Was the corn in your area knee high by the 4th of July? It was in ours. I wanted to repost this article last week, but Thursday got away from me with month end closing. So, better late than never, right? I had to reach waaaayyyy back in my archives for this one – back when the site was still called Mom on the Run x2. Enjoy!
Originally posted July 3, 2013:
If you live near farmland, you’ve heard the saying that corn needs to be “knee high by the 4th of July”. And, if you grew up with this saying, you know that around this time of year you start judging corn height to see how it is shaping up. What I didn’t know, however, is why this saying even got started…
I Googled “knee high by the 4th of July” and found out that according to the Internet (and its ALWAYS TRUE, right?) that the saying was started in the midwest by farmers. Farmers believed that if the corn was at least knee high by the 4th of July, they would have a good crop at harvest time.
However, these days its not good enough to just be knee high by the 4th of July. Its supposed to be taller with all the modifications that have made to the corn seed.
Nowadays, the saying is “as high as an elephant’s eye by 4th of July.” But, I am not sure what elephant is that short, or exactly whose knees we are measuring by.
I had to laugh to myself this morning when I was pulled off to the side of the road judging the corn like I was at the fair. I never used to be this “country” until we moved up North.
And, for the record… I am sticking with my knee high by the 4th of July measurement… its kinda catchy.
Julia is the divorced mom of twins, a blogger, a sometimes crafter, crazy snailmailer, and a corporate bean counter. In her "spare" time, she scrapbooks, travels, makes cards, blogs, designs jewelry, searches for missing cleats and pom poms, enjoys good dark chocolate, and sneaks naps.