Corn Grows Tall On Lachman Lane

Corn as a tall as an elephant’s eye? In Pacific Palisades? Ralph Nahigian, who has lived in the Marquez Knolls area for 45 years, will soon be harvesting 55 ears of corn from the 11-foot high stalks on his hillside yard. With all the hot weather lately, Ralph thinks his bumper crop will be ready to pick by this weekend. This is the first year he’s grown corn. This past spring, he went in the nursery and happened to spot Silver Queen corn seedlings. When the salesperson said that corn was easy to grow (‘just plant and water them’), Ralph bought a flat. And indeed, they thrived. ‘It’s saving our marriage and our lives,’ says Norma, his wife of 54 years, laughing. ‘It’s like he spends time watching them grow.’ A row of bell peppers grow in front of Ralph’s two rows of corn. He also grows hot peppers, cucumbers, and red cherry tomatoes in clay pots that line their deck on Lachman Lane. ‘This is a pot farm,’ he jokingly says. The Palisades Farm, as Ralph calls his garden, may have trouble expanding. The household’s one tiny plot of grass in the backyard is jealously guarded by Norma. Undeterred, Ralph plans to expand his corn crop next year’ ‘hopefully on the big plot of grass,’ he says teasingly. ‘Of course, then I’ll have to buy a tractor.’