Bassetti Aims for the Fences with Campus Corn Crop

By schwartzsa | July 15, 2011

This summer Mimi Bassetti, Director of Administrative Services, is putting her green thumb to the test with a crop of corn, planted just along the fence which lines route 309. Silver queen sweet was chosen for its aesthetic appeal and overall alignment with Arcadia’s green initiatives. Bassetti has high hopes for the campus agricultural experiment.

“Close to sunset on a evening in late June, I poked holes in the dirt, dropped one seed in each hole and covered the holes,” says Bassetti. “It took just over two hours and about 24 packs of corn seed to cover the stretch of dirt along the fence—a harder task than I imagined. About a week later, I saw the first shoots peek through the dirt. I couldn’t have done it without the assistance of Tim Gallagher and Brian Stewart of Facilities (Aramark), who delivered and laid fresh top soil.”

If the crops produce enough edible ears, Bassetti hopes to contribute the corn to the harvest dinner hosted by the Community Garden participants, host a corn-on-the-cob grilling event outside at an Arcadia athletic event or share it with a local food bank. “But for now,” remarks Bassetti, “we’ll just have to wait and see.

Despite the dry weather, the plants are currently between nine and ten inches tall. The corn should be ready for harvest mid-September.