The Little Farmer in the Making's Corn Harvest

We knew when we started the Little Farmer's corn field way back in April that we would have to harvest on the weekend.  There was no way that he was going to miss the combine going through the field.

Before we could go to the field, we had to do a little maintenance on the combine.  The windows were really dirty, so he helped Grandpa Art.

No, we didn't need to use the leaf blower on leaves, but it works really good on...

the air filter for the combine.  It was pretty dirty and yes it is a little bigger than the one in your car.

Finally, ready to go to the field!!!!!!

My absolute favorite picture of the entire corn harvest!  Watching the crop go into the wagon.

 

And we were all done.  Next, we will plant wheat in this field and let the cows eat the wheat and the left over corn stalks.

I hope you have enjoyed following this corn crop as much as our family has.  It has certainly been fun to watch the crop grow through an 8 year old's eyes rather than my old eyes.  The grain was hauled to the bins on our farm, because the elevator in town was clear full.  You might check out the post This Little Grain Went to Market to know where the corn will be used.

Stay tuned for another crop to follow with our 11 year old son.  He has plans and he has seed!

-A Kansas Farm Mom

The Farmer in the Making is Getting Ready for Harvest

We went to check our Little Farmer's corn field last week before I went to the +AgChat Conference and I really thought I would find time to finish this post, but sadly I did not.  We started picking corn just down the road from his field today and he is sure hoping we wait until the weekend to pick his field of corn.

You can see that the stalks have really been drying down and dying.

The ears are really big for our area and many stalks have 2 ears.

The first ear is fully filled and the second ears are small, but they are there!

Farmer Dad broke open an ear, so we could see how big the kernals were.

He also pointed out the black layer.  The Little Farmer and I learned that when the black layer appears in the kernels when the cell walls collapse.  The ear no longer takes in water and nutrients, but the kernels can't shrink either.

The ground in a little dry and the soybeans sure could use a bit of rain if anyone has connections in that department.

We are all pretty excited to see ears that are full to the tip.

My little guy like this little ear.  Where Farmer dad is pointing is where the plant ran out of water and nutrients and decided not to fill the rest of the ear.

Pretty awesome to see ears like that in Southeast Kansas. 

I know this doesn't look that awesome corn to my friends in Illinois and Indiana, but after the past years of drought this is super exciting for us.  The Little Farmer just might have enough corn to pay for all of his expenses. 

How is your week going? 
Do you know where the corn goes when it leaves our farm?
Check out This Little Grain Went to Market if you are curious.

-A Kansas Farm Mom

Farmer in the Making Month 4

The Little Farmer went to pick corn for the county fair.  His mom did a great job of taking pictures, but she forgot to post them for you to see.  These were taken 2 weeks ago when the corn was still green.  When the boys get over ear infections, we will go back to the corn field for a visit.

We went out to the field the morning of the fair entries.  He looked for the bigger ears to pick.

 Shucking the corn was the easy part of getting the exhibit ready.

He had to look for good ears that didn't have any worm damage and had to compare them to try to find ears that were close to the same size.

We probably could have done better finding more ears that were alike if we had picked another 50 ears of corn.  The judge said he needed to pick a more uniform set of ears to get a blue ribbon.  He got a red ribbon, but learned what to do better next year. 

We like judges that actually tell us how to improve for next year and just don't give a ribbon and go on. 

Corn harvest will be here before we know it!

-A Kansas Farm Mom

Farmer in the Making Week #12

If you will remember last week we had tassels and silks and were excited to see something new in My Little Farmer's corn field.  The tassels are still shedding pollen.

My little farmer thinks it is fun to see if he can hide in the corn field and the boys even played a little game of Marco Polo.

The silks haven't grown any longer which we have been told is a good thing.  As I understand it, the silk will stop growing when it gets pollinated.

My little farmer couldn't wait to pull back the shucks and see what was hidden beneath the green.

He was careful to try to not pull the silks when he opened up the shucks.

Look!  Baby kernels of corn!!

