bentleyc's blog

Composting, hoeing, and fertilizing of the three quad plots. A group of 9 (students, faculty and staff) meet at the Bethlehem Compost Facility and fill two pick-up trucks with organic compost, and then on the quad to work on the plots. The group weeds (with hoes and by hand) the two sweet corn plots, then cuts shallow trenches and lays compost along the rows of corn. The Farinon and Quad Drive plots are then treated with organic fertilizer-a liquid fish-based emulsion-that is mixed with water and sprayed at the base of the corn plants. This adds needed nitrates to the soil.

The Skillman field corn plot is very wet and has a thick crop of weeds. For tending, the plot is divided in two: the north side (towards Markle Hall) is treated as industrial corn crops are treated, and the south half is left to hand tending and more sustainable practices. The north industrial side is sprayed with the common herbicide Round-Up. Since FC8288 is engineered to be "Round-Up Ready," the herbicide will kill the weeds, but not kill the corn itself. In addition, the industrial half is hand spread with chemical 10-10-10 (percentages of nitrogen, potash, phosphorous) fertilizer-to inject fixed nitrogen into the soil This is a relatively mild fertilizer, as modern chemical fertilizers go. The south side of the Skillman plot is hoed by hand, but is too muddy (either because of overwatering, poor drainage, or both) to remove all the weeds. Workers break two hoes in the muck, and decide to wait for the ground to dry before attempting to remove more weeds.

The Williams Center for the Arts plot is prepared for planting. Plant Ops uses a sod cutter and pulls up the poor quality (thin and dry) sod from the plot, then tills the ground a few inches down. The ground is extremely hard and tamped down. Corn workers unload the remaining compost (1/2 pick-up full) onto the plot, and work the compost into the soil. Organic fish emulsion is added to the soil and a pattern of four-triangles (for four varieties of corn) is layed out with string. Four heirloom varieties are then planted:

Back triangle - Bloody Butcher
Front triangle - Strawberry Ornamental
Left triangle - Country Gentleman
Right triangle - Wampum Ornamental

Given the option of installing orange fencing to protect the corn like on the quad, we opt to not install the fence because the site does not receive the kind of traffic the quad plots do, because we reason that deer and crows would be unlikely to attack this site, and because the fencing is ugly.

Chipmunks attack sprouting heirloom seeds, nearly obliterating the bloody butcher crop. They are sprayed with organic "Deer Off" solution, put up off the ground and onto sawhorses, and anxiously watched.

Several faculty and staff meet in the Dean of the College office to discuss the educational program that will go with the corn project. Several ideas are embraced and projects delegated. Construction of a "Corn on the Quad" website begins. Approval of the Williams Center for the Arts plot is secured for planting non-industrial heirloom varieties of corn.

Deer are seen eating in the middle of the Farinon plot in the early morning. Although the Skillman Field Corn plot has holes in the rows where corn failed to sprout, there is no more field corn seed available. Replanting in the open spaces is not an option.

Laminated explanatory signs are produced and installed on the fencing around the quad plots. They read: "This experimental corn crop is for the Fall 2008 Orientation Program. Please keep off-and out of-the corn. The corn will be ready in mid-September."
Faculty meet with the Deans to update them on the project.

More Incredible Yellow (Farinon plot) sweet corn is purchased and replanted where it failed to sprout, rotted in the ground, or was eaten by crows, deer, or squirrels.

While the corn crop is up, there are a number of spaces in the rows where no corn plants have germinated. This is possibly due to 1) overwatering, 2) poor soil quality, 3) poor drainage, 4) wildlife attacks. Some kernels can be seen to have rotted in the ground before they could sprout; some plants that sprouted were torn out of the ground and the heart of the seed eaten by crows. Leftover seed is replanted in the yellow (Farinon) and white (Quad Drive) sweet corn plots where eaten or rotted. To help keep the wildlife away, glittery streamers and pinwheels are installed on fenceposts and in the middle of the two sweet corn fields. Feed store experts advise against installing fake plastic owls (crows will be drawn to attack the owls, not scared away), and instead recommend the best way to keep crows from corn is to shoot one and leave the body so that the crows notice.

Four heirloom corn seeds arrive from the South Carolina Foundation Seed Association. Pennsylvania heirloom suppliers were either out of seeds for the season or were so behind in supplying them that they could not ship seeds for over 30 days. The four heirloom varieties (Bloody Butcher, Country Gentleman, Strawberry, and Wampum Ornamental) are started in peat discs.

The Quad plots are growing, but with gaps in the rows where more corn plants should be. The Farinon and Skillman plots look wet, with standing water, and Plant Ops is asked to curtail its watering.

A memo explaining the corn project is drafted and distributed to several campus constituencies.

Read the memo in the "About" section of the Corn on the Quad website.

A set of reasonable questions (and answers) was also provided.