Market Farming

[pam AT twinoaks.org]

Bob said:
> I am behind in my sweet corn plantings and the time for using a rain
> gap filler of an earlier maturity is running out, this means I will
> run out of corn sometime in late July for a few days. I was tempted
> against my better judgement to disc up a section but sank into the
> soil and backed out on the first pass. If I did plant,the soil would
> have hardened up over the seed. So it gave me a good excuse to go fly
> fishing. Perhaps you should all do the same...Bob. Sunny Meadow Farm
> Bridgeton, NJ.
I wouldn't dissuade anyone from going fishing, but in 
case anyone desperately wants sweet corn, and is 
plagued by rain, let me tell you about an easy way to do 
transplants. Use the 200 cell styrofoam Speedling flats, 
one corn kernel in each cell with your usual seed 
compost, then float the flats in a tank of water until you 
can transplant. You don't have to worry about keeping 
the flats watered, they just suck up what they need. I've 
heard it may be better to just stack the watered flats on 
dry land for the first 24 hours, then float them. But it 
works OK if you float them right away. It buys a bit of 
time, and is OK for smallish plantings.
        Pam Dawling, Twin Oaks Community, Louisa, 
Virginia, zone 6b.