Nope. That is not a flower. It is a kiddie pool, upside down on a small table, covered with Wamneheza Flour corn on my deck. It is a nice tasting, highly color variable, 8-12 in long cob corn. This is my third year growing it, given to me by a member of the Lakota tribe. They have over 150 years documented growing this corn.
The ears that no seed will be saved from for whatever reason (lodging of stalks, insect damage, incomplete ear formation, small cobs, etc) we stripped the husks from out in the field. The best ears (and there are a lot of them) we left the husks on which also makes a nicer fall display as well. This corn matured and dried down nearly two weeks earlier than the Mandan White flour corn which really surprised and pleased me. I did not get a lot of it last year due to my planting it too early, and then having too many weeds to deal with and just losing it to deer and rodents when it became overgrown.
This is just a shot taken at the field of all the cobs picked that will be saved for seed. This represents about 2% of the total I will get from this grow out, but none of the rest will be saved for seed. I always try to hand pick from the earliest maturing cobs for seed for the following year. 75 days to maturity for these. Only two corns I have grown that are earlier than this one: Painted Mountain and Bear Island Flint. This is a much taller plant than Painted Mountain, with tassel tips reaching about 8′ high, and cob set 30 to 40 inches off the ground which reduces rodent issues. Not that NONE of them were hit by mice, but with near complete loss to rodents of the Painted Mountain I grew last year, I found that having cob set well off the ground is very important. This corn also does not have the lodging issues I had in the past with Bear Island Flint as it is a very sturdily stalked corn.
I just like looking at this corn too. Every kernel is like a colorful jewel.
Hi Tom, I have enjoyed reading your blog posts regarding your northern corn growing trials – thank you for documenting what you’re doing! I’ve been growing several types of early field corns here in New England and would like to start selecting from these trials. Your methods for selecting would be really helpful to me, as there is not a lot of ‘shell corn’ being grown in these parts and I don’t know where to turn for advice. Many thanks!
The way I select, is first dry down, no lodging, longest cobs with tightest husks, no insect damage and kernel development to the tip of the ear (if possible). I harvest by hand, about every 3rd day if possible. I have found that this has reduced maturity dates by as much as several weeks (Iroquois white flour, from 120 days down to just under 100). You cannot wait until it all dries down, or machine harvest, to select my way. It is a bit labor intensive though.
Thanks for the tips – hope your harvest is a good one.
YUM!!! Now if it will ever feel like summer in (supposedly) California, we might get some decnet tomatoes. Our weather has been so weird. Rain on June 1st is VERY unusual in our neck of the woods.
There really are an ininifte number of ways to prepare chicken, aren’t there? You’ve really taken it up a notch with these though, between the salsa and corn…awesome meal!
I really love this thing! There is not such a mess in taikng the corn off the cob and having it go everywhere. I just get a tiny bit accumulated and it doesn’t splash everywhere, it stays in one place. I think it’s very easy to clean and I put it in the dishwasher. The only thing is that it does take a bit of practice as I sometimes need to go down the cob again. You need to keep it close to the cob. But for me, this is a really great kitchen tool.
Great post Mom! This blog post reminds me of my fneird Val Wagner saying “If cows didn’t love corn we wouldn’t have to have fences!” Love seeing the cows on corn.
I was asked today to name my favorite local foods blog and yours was the first to come to mind (other than mine- which is lgearly on the farming side of local foods). Thank you for all the beauty you bring to the table. I will make that chicken tomorrow. I’ll use the chicken that we raised, along with the last of the tomatoes and corn from 2008, the fresh garlic just pulled from my garlic bed, and fresh herbs from my garden.Thank you for your support of local farmers. Just today a grateful family pulled into our farm and bought potatoes, beets, onions, garlic, and purple green beans picked fresh while they stood there. They were giddy with the meals they would prepare. Like you, they appreciate the time and care we put into growing organic food.However, a couple weeks ago a couple came to our farm to buy our free range, flax fed chicken eggs and when they heard the cost was $2.50 per dozen, they actually laughed at my 9-year daughter and drove away. Eggs were on sale in town for $.88 a dozen. We would lose money at that price.Thank you again and my best to you and yours,Kathy