After the corn field, we went to check on the milo that My Little Farmer helped plant.  I love that he is right there with dad checking the seedlings just coming through.  We also had a little farm friend visiting from California who followed along to see what was going on.  His family hosted Flat Aggie the first year and has also shared about their family's almond trees.

If you would like to know more about what goes on with corn pollination, I found this great article this week. I learned quite a bit reading it and it gave me an idea of what to look for next week.

What would you like to see next week?

-A Kansas Farm Mom

Farmer in the Making Corn Week #11

This week's corn report is a bit late.  We have been busy in the wheat field, the boys and I went on the State 4-H Geology Field Trip and we have been planting soybeans.  I also wanted to wait until we saw something new and exciting in the field.  We have tassels!!!!!  The brace roots now have roots on top of the brace roots.  The corn looks a lot different than last week.

Here's a picture of a set of brace roots just starting, so you can see it a little better.  This was pretty exciting to my little farmer in the making.

He also has silks!  Here is what he learned about the silks.  Each silk attaches to the corn cob and is responsible for one kernel of corn.

The tassels have pollen falling off of them.  The pollen falls down onto the silk.  Each silk must have pollen touch it to fertilize the silk and make the kernel.

Here is an ear just starting to come from the stalk with no silk quite yet.

My #littlefarmerinthemaking was amazed at how much the corn has continued to grow taller.  He has also learned that you need to get down below the leaves to see what is really going on in the field. 

My mom overheard the boys this week trying to figure out how much money they thought he would make.  They sure thought they had enough to buy a $30 item. At least they aren't dreaming too big.

If you would like to see pictures from wheat harvest on our farm, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

-A Kansas Farm Mom

Little Farmer and his Corn Week #10

I am not complaining about the rain, but I am pretty sure (in my mind at least) that it has rained every day for the last 3 weeks.  Well, that may be an exaggeration, but the rainy days are sure starting to run together.  Most days we don't get an abundance of rain, but it is enough to keep us out of the fields and definitely keeps the hay equipment in the barns.

The little farmer is about to get lost in his corn field.  The corn is loving the rain and loves it even better when the sun decides to shine.

 I think he had to stand on his tiptoes to see over the corn this week.  Notice, you can't see the dirt between the rows any longer.  Farmers call that canopy.

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  Next week we will see the corn tassel popping out from this leaf.

The brace roots we talked about last week are getting bigger and stronger as the plant gets taller and needs more support at the base to stand tall against the Kansas winds.

  Storm clouds are on the horizon again moisture may not be the limiting factor for corn growth this June.

The sky turning from blue to black is getting to be a daily thing and it is starting to wear on me.  I am not meant to be in the house doing office work and helping with indoor 4-H projects this many days in a row.

-A Kansas Farm Mom

Little Farmer in the Making-Brace Roots

We actually remembered to go check the corn this week.  We had to go without dad as he was planting soybeans in anticipation of rain coming in.  If you missed last week's post, here is a link to last week's.

As you can see, the corn really grew last week.  A week ago we could squat down in it and still see out.  The week the boys were being careful to not touch the top of the plants.  My little farmer in the making was pretty proud of his corn this week and I am not sure we will be able to see him over it next week.  The corn is actually growing faster than he is which is hard to believe as much as he is eating lately.

 The leaves aren't quite touching in the middle of the row yet, but surely will be by next week.

 You can now see the brace roots.  These can actually be seen above the soil surface and are responsible for actually holding the plant up during storms.  We will continue to see these develop and can be very interesting if we get storms with strong winds.

 Looking down the row we can still see the sky.  You can see that the length of stalk between leaves is getting longer as well.

 The leaves are getting close to touching and are doing a pretty good job of shading the ground.  This will keep the ground cooler for the roots when things heat up in June and July.  Shaded ground also makes it hard for weeds to grow as they have to really stretch up to get to sunlight.

 We could still see another leaf coming out of the top of the whorl this week.

-A Kansas Farm Mom