Crows in the Corn, the 2010 Corn Maze Photo by Cameron Lerum

The first aerial photo of our 2010 corn maze, Crows in the Corn, was taken by Cameron Lerum as he flew past the farm.

Why did we honor crows with our corn maze this year? Earlier this year when the corn sprouted in our corn maze field, we were happy to see the entire field beautifully filled in with tiny corn seedlings. Then came the crows. Flocks of crows. Sky-darkening hordes of crows. Crows that delighted in pulling our corn seedlings out of the ground to eat the seed. Not to give up, we replanted seed by hand into the barren spots. Once again new seedlings filled in the rows. The crows came back for more. We planted corn in flats in the greenhouse, grew the corn to a larger size and planted the seedlings out by hand. The crows pulled up many of these, but finally found somewhere else to feed.

All through this we tried ways to scare off the crows. Electronic crow alarm calls, shiny bird scare tape, balloons with big scary eyes painted on each side, endless walks through the field clapping hands and shouting, air horns, and probably more I’ve forgotten. I even went out an bought a remote control airplane to fly around the field and buzz the birds. I crashed the plane twice in the first two flights and an important repair part is still on backorder. All these methods worked for a couple of days, but crows are too smart to be deterred for long when they know the banquet is spread out for them.

As a result of all the crow feeding we spent many, many more hours and days working on the corn maze than I had planned. When the time came to choose a theme for the maze, the choice was clear. Crows in the corn was the theme of my summer.

In the end, we were faced with a number of areas in the corn maze where there was hardly any corn plants to see. This is usually not a good thing to find in a maze of corn. To make use of those spaces and to add to the maze-solving fun we embedded five additional walk-through mazes and two labyrinths inside the corn maze. This is, after all, Dr. Maze’s Farm.

The embedded mazes are all made of common farm items. The Flying Crow Maze and the Standing Crow Maze are walk-through mazes made with farm fence posts, recycled water drip tubing, and bird scare tape. There are three walk-through logic mazes; the Color Maze (made of hard irrigation pipe), the Number Maze (made of fence posts), and the No Left Turn Maze (made of hay bales). You may find yourself spending a fair amount of time figuring out these three maze.

You will have to decide for yourself how to interact with the two labyrinths. You can walk them as an aid to contemplation. You and a partner can each start at an entrance and race to see who will exit first. You can just hang out. The Hay Bale Spiral is made from 85 hay bales laid out in a double spiral. The Tunnel Spiral is made from row cover, a light fabric we lay over plants to protect them from pests and to give a bit of warmth. The fabric is stretched over the wire hoops we use to make low greenhouse tunnels in the fields. The wire hoops are duct taped to the tops of fence posts. Bamboo poles add rigidity. Water tubing adds a finishing touch. In honor of this year’s crow theme, we have painted numerous crows on the fabric for you to enjoy as you pass through the tunnel.

In the photo above can see the hay bale spiral and the tunnel spiral in the upper right corner, several people in the Number Maze in the lower left corner, and the hay bales of the No Left Turn Maze at center left. The sun glints off the Flying Cow and the Standing Crow mazes. The Color Maze is in the center of the corn maze. The maze entrance, covered by a white tent, is at the lower left of the maze. Compare the photo with the map seen below.

The photo also shows our green & white farm stand tent at the far lower left, and our hay ride wagon between the farm stand and the maze entrance. Our Pumpkin Patch lies between the corn maze and the road. You don’t see any pumpkins because they were all still green when the photo was taken.

Map of the 2010 Corn Maze, Crows in the Corn

The corn maze map may help you interpret the aerial photo of the corn maze. The black line is the path through the maze.

Be aware that due to an exceptionally cool summer and to huge flocks of crows feeding on the corn as soon as it sprouted, the corn stalks are not as dense as we would like and range in height from ok to very short. We think our corn maze still works very well as a maze and is lots of fun, but it will be a different experience from last year. So far, folks have been enthusiastic.

]]> http://drmazesfarm.com/farmerroger/2010/09/13/2010_corn_maze/feed/ 2 http://drmazesfarm.com/farmerroger/2010/03/11/tools-techniques-farm-introduction/ http://drmazesfarm.com/farmerroger/2010/03/11/tools-techniques-farm-introduction/#comments Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:11:15 +0000 FarmerRoger http://drmazesfarm.com/farmerroger/?p=474 What do you need to farm? If you were starting a farm from scratch, what would you need to pull together to make a go of it?

