Boss's Corner 

Hi,

The two words that best describe Magicland Farms 2012 summer weather are heat and storms.   Late Monday night, an area of severe thunderstorms moved through Newaygo County. The most damage seemed to be between Newaygo and White Cloud. Newaygo County's Sandy Beach park on Hardy Pond had over 200 trees blown down. Much of the area, including Magicland Farms, were out of power for several days. We had some damage, a few trees in fencerows blown down and some corn flattened, but the only real damage seemed to be that the lack of power caused our electric fence to be ineffective which allowed some deer in which did the damage.

We are now into our second and third patches of Mirai sweet corn and both these patches have a bumper crop of big, tasty ears of very sweet corn. Because of this we are giving a great deal on quantity purchases of this corn to encourage people to freeze and can it. For a limited time (until most of the corn in these two patches are picked) we are selling 3 dozen ears of good sized Mirai corn for only $10. Since three dozen good sized ears of Mirai almost fill a bushel, the effective price is around $10 a bushel.

We are nearing the peak of the harvest of our first muskmelon patch. It seems unbelievable how fast they are selling. This week should be the start of our watermelon harvest. Also this week is the return of our green beans. Last week they were in short supply but this week we should have plenty. Our tomatoes are coming along well and we are now into picking some of our heirloom varieties. We are now into our fourth field of pickling and slicing cucumbers. We are now testing two brand new varieties of cucumbers which are supposed to have resistance to the new aggressive form of downy mildew which has caused huge losses the past few years. The quality of these new cucumbers (which only still have a number) is excellent!

Nashle,

Tom 

Here Is Some Information On How To Freeze Sweet Corn

Information from the National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), suggests sweet corn should be frozen within 2 to 6 hours after harvest.

University of Illinois Extension and NCHFP recommend blanching corn to inactivate the enzymes, resulting in better quality frozen food. Blanching also cleans off surface dirt and organisms, brightens the color, reduces enzyme activity that cause color and flavor changes, removes air and softens the texture so vegetables are easier to pack into containers.

To blanch corn, bring one gallon of water to a boil in a large pot with a basket insert and a lid. Put the corn in the blanching basket, and lower into boiling water. Cover with a lid. The water should return to boiling within 1 minute, or you are counting blanching time as soon as the water returns to a boil.

Blanch whole kernel corn for 4 minutes. Cool promptly by placing ears of corn in ice water. Drain and cut kernels from cob at 2/3 of their depth (do not scrape cob).

For cream style corn, blanch ears 4 minutes; cool promptly and drain. Cut kernel tips, and scrape cobs with back of knife to remove the juice and heart of the kernel. (Another option for cream style corn-cut, and scrape corn from cop without blanching. Place cut corn in double boiler, and heat with constant stirring for about 10 minutes or until it thickens; cool by placing pan in ice water.)

Corn-on-the-cob is also blanched. USDA recommends blanching small ears (4 to 6-inches long; 1 1/4-inch or less diameter) for 7 minutes; medium ears (6 to 8 inches long; 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter) for 9 minutes and large ears (8 to 12 inches long; over 1 1/2 inches in diameter) for 11 minutes.

Sweet Corn -- picked fresh daily! Also, green and yellow beans, tomatoes (large slicing, heirloom and SunSugar cherry types), pickling and slicing cucumbers, zucchini, yellow summer squash, spaghetti squash, beets, garlic, fresh sweet onions, red and Yukon Gold potatoes, muskmelon, watermelon, peppers, eggplant, and more! In addition we have: potted herbs, potted annual and perennial flowers, hardy flowering vines and shrubs, potted hardy pecan trees, and our own popping corn. Visit our Arts and Crafts Room for unique gourd art!

4380 Gordon, Fremont. Open 10 to 7, closed Sundays. We welcome Project Fresh Coupons and Bridge/EBT card. 924-2761. No Sunday Calls! For the latest info see: blog.magiclandfarms.com.