"Dames of ancient days / Have led their children
through the mirthful maze
– The Traveller by Oliver Goldsmith, 1764
|| A maze visitor treks through the stalks
maze leads us in all sorts of unexpected directions. Twisting
and turning, sending us around corners and in circles, it
requires us to think logically to find our way out. When put
that way, a maze might not seem like much fun. But anyone
who has ever made it through a corn maze in the autumn knows
it's all fun and games.
What precisely is a corn maze? Exactly as it sounds — twists,
turns, corners and dead ends made up of corn plants tall enough
to get a little lost in. As the autumn leaves begin to turn lovely
reds, yellows and oranges, visitors flock to farms and pumpkin
patches to get all turned around.
Planting and Design
Growing corn that will be cut into a maze is a little different from growing corn for food production. Corn grown for a maze is usually planted two to three weeks later than corn grown for other uses. This helps ensure the stalks stay strong later into the growing season. This is important because many of the farms that feature corn mazes aim to stay open and attract as many visitors as possible until late in the harvest season, and usually until Halloween. Also, corn planted later generally keeps its green foliage longer. The greener leaves have more moisture content, which helps decrease fire potential.