Every farm is different. The crops or livestock grown, soil type, climate, amount of cash available to invest, accessibility of water, farming style, zoning and other regulations associated with the land, attitude of neighbors, and many additional factors all affect the farmer’s choices. Even so, there are common themes and tasks, including planning and record keeping, planting, weeding, harvesting, animal care, maintenance, buildings, water, and crop sales. In this series I will look at our choices here at Dr. Maze’s Farm.

This is a good time for me to take on this series. I have been spending a lot of time recently contemplating just this question.

The year 2010 is a transition year for us personally. The partnership that owns the land and that has operated The South 47 Farm since 2000 has decided to step back from farming and make the land available to farmers to rent.

Since the partnership no longer needed me as a farm manager, I was left free to decide what exactly I wanted to do next. My wife Carol & I have grown a strong attachment to the farm and to the community working on and visiting and supporting The South 47 Farm. After much thinking and discussion, we decided in the end to take over some favorite projects of the many endeavors of The South 47 Farm and to continue them as our own venture, renting the necessary acreage at The South 47 Farm.

And so, Dr. Maze’s Farm was born as a brand-new family farm with a 10-year history.

We have spent much time thinking and planning the transition. Gradually the momentum of the new farming year has gathered. We are now starting the first farming activities of the new year. We have ordered and received three dozen varieties of pumpkin and winter squash seed. We have purchased tractors, hand tools, and endless other items. Chamomile is sprouting in the herb garden. Tomorrow I have two field workers coming in to help start weeding the herb plantings.

For this series on the tools of a farm I envision a series of small snippets, rather than trying to cover large areas at time. As the year progresses I’ll look at tasks such as planting or weeding. I’ll show how to create a corn maze and how to set a fencepost. I’ll show some photos and describe our equipment and why we made the choices we’ve made. I have some videos of equipment in action and I hope to put together and post a few videos. I am going to define “tools & techniques” rather loosely to include anything I find useful or necessary around the farm. We’ll see if I can keep writing when things get really busy on the farm.

I’d like to start out the series with two elements common to all farms, a farmer and soil.

A farmer's hand gets to know the soil.

Not really tools or techniques, I suppose, and perhaps it is obvious, but it is worthwhile to reflect that the person and the place both have tremendous impact on how the land is farmed. Organic or conventional? Bananas or boysenberries? Lamb or legumes? Wholesale or farm market? The list goes on. Just as the photo shows my hand, this series will reflect my own personal experiences and biases.

Here on The South 47 Farm this year there will be six farms-within-the-farm. Other renters include CSA farms, chefs, and farmers’ market sellers. All will be different. Different crops, different techniques, different styles, different ideas. How is it that Famai’s peas are always earlier than any one else’s? Will Brian’s experiments with paper sheet mulch and cover cropping between rows continue to prove effective? What refinements in tomato pruning with Claire come up with this year? I’ll be watching.

If I were to try farming elsewhere, I’d have to change my techniques. I might have to give up some favorite crops and try growing different things. How long should I go between waterings? When is the earliest I can expect to drive across the fields? How much heat can I expect in the summer? What crops will my neighbors want to buy from the farm?

I always try to put a photo or two into my blog entries, so when I decided on this theme I cast about for various ways to represent the farmer. The back & shoulders to represent work and perseverance? The brain for knowledge & curiosity? The eye or ear for the senses and information gathering? The mouth or ear for communication or enjoyment?

I was struck by how well the hand does at representing all these characteristics. Grabbing, holding, touching, hefting, lifting, nudging, typing, writing, waving, patting on the shoulder, patting on the back, shaking another hand, holding another hand; a hand does all of these.

I was also struck by how much easier it would be to photograph my hand than any of the other options I was considering to represent the farmer.

What then but to show the classic test for soil moisture, squeezing soil in the hand,  giving me the additional benefit of allowing me to show the soil and the farmer in the same photo. Camera in my right hand, grab some soil in the left, shoot a few different angles, and the job is done.

Efficient use of time and resources is another useful trait on the farm.

I’m looking forward to this year on the farm. I’d be pleased to have you along for the journey.

I had thought I would write next about tools for information gathering and record keeping, but I took a photo today of Famai’s tulips that has inspired me to write next about microclimate manipulation.

Friday was the first day I noticed that the blueberries had started blooming. The flowers are fairly inconspicious, a bit smaller in size than a pea. You have to get close to the plants to tell if or not they are in bloom.

Blueberry blossom up close.

The apples have been in bloom for a while. Looking back at my Twitters, I see I first mentioned the apple blossoms on April 28.

Apple blossom

I aim to take photos of the blossoms from all our flowering crops this year. Some of the blossoms till to come: raspberries, tomatoes, squash, gourds, pumpkins, and chives. Watch for photos throughout the summer.