The winter season arrived and the farmers will prepare to start the process of planting corn (also called Choclo, millo). This is a very fun experience that promotes family integration, inculcating values ​​that make us better people, taking advantage of the moment to teach our children the importance of our lands, our agriculture, the value of work and the fruits collected.

For this, the first thing we must do is choose the plot of land where we are going to plant and make sure it is flat, that it is not flooded and that it has nearby water sources.

Then we begin to prepare the land, which is the previous step to sowing. In order to carry out a sowing, it is necessary to have some machinery that facilitates the work. Fortunately, we have a small tractor that allows us to plow the land with a harrow so that the ground is loose and is able to have some capacity to catch water without puddles. It is intended that the ground is spongy above all the surface layer where the planting will take place.

Once plowed the land, we proceed to enter a stakes with a cabuya to establish the distance, direction of the furrows. This will serve as a guide to be able to open the holes where to will place the corn grains. An average distance of 1 meter must be maintained between the rows. For sowing we must select the seeds to obtain a quality crop.

We open the furrow and deposit between 4 and 6 seeds of corn, and cover them lightly with a layer of earth avoiding to bury them too much since this would last longer to be born.

Wait 10 to 12 days for the sprout to start. After having passed a month of the birth it is necessary to apply a organic fertilization to avoid chemical in our harvest and to have the growth of natural form. In my case we obtain the fertilizer easily, we take advantage of the manure of the cattle, which allows us to save costs in fertilization. A steer produces in a year approximately 10 tons of manure, which the earthworm transforms into 6 tons of lombriabono, which corresponds to the fertilizer needs for one hectare of crop. This improves soil conditions by making it less compact, more porous and consequently with better water retention.

The irrigation of the plants must be kept pending, everything will depend on the type of soil and climatic conditions, moisten the soil every day, prevent the plants from suffering from moisture deficiencies during critical periods such as germination and crop development.

To obtain the harvest, it must have been approximately 2 or 3 months, which is the time necessary for the to reach the proper size and maturity. According to my need, the harvest will be divided into two parts, the first will be when the corn is already well formed with grains that when the nail comes in, leave a little milk, since it is the ideal way to prepare a delicious cachapas. The grain of corn can still be ground and form a paste or dough with which this typical dish of my country has been prepared.

Later, once the corn is well dried and has no moisture, will start the second part, harvesting the cobs to sell or feed the animals of the farm.

For the harvesting of cobs the harvesters with the built-in tank are used and pull the ear off the stem, dry with hot air and go through a shelling mechanism and once the grains are removed they are dried again to eliminate the rest moisture. The harvesters have a head where the ears of corn are collected and a threshing device that separates the grain from the ear.

In case of not having this type of implements, you can use a machete, to cut the plant 5 centimeters from the ground to remove the cob .