Sep 17, 20212 min read

Fall Feelz: Corn Maze

By Jianqi Zhou

Did you watch the movie “Alice in Wonderland”? If not, I bet you definitely heard about the story tale of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. Have you ever dreamed yourself was Alice who chased a mysterious rabbit in a garden maze and then fell into a bottomless hole? I have, especially when I was a little girl. I love the feeling of uncertainty but am curious about what would happen at my next step. Thus, sometimes I am kind of obsessed with the moment of getting lost. It is not an easy thing to get lost at such an advanced time with various navigational tools like GPS, Radar detector, Spatial. Thus, drop down your phone, take off your earphone, come to corn mazes, enjoy the pure excitement brought by the nature. You may find your magical white rabbit and open a new world of unknown.

History:

The first modern corn maze, ‘Amazing Maize Maze’, was created by Don Frantz and Adrian Fisher in Annville, Pennsylvania USA in 1993. It was a 3.3-acre maze with a 1.92-mile pathway that outlined a cute Kentrosaurus pattern. This wild action subsequently sparked a worldwide fad of corn mazes. Actually, the creation of the maze can date back at least 4000 years ago. You can also easily find the trace of mazes and labyrinths in many Greek or Roman museums. From this, you can see the human fascination with the “Art of Maze” has never faded from ancient times to the present.

Creation:

Every summer after seeding the corn, the farmers in Western New York start thinking about what design they want to present to their lovely visitors. One of the important factors of creating a successful corn maze is selecting the right variety of corn. Only the strong stalk and proper height species can make sure the survival rate of corn and the tidiness of the design while cutting. Secondly, well-planning the location of the corps and providing enough nutrients for the growth are also very significate. Once the stalks grow up to a proper height, the farmers can roll up their sleeves and start cutting the corps with roto-tillers or mowers. The farmers must be very cautious with this step because every stalk of cutting can largely affect the result of display. To get a smooth pathway, some farmers also use herbicides to remove the root of the plants. Thus, the creation of the corn maze really challenges the planting skill and graphic technique of the farmers.