My dad farmed several 40-acre plots. He rotated his crops, growing the same thing in all of his fields each year, but growing something different from year to year. One of his cash crops was field corn, and we ate field corn more often than we ate sweet corn. It might be common for people to use herbicides on field corn now, but he didn't use it. For some reason, he never grew sweet corn as a cash crop, although mom had a one-acre garden and she would grow sweet corn for the family, but we also ate field corn, and I preferred it to sweet corn. I didn't learn a whole lot about farming but I believe his main cash crops were field corn, potatoes, and green beans, and pretty much everyone who farmed in the area grew the same thing at the same time. I think that had to do with getting it to market. He rotated some of his fields in hay because he had horses, but I think that it was good for the fields to let them grow up in hay from time to time. He grew some other things in rotation, such as peas and I don't remember what else, but I think corn, potatoes, and green beans were the more profitable crops. I did like the field corn, though.
My dad also grew field corn, but mainly to feed livestock. I also liked field corn better than sweet corn growing up.
This is interesting. The subject of field corn either already came up or I was curious on my own, and I read this from The Nebraska Corn Board (a state agency): People don't eat field corn directly from the field because it's hard and certainly not sweet. Instead, field corn must go through a mill and be converted to food products and ingredients like corn syrup, corn flakes, yellow corn chips, corn starch or corn flour. Guess I was (and they were) wrong.
There are probably different types of field corn, I don't know. I remember the kernels being smaller than those on a cob of sweet corn, but they weren't particularly hard.
I haven't had field corn for at least 60 years, this new genetic has no taste at all. It tickled me when Monsanto sued a farmer for having the generic growing in his field. He did not plant it but it somehow got into his field and it was proven in court, Monsanto lost and was made to pay all court cost. I hope there is a food bio bank that keeps these original crop seed as a safety measure in case of famine or war. We would have to grow crops on the patios of all these condos to feed ourselves and our armed forces in a big world war. We simply have no farmland like we once had. All the California fruit acreage is totally gone now, no strawberries no peaches or other crops. In the late 70's El Toro Marine air station was surrounded by beautiful fruit orchards and field and after harvest anyone living near were allowed to go in and take anything left. My sister had large bags of strawberries frozen year round since her husband was a Marine Helo Maintenance man and he rotated time at El Toro and Japan for years. Nothing left now of the crops, just more houses and condos, they moved the Marines to Miramar San Diego and closed the helo base due to high population surrounding the base.
They and you were right if you let it grow to maturity. But as it is obviously a potential food crop during the coming food crisis, why not skip the ethanol and go back to producing crude like when Trump was Prez? Instead of waiting for catastrophe like we had with baby formula, which was also known about in advance?
Supply chains are being disrupted by both the war and the pandemic; even oil production is experiencing problems.
We could pick enough wild strawberries along the roads where I lived for pies and other purposes mom had for them, and still eat our fill while picking them. Although wild strawberries were tiny, there were a lot of them. We also had plenty of wild blackberry and raspberry patches.
Blackberries were the only berry here in the south. I can remember my Grandmother packing we two kids into the 53 Ford and driving to Humble Tx and pick berries along the rail line and in the oil leases along their wired fences. Sometimes we would find a really big haul just pans and pans of berries. It wasn't a well known place and you never saw any other people, just us. We kids were always lectured about the snakes and told the snakes liked to berry hunt too. That kept us on our toes ;0) Texas had an abundance of snakes especially in unpopulated areas like oil and gas leases. Later in life I found just how true it was while working field service in the oil and gas leases. The snakes loved to warm up in the pumping station structures and even around the engine bases. In the 60's Arkansas had plenty of wild fruit along their highways, it was a very beautiful state then.
You realize that you guys are talking foraging without me. Berries still exist. If you skip to 4:00 in this clip you will see my favorite food this time of year (in Wisconsin) Maybe a little late for Thomas Stillhere? But this is easy enough for John Brunner to follow and prepare. Can't see you being allergic to cattails. keep learning guys in case the shtf.
As I've mentioned: "The farm boy might leave the farm, but the farm never leaves the boy." I grew up on a farm producing (seed) potatoes, Alfalfa hay, field peas, and grain. Field pees and Alfalfa jacked the soil up, the other crops ran it down. It takes a whole growing season to get the alfala going, so that field can only be rotated ever 5-6 years. The farm/ranch also had cattle, so hauling out the (you know what) each spring was also a big deal and good for the soil.
May I ask a question on potatoes. What is the difference between potatoes and seed potatoes. We grow our potatoes with those that have eyes. In the fall we put them downstairs and they sit and get eaten through the winter. Eyes happen. and in spring we plant the ones that remain. Are the commercial ones that are sprayed what make them non seed potatoes?
If I don't mow my lawn regularly, I can pick wild strawberries in my backyard. Not a lot of them, but they do produce berries if I let them.
That was then, 1950s into the early 70s. The family farm was in in the "Lost River Valley, elevation about 6.000 ft. The growing season was shorter, and the temp was lower. There were even sometimes an evening freeze in July. The Russets simply didn't grow so large as they did in a better climate. During the winter months "sorting" was a big deal. The potatoes were passed over the sorter and the larger ones were sorted out and sold as eating potatoes. The small ones were sold as "Seed" to farms in better climate, some even in California. That no longer works since corporate farming has developed other ways to plant potatoes. Most of the small (100=300 acres) farms in the area have sold out to corporations. My younger brother also did. I might add that one of the corporations rented land from the Indian reservation, at less cost than the farmers paid on property tax. I might also add that that farm saw me through my graduate studies. I'm sort of glad that Dad passed on before everything collapsed. He and his older brother are still legends in the area.