Childhood crop methods dispelled.

[TomHillbilly]

My parents was of what they call "Our Greatest Generation." While I truly believe that. They were not without faults. They believed their parents could never be wrong about anything. Especially what they said about growing crops. What ever their parents said, was like the two tablets of stone Moses carried down from the mount. They was taught that all corn had to be hoed 3 times. If not, there could never be a adequate harvest. Back in the sticks, we all hoed the corn 3 times. Because our parents said it had to be done. Taters only got hoed twice. No one had a flat field for crops. And everyone obeyed the corn hoeing rule. AND YES-- this meant the field corn too. LOL.. Our greatest generation never considered their parent's ideals might be antiquated. Can you imagine telling a farmer today--he best get out there and hoe his field corn ? Growing up, we only went on one trip, as a family. It was to visit a great uncle, that was a mid-western farmer. The entire trip I kept asking, how big of a family would it take to hoe those corn fields, beside the road? Their fields looked endless.I was probably about 10 years old at the time, and my generation was pretty persistent in questioning. Finally I was told that mid-western kids didn't have to hoe the corn. I then questioned why ??? The answer I got was. "Their cornfields was flat, and flat land corn needed no hoeing"  PS-- This is only one example of crop falsehoods. There was several more I learned by adulthood. I'd say you know a few also.