It's nearly bedtime!

As we roll through the beginning of fall, it becomes quite clear to me that it is nearly time to put the garden to bed. Here in the Northeast, the cool, early morning outside air beckons the call for warmer clothing. Blackbirds flock together to perform their annual ballets in flight, and colorful fall foliage starts to make its way into the landscape.

My garden this year was a successful one indeed. It is relatively small, compared to the efforts of my departed father. Gardens of the past were always big, and so were the annual harvests. My garden consists of four raised beds and the produce I harvested was impressive. My tomato plants were very productive, and they skirted the devastation from late blight. Many fellow gardeners were not so lucky. Red Candy grape tomato was outstanding, as its texture and sweetness were at the top of the charts.

I have never attempted to raise sweet corn, as it is always commonly available around town at most farm stands, but this year was different. In an area of around 5 feet by 8 feet, I planted my favorite variety to eat - "Mr. Mini Mirai". This yellow supersweet is so tender and sweet that it is clearly classified as gourmet quality. If any of my readers grow sweet corn and have not grown this one, then I highly recommend four or five rows in your garden next season.

I also had a couple plantings of Crockett green bush bean. Given the fact that I had four small rows throughout the season, I believe I harvested a bushel of tasty, dark green beans. I picked the plants several times, and the beans kept on coming. Crockett is a slender, dark green bean that eats exceptionally well.

If any gardener is a fan of radishes like I am, then the one to grow is Red Satin. In my opinion, this is the finest radish in the marketplace. Hybrid radishes have not been around for very long, and hybridization has greatly improved the species. Red Satin is consistently clean, smooth and round, with an appetizing bright red color. In 20 days, you will harvest beautiful red radishes with a delicious mild flavor. There's probably still time to plant a few more rows before cold weather sets in.

My Kuroda carrots made excellent size, and I have left a few to sweeten up for a later fall harvest. Add a few rows of spinach, Swiss chard and lettuce and my garden was quite complete.
In a few weeks, clean-up will begin. Plants will be pulled and composted. I will top my beds with an organic fertilizer and till it in. Then I will wait. I will wait for the snow. I will wait for spring to follow. But then, my garden will begin its next life cycle.

A personal opinion…

Although there are many excellent sweet corn varieties available to the consumer today, I have my personal favorite. Our Mr. Mini Mirai is my hands down favorite and for many reasons:

• I do not think you can find any other variety that will be sweeter and more tender than Mr. Mini Mirai, the desert corn. Sweetness, or sugar, in any vegetable is measured with the brix scale. For any sweet corn variety that approaches a 20 number on the brix scale, you will have one that has top of the chart sugars. Couple this with exceptional tenderness and you have a complete eating package.

• The size of each ear is quite unusual. Ears average only 5.5" in length, but it is packed with tender, juicy kernels. I believe there is as much corn on each ear of Mr. Mini Mirai as there is on longer varieties. Bottom line, it fits on a plate. In my opinion, the restaurant trade should be all over this one as it has a great presentation when served, and it is truly "gourmet" quality..

• Home gardeners who have grown and sampled this Mr. Mini Mirai have raved about its high quality. We picked, cooked and served 500 free ears of Mr. Mini Mirai at the Rochester Public Market. Just about every taste tester commented to me that it was the very best corn they had ever eaten..

• We had a box of Mr. Mini Mirai in a cooler in Illinois for about two weeks. We shipped it to a cottage in Indiana for a summer picnic that weekend. The results were exactly the same…the very best corn they had ever eaten, and it was two weeks old!

Mr. Mini Mirai is a supersweet type, so it needs warm soil for proper germination. For professional growers, it will be important for them to sample it to their customers. For home gardeners, you will never find a sweet corn variety any better than our Mr. Mini Mirai. I personally guarantee it. Plant this one for ultimate satisfaction.

Mr. Mini Mirai wins hands down!

We have completed our product launch of Mr. Mini Mirai in the Rochester area. We sampled 500 cooked ears with consumers at the Rochester Public Market and mailed a dozen ears to 50 of our e-mail subscribers to sample at their dinner table.

The Public Market…everyone that stopped by at our booth to try this wonderful and unique supersweet raved about its quality. Time and time again we heard the taste testers say that it was the very best sweet corn they have ever consumed. We kind of expected that response but it was good to hear the taste testers confirm what we actually believe.

Mr. Mini Mirai by mailorder…the response from these folks was much the same. Most of these taste testers ranked this variety as a 9 or 10, with 10 being the very best. We were concerned that this ear size might be too small for families, but most everyone preferred the smaller ear as it fits on the plate.

Mr. Mini Mirai has a place in the marketplace. Growers and home gardeners should strongly consider making this variety part of their production plans for next season.

It’s one great corn!

Our Mr. Mini Mirai sweet corn variety is really taking off in Rochester. A local wholesale distributor, Giambrone Foods, is featuring it in his August promotions as the very best sweet corn variety available today. He has placed it with the finest private golf courses and restaurants in the area and the patrons and chefs are raving about the quality of Mr. Mini Mirai. They love it because it also fits on a serving plate.

Harris Seeds was at the Rochester Public Market on Saturday, August 21^st from 11AM to 1 PM offering free taste tests to the visitors at the market. During the taste tests, we heard nothing but praise for the eating quality of Mr. Mini Mirai. We also had 50 households sign up to receive a free sample in the mail to test on their dinner tables. We will be publishing more information on what we learn from this new sweet corn product launch, so stay tuned.

Superman sweet corn…

I have been working with an old friend and co-worker of mine from way back in the 80s. His name is Dr. David McKenzie and he is the plant breeder responsible for the introduction of the line of Mirai sweet corn varieties. Mirai translates to “taste of the future” in Japanese.

Of the many successful Mirai varieties he has introduced comes a truly unique one…we call it Mr. Mini Mirai. We also consider it to be true “gourmet sweet corn” and let me tell you why:

• It is a yellow supersweet variety that has exceptional sweet flavor and tenderness like no others in its class. The ear is only 5&1/2 to 6” long and has generated a lot of interest from restaurants because it fits on a plate.
• We had several boxes shipped to us from California last week. We have been giving samples out to restaurants and growers in the surrounding Rochester area. I can honestly tell you that everyone who has tried it raved about its eating quality.
• We have had this variety stored in our cooler for 10 days now from the time it was first picked. I sampled one this morning by eating it raw, which is the only way to determine quality sweet corn. The kernels had not dented at all and the sweetness and tenderness remained excellent. Wow, does this variety have staying power.

I will be looking for any 12 of you folks who would be willing to have a free sample of this variety shipped to you for a taste test for us. The only requirement we would ask of you would be to supply us with an honest written opinion of the results of your taste test. If you truly love its quality (which I can guarantee), then a digital photo, along with your opinion would be nice. If you are interested in taste-testing Mr. Mini Mirai, please contact us at: growers@harrisseeds.com.