burn the raccoons mouth. We have around 40 plants for our fall corn crop and I'm protecting it as best we can so can freeze come for winter. Homegrown corn is really the best food in the world.
No problem @marxrab. All the best!
I hear raccoon can be pretty tasty, if prepared correctly. They also make great coonskin caps...
I never see such maize thanks a lot @marxrab.
OH!!!! That is so annoying and frustrating! So sorry Marx.
Well said they are just like pearls.
White pearls.
really your hard work is inspiring for me....awesome photography