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Persephone Farm

Sustainably Grown Vegetables & Flowers – Indianola, Washington

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corn

Cornucopia…

September 4, 2015 By Persephone

Persephone Farm Corn

CORN in everyone’s CSA boxes this week—the variety is known as “bodacious”! Some of you may wonder, why does locally grown corn cost more? You’ve probably seen it—this time of year the market is flooded with cheap corn. Much of it comes from large, far-away farms, raised on cheap land with subsidized water and transportation costs. The production of this corn relies on heavy inputs of artificial nitrogen fertilizer, much of which ends up in streams and rivers. In some cases, these large farms contaminate aquifers with nitrate pollution. Large tractors cause erosion and compaction to produce those 10/$1 ears in the supermarket. There is a loss of biodiversity and wildlife habitat associated with hundred- and thousand-acre commercial corn production. We are just beginning to understand the real cost of industrialized corn.

Of all the crops we grow, corn is by far the heaviest nutrient feeder, really taking a toll on our fragile soil. It requires many loads of compost before and after planting. The sheer square footage required to grow sweet corn, which only produces two ears per plant (with only one of them full-sized and marketable) takes up a sizable portion of our limited irrigation water.

All this said, we love fresh corn as much as you do! We even love to grow it. Walking through the leafy rows, squeezing each ear for fullness, is one of the pleasures of farming. The miracle of pollination is nowhere more evident than in each individual corn silk attached to a single kernel, which, in order to swell and sweeten, must be touched by pollen grains falling from the pointed tassels above. Incredible! And the taste of a just-picked mouthful of golden sweet corn… we all know that joy. CORN. It’s what’s for dinner.

— Apprentice Rachel (excerpted from our weekly CSA subscriber email)

Photo: Leslie Newman

Filed Under: CSA, Farming Info Tagged With: corn

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Peonies have arrived ⭐️ Dramatic, ephemeral, f Peonies have arrived ⭐️ Dramatic, ephemeral, fluffy!  #peonies #flowerfarmer #farmerflorist #westernwashington
As Rebecca was planting cucumbers at twilight, she As Rebecca was planting cucumbers at twilight, she was reminded of this beautiful poem by farm favorite Ellen Bass. As the season really starts to ramp up, these reminders are important - enjoy the process! Go with the flow!
Neighborly reminder that our CSA season starts June 7th! Sign up at the link in our bio to get in on the fun. 🥒🍅🍆
There’s something really special about how lilac There’s something really special about how lilac’s moment and Mother’s Day line up each year. Flowers are the classic way to say thank you for the blessing of life, but if you’d rather say it with veggies, we  have those too 😉 See you tomorrow at the @bifarmersmarket 

& don’t forget about our summer flower club ~ the gift that keeps on giving 🌸🌷💐🌻 

#womenwhofarm #flowerfarm #mothersday #lilacs #lilacseason #farmersmarket
Meet our #farmcrew2023 ! First up is Bud the Cat - Meet our #farmcrew2023 ! First up is Bud the Cat - our top mouser! Bud made the journey from SC with Willow and Davis to join the team this year and has made himself a key part of our integrated pest management system 😸 He takes his job very seriously. First slide is bud lounging in our newly-cleaned perennial garden, but swipe through for kitten days  #farmcat #barncat #mouser #ipm #farmlife #pnw #flowerfarm #smallfarm
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