Corn
by Diana Cercone
To my brother, Billy, summer meant only one thing: Sweet corn. He could eat six ears before my sisters and I had chomped our way across the kernels of two. (His record is a dozen — still an undefeated record in our family.) Later, when we were grown and he would come for a visit, it was an unwritten law that if it was summer, you best have freshly picked ears of corn for him. And plenty of them, with a few tucked away in the fridge for a late night snack.
So when I moved to Doylestown, and with summer and my brother and his wife’s visit fast approaching, I quizzed neighbors and friends as to where to buy the best sweet corn. No matter whom I asked, the answer was the same: None Such Farm, on Route 263 in Buckingham. You can’t miss it, they said. It’s the prettiest site stretching from Route 413 to Route 263 (York Road), with their None Such Farm Market on the opposite side of the road. That’s where, they said, you buy their corn.
It was shortly after July 4th when I had my first chance of trying some. It was one (OK—I had three ears—just to be sure of my first impression) of None Such’s sweet white corn. My first bite said everything a proper ear of corn should have: crunch, plenty of creamy juice and sweetness. I was sold.
The question now is: How do they do it? Year after year? For answers I called and made an appointment to interview the owners.
The farm is owned by the Yerkes family, with brothers Jon and Scott, third-generation Yerkes, at the helm. We met on one of those April days that proved T.S. Eliot’s description of the month right on the money. “Everything’s going to be a little late this year because of the wet and cold weather,” Jon says. “That’s part of farming,” adds Scott, good-naturedly. “You can’t control Mother Nature.” (A major reason why I could never be a farmer: My heart couldn’t take it. And why I’m so grateful to farmers like Jon and Scott.)
The farm spreads out over 230 acres, with 213 of it preserved. Back in 1926, Jon and Scott’s grandfather, William H. Yerkes, Jr., came to the farm as a tenant farmer, having left his father’s farm in Southampton. With him he brought his wife Elizabeth. By ’32 William not only was able to buy the farm, but was also able to restore the three-story Victorian farmhouse to its former beauty.
William and Elizabeth had four children. Two sons, William III (Bill) and John, stayed on the farm, becoming Master Farmers in 1983, as had their father before them.
For over 50 years, Jon says, the Yerkes farm supplied sweet corn to Philadelphia for the wholesale market. At one point, in partnership with another farmer, more than 400 acres were devoted to growing sweet corn. None Such Farm became a trademark for quality. But in the late 1970s, with the advent of better varieties, refrigeration and shipping, the wholesale sweet corn market changed. Sweet corn could now be picked from other states and stored in refrigeration for longer periods of time.
This also meant that changes had to be made if None Such was to continue. In 1978, after their father had passed away, Bill and John decided to build the farm market. (It quickly became so popular that in 1985 they doubled the market’s size. (A stop at the market any day, Mon.-Sat, confirms its continued popularity, especially with the addition of the meat shop, where their own farm-raised beef is featured, a deli and an array of freshly prepared foods by their kitchen staff.
A division of labor has sprouted up over the years since Jon and Scott took over. Jon, a graduate of Del Val, commandeers the greenhouses and the growing of their crops, while Scott, a graduate of Penn State, oversees the fields, tending to the soil’s—and their crops’ needs—from fertilization to water management. (Speaking of division of labor, Jon’s and Scott’s wives, Karen and Rhonda, respectively, run the farm market. “A much harder job,” quips Jon.)
It’s easy to see the brothers work well together. And when it comes to the farm or to the raising of corn, the decisions are a unified deal.
Even though they’ve hit on the right varieties of corn to grow, over the years, they say, they’ve tried growing different varieties—even trying growing the crop from seeds in their greenhouses. “Tried and died,” Scott says. “A lot of time and money goes into experimentation.”
Today the brothers grow two types of sweet corn: white and bi-color. In all, they grow six varieties, two of white and four of the bi-color. Weather dependent, says Scott, it takes about 70-90 days from seed to harvest. They do three plantings, says Jon, with the first seeds sowed so many days before Labor Day. “The last planting goes in about the middle of July, which takes us into mid-October.”
“Don’t go giving away all our secrets,” jokes Scott. “Actually what makes our corn grow so well and taste so good is Jon goes out and sings to it at night.” (From the sound of Jon’s melodious voice, I can almost believe it.)
So what’s the difference between the two types? “The white has a more traditional corn taste and the bi-color has a different texture and flavor. It’s a bit more sweet,” Jon says. So which does he like better? “Whichever one I’m eating at the time.”
Best way to cook sweet corn? So many people overcook sweet corn, says Jon. “Just bring a pot of water to boil and put in the corn for 2-3 minutes. No more.” And please, don’t wait to bring the water back to a boil before counting the minutes, he says. At the initial boil, just plunge the ears of sweet corn in and pull them out after 2-3 minutes. “Then put on a plate and place a dish towel over it to prevent the sweet corn from dehydrating. The corn will stay warm till you pass it around the table.”
Scott adds, “He even eats the corn raw in the field.” In his defense, Jon counters that one of his jobs is to go out each morning to see which planting he wants to pick that day. “Only way to tell is by tasting,” he says with a grin.
On a more serious note, Jon credits his brother with helping to make their corn taste so good. “It’s the way Scott takes care of the soil, fertilizing it with great care. Trade secrets aside, that’s the biggest factor in making our corn taste so good.”
Their corn is picked fresh daily, says Scott. What doesn’t get sold that day is donated to Cathy Snyder who runs Rolling Harvest Food Rescue.
Come the beginning of July, anticipation for their corn is so great—and to help their staff at the market from being bombarded with questions of when their corn is coming in, the Yerkes announce it on the market’s billboard. Saying simply, “Our corn is in!”
With Jon’s son, John Owen, 14, and Scott’s three daughters, Isabella, 7, Sophia, 5 and Aliyah, 2, things are looking up for a 4th-generation Yerkes-owned None Such Farm. And to many more years of enjoying their sweet corn.