I have heard that anything corn (ears, stalks, etc) takes a long time to break down. (In fact, if it weren't for native americans that dried, boiled, and baked corn they would've never had enough protien in their diet to sustain a smaller-sized population. You have to dry, boil, and bake the corn to get the protiens broken into a digestable form!) The smaller pieces you use, the faster they will decomp for you. I am actually trying out the corn stalks in my own garden and they've been in there for about 2 months and look exactly the same however, I didn't chop them. In short, I'd use some, definately, and it would probably make a real good mulch for next year if not composting it. Good luck and keep us posted!!