But mom said “No Smut In This House!”
18Wednesday 26 August, 2015 by Uncle Spike
When I was a lad, my mom always told me this… but I guess that’s a different story altogether (and a different kind of smut!). Anyway, our intended sweetcorn crop had different ideas this year it would seem!
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Yes, after what appeared to be a great start for our small crop of corn, the dreaded SMUT fungus [Ustilago maydis] struck once again.
From this….
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To this…
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I guess we could have been braver and tried to cook it, after all, it’s a delicacy in Mexico… but somehow it didn’t appeal. Oh well, there’s always next season 🙂
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Uncle Spike's Adventures 
They grow certain strains of corn in Mexico just for smut. I read an article about it just a day or so ago. It seems the key to having good tasting smut is to pick it before it gets soft and slimy. I would have had to try it.
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Will post you some next time!
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Oh darn, we were all sure that your hard work would pay off this year.
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I just did some reading about this fungus. It’s quite fascinating, but so destructive.
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Yep, all part of the fun and games one has
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It was good exercise, and to me, having all those tall green plants were an achievement at least (in my book) 🙂
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We grew corn a few years ago when the boys were still young but never saw anything that looked like that 🙂 Something for Halloween maybe…
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I’ve never seen this before .. How disappointing for you. Rodents snatched mine a couple of years back .. I haven’t grown them since 😊
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Ants usually scoff any have 🙂
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Damn!
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Shoot! I was wondering how it all turned out. I have never got up my nerve to fix smut either. Darn it.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
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Looking at the causes, guess we are pretty doomed. Hey ho.
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What are all the causes? I am interested.
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Spores in the ground, manure, air, you name it…
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Oh, geez! Is there nothing that can be done?
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Probaby not… how many goats made that tonne of poo I wonder, and if any ate infected corn…
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pretty good photos …. and the ‘smuts’ look rather beautiful ….. in a strange sort of way! Shame they seem so uneatable though!!!
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Mexican truffles! You can make a fortune!
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