(A brief digression on my adolescent employment: detasseling.
I vividly remember walking miles of corn rows for a month every August. The serrated edges of corn leaves elegantly bending out into the space between the rows to slice one’s eyeball open, somehow finding that space between one’s brow and the safety glasses. The mud at the end of irrigation rows is like walking in liquid rubber “sssccchlerping” one’s shoe right off the foot.
Nebraska heat is worst in August. If you get inside an oven and place that oven inside of a sauna…you’d still have to descend to at least the 6th ring of hell where the characters are in flaming tombs. And because of the serrated leaves you have to be fully clothed for the labor. ((brief description of the actual task: walking down half mile corn rows, picking the tassels off the tops of particular rows to prevent the cross pollination of various types of seed corn…turning around walking down the next row from 6am to about 3 or 4 in the afternoon)). As a 14 year old (I actually signed up when I was 13 and turned 14 right before the season started narrowly avoiding bringing a child labor suit on my employer. The exception in Nebraska that allows 14 year olds to work is for agricultural work only…not for safe jobs like meat packing or chemical plants…and you can only work up to 48 hrs/week…only) this job pays great (well actually, at the time, just 5.15/hr plus bonuses). Some kids would make around 2,000 to 3,000 in a month based on a system of bonuses for how many rows you complete in a summer. I made more like 1,200 to 1,500. I was slow…or rather, thorough. After a week, all I could see when I closed my eyes at night was the corn rows hypnotically stretching out in front of me. Mastering the art of walking in between 2 beveled rows leaves one with toes pointed inward as if always in need of a bathroom. All this to say, I cringed slightly walking between our new garden rows.
End digression.)
Row construction was pretty simple. At the direction of our wise sage (Megan’s dad Mr. Bockman) we elected to do wide rows, about three and a halfish feet apart. In addition we added a few compact rows towards the north end for our sweet corn patch (this helps the corn pollinate). In all we have eight rows, each 17 feet in length. To keep the row construction straight we tied a long piece of twine between two wooden stakes and stretched the line across the length of the bed. We then piled dirt up from both sides of the line ending up with about 12 inch high mounds. To facilitate planting we flattened out the tops of the rows creating a 12 inch wide plateau.
Next post: Planting!!
Row Construction (L to R) Ryan, Eric, John.
More very dusty row construction. (L to R) Eric, Ryan, Megan’s Uncle, John.
Arbitrary cute photo of The Wubbs after he discovered the water hose. This kid is awesome.
30x17 