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Chronological Thread  
  • From: Leigh Hauter <lh AT pressroom.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Cc: Marlin Burkholder <glenecofarm AT planetcomm.net>
  • Subject: [Market-farming] corn earworm control
  • Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2004 23:08:18 -0400

Here is my weekly farm e-newsletter. I sent this one to our CSA subscribers in early August to explain ear worms in the corn and how they were actually a good thing.



It has come to my attention that we need to have one of those discussions.

A discussion sort of like the one you may or may not have had with your parents.

A facts of life discussion.

The birds and bees.

Except in this case it is probably more of a butterfly and caterpillar discussion.

Or is that spiders and crickets?

Let's just say, a discussion about insects.

But for the squeamish at heart (and for those not yet ready for that sort of discussion) let's do the farm news.

1) Pick your own tomatoes. We have two fields of tomatoes. They are both still going strong, but that could change at any moment (and from past history it usually happens the first week of September). So we will open up the upper field to those who want to come out and pick some tomatoes for canning. Not this Saturday, but the one after. August 28th 9-11. Bring your own container.

2) Spaghetti squash. We have a whopper of a winter squash crop coming on. There are spaghetti squash everywhere that might or might not be ripe now. I guess I'll have to cut one open this weekend to see.

3) Watermelons. We did cut a watermelon open yesterday to see if it was ripe. It wasn't. I ask this every year, but how do you know when a watermelon is ripe?

4) Sweet corn. You probably noticed, this week's corn mostly had corn ear worms chomping away on the end of the ear. This is normal for late August corn that hasn't been sprayed with a pesticide. What I suggest you do is just break off the piece the worm has munched on. And enjoy the rest.

Which brings us to the subject of the week.

INSECTS!!

I know this is a sensitive subject, and really, I probably shouldn't be bringing it up in mixed company.

But, it is a really important subject when you eat vegetables.

I mean, we have to come to the realization: insects like to eat fruits and vegetables just as much as we do.

I don't want to lecture anybody about anything. If insects give you the creepy crawlies, well, that is your business.

And I can understand it.

(I used to be terrified of large spiders, that was before I spent my days out in vegetable patches with thousands of large spiders and quickly realized that the spiders were not at all interested in me, but were out there looking for other insects to eat).

What I'm trying to say here is that if there aren't insects on certain vegetables (right now we are talking about corn and corn ear worms) it most likely means that the vegetable has been sprayed with a chemical to kill the pernicious insect.

A poison that in all likelihood probably kills other beneficial insects as well as leaves behind a residue on the vegetable you intend to eat.

Which depending on the chemical might be kind of OK and it might not be OK at all.

Another way of looking at that worm in your corn is to consider it sort of like those people who tasted the food that kings and queens intended to eat.

If the taster died, the food was poisoned and the royalty pushed the food away without eating.

And if the taster lived, I guess the royal one got to eat.

If there isn't a worm in corn, there is a reason for it.

Meaning, most likely, a poison has been sprayed on the corn.

(sure, those ear worms are ugly, and they do damage some perfectly good corn, but when you see one, think: 'This corn is safe to eat' And then break off the ruined part and eat the remainder).

I know I'm not going to convince anyone here that sees an insect and goes yuck that they actually aren't all that bad.

And while there are insects I really, really dislike (and those worms in the corn are on that list along with flea beetles, Colorado bean beetles, Potato bugs, cabbage loopers, harlequin bugs, squash vine borers, Japanese beetles, to mention a few).

I would rather have insects in my fields (insects eating vegetables, insects pollinating vegetables, insects eating the insects eating).

Than I would have a field where all of the insects had been killed off by some toxic chemical (that may or may not leave a residue that may or may not be harmful to humans).

So, what I am suggesting is this (and of course you don't have to take my advise on anything) when you find a bug or a worm in your vegetables, do what I do, wash it off, break off the damaged part of the vegetable and then eat the rest.

I personally would rather do that that have vegetables without insects but with a little poison residue.

--

Leigh Hauter

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http://www.bullrunfarm.com




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