Corny

[Subdeacon Joe]

From FB:

 

Oklahoma farmer named Carl Barnes. Barnes, now in his 80s, is half-Cherokee, half Scotch-Irish descent. He began growing older corn varieties in his adult years as a way to reconnect with his heritage.In growing these older corn varieties, Barnes was able to isolate ancestral types that had been lost to Native American tribes when they were relocated in the 1800s to what is now Oklahoma. This led to an exchange of ancient corn seed with people he had met and made friends with all over the country.At the same time, Barnes began selecting, saving, and replanting seeds from particularly colourful cobs. According to Barnes, the rainbow seed originally came from a crossing of "Pawnee miniature popcorns with an Osage red flour corn and also another Osage corn called ‘Greyhorse'."'Glass Gems,' seen here, was the title that Barnes' protegee and fellow farmer, Greg Schoen came up with for a blue-green and pink-purple corn he grew in 2007.Credit to: Dr. M.F. Khan.

 

[irish ike, SASS #43615]

I used to grow some every summer when I was a kid. I bought some seeds and we grew some today. Great fall decorations. We didn't call it rainbow corn. We called it Indian corn.

[Blackwater 53393]

I’d like to get a few of those kernels to plant next spring.

 

Wonder how it stands up as corn on the cob and roastin’ ears!!!

[Sundog]

9 minutes ago, Blackwater 53393 said:

I’d like to get a few of those kernels to plant next spring.

 

 

I'd like a few, as well, although I would not have a lot of room to grow very much.  Cool colors!

Wonder how it tastes?

 

[Subdeacon Joe]

10 minutes ago, Blackwater 53393 said:

I’d like to get a few of those kernels to plant next spring.

 

Wonder how it stands up as corn on the cob and roastin’ ears!!!

 

It's a flint corn, more suitable for popping or grinding into meal than eating from the cob.

 

https://www.rareseeds.com/corn-glass-gem-popping

"Zea mays) Popcorn. A beautiful flint or popcorn that comes in nearly every color imaginable. The translucent kernels really do shine brilliantly like glass — on the cob they resemble strands of glass beads!  Bred from a number of Native varieties by Carl Barnes, the famous corn collector to whom we owe our gratitude for his life’s work of collecting, preserving, and sharing so many Native corn varieties. The 3- to 8-inch ears are consummately decorative, but edible and delicious as well. It makes firm little morsels when popped; can also be parched, ground into meal, and more. Sturdy plants reach to 9 feet tall and throw numerous sideshoots where the season is long enough."

 

https://www.rareseeds.com/store/plants-seeds/vegetable-seeds/corn-seeds

 

[Subdeacon Joe]

5 minutes ago, Sundog said:

 

I'd like a few, as well, although I would not have a lot of room to grow very much.  Cool colors!

Wonder how it tastes?

 

 

https://specialtyproduce.com/produce/Glass_Gem_Corn_9737.php#:~:text=vitamins%2C and iron.-,Applications,to a blander%2C unsweetened flavor.

 

"

Applications

Glass Gem corn is a type of flint corn best suited for processed preparations. Flint corn varieties have a hard outer shell encasing each kernel, making them unpleasant to consume raw, off the cob. The kernels also contain higher starch levels, contributing to a blander, unsweetened flavor. Glass Gem corn can be dried and ground into cornmeal for use as a thickener in grits, pancakes, bread, and polenta. The cornmeal can also be incorporated into tortillas, used as a coating for fried foods, mixed into quiches, or combined into desserts such as cobbler. In addition to grinding into cornmeal, Glass Gem corn can be dried and used for popcorn, or boiled, hulled, and made into hominy to develop a chewy texture. Hominy is frequently used in empanadas, tamales, and casseroles. In Mexico, hominy is popularly stirred into posole, a traditional soup comprised of aromatic spices, vegetables, legumes, and herbs. It is important to note that the colorful hues of the kernels will remain when the kernels are dried, but they will be lost through the cooking process. Dried Glass Gem corn will keep for many years stored in a sealed container in a cool, dry, and dark place away from direct sunlight."

[irish ike, SASS #43615]

I ordered my from Amazon.

[Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001]

the last 5 years , the coons have wiped out the corn patches 

 

 gave up on growing any 

 

  CB 

[Will Kane]

13 hours ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

 

https://specialtyproduce.com/produce/Glass_Gem_Corn_9737.php#:~:text=vitamins%2C and iron.-,Applications,to a blander%2C unsweetened flavor.

 

"

Applications

Glass Gem corn is a type of flint corn best suited for processed preparations. Flint corn varieties have a hard outer shell encasing each kernel, making them unpleasant to consume raw, off the cob. The kernels also contain higher starch levels, contributing to a blander, unsweetened flavor. Glass Gem corn can be dried and ground into cornmeal for use as a thickener in grits, pancakes, bread, and polenta. The cornmeal can also be incorporated into tortillas, used as a coating for fried foods, mixed into quiches, or combined into desserts such as cobbler. In addition to grinding into cornmeal, Glass Gem corn can be dried and used for popcorn, or boiled, hulled, and made into hominy to develop a chewy texture. Hominy is frequently used in empanadas, tamales, and casseroles. In Mexico, hominy is popularly stirred into posole, a traditional soup comprised of aromatic spices, vegetables, legumes, and herbs. It is important to note that the colorful hues of the kernels will remain when the kernels are dried, but they will be lost through the cooking process. Dried Glass Gem corn will keep for many years stored in a sealed container in a cool, dry, and dark place away from direct sunlight."

Meal for corn tortillas and hominy for menudo (like pozole but with beef tripe) were what immediately came to mind before reading the above applications.

[Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103]

For those with limited growing room:

We fenced in our dog run, but when Salty and Sailor crossed the Rainbow, I stacked four bales of straw in the back corner -- two bales high, laid on their sides -- took a gardening trowel and stabbed holes in what was now the top surface, dug out enough room for about three double-handfuls of good black dirt, and planted tomatoes and corn.

This year I had more tomatoes than I knew what to do with, I think birds pulled the sprouted corn, but last year I had tall, healthy cornstalks and two -- count 'em, two! -- ears of corn!

Come springtime, the straw -- still in bales -- will have had time enough to break down and release nutrients: peppers, tomatoes and corn are planned!

'Scuse me ... go to go plant garlic while I'm thinking about it ... garlic is planted in the fall, we've got record warmth today and tomorrow!

 

[Wallaby Jack, SASS #44062]

7 hours ago, Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103 said:

 

'Scuse me ... go to go plant garlic while I'm thinking about it ... garlic is planted in the fall, we've got record warmth today and tomorrow!

 

 

  ..... ya knoe, ... you could probably plant it in Autumn too, .... I don't think it'd mind all that much ......  🙃🙂🙃

[watab kid]

so what makes those colors in the kernels ? 

[Subdeacon Joe]

6 hours ago, watab kid said:

so what makes those colors in the kernels ? 

 

https://www.gardendesign.com/vegetables/glass-gem-corn.html#:~:text=This is because each kernel,multi-colored before human selection.

 

"Silks are covered with fine, sticky hairs that catch and anchor pollen grains. When pollinated, each silk will yield its own fruit, or kernel. When the ovule at the base of the style is fertilized with pollen from a variety with a gene for a certain color kernel, that color can manifest as a single kernel in the new ear. And where does the pollen come from? Pollen anthers develop at the top of the stalk, in tassels arrayed like luxurious fringe. Each tassel contains from 2 to 5 million pollen grains. An individual's pollen rarely reaches its own silks, so the pollen usually comes from an adjacent plant. And, depending on the neighborhood, all sorts of color combinations can feasibly grow."

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

I’ve often seen these as fall door decorations, even seen birds come a grab a bite. Is there anything food wise that can be done?  Grind ‘em?

[Subdeacon Joe]

1 hour ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

I’ve often seen these as fall door decorations, even seen birds come a grab a bite. Is there anything food wise that can be done?  Grind ‘em?

 

See above. 

[watab kid]

5 hours ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

 

https://www.gardendesign.com/vegetables/glass-gem-corn.html#:~:text=This is because each kernel,multi-colored before human selection.

 

"Silks are covered with fine, sticky hairs that catch and anchor pollen grains. When pollinated, each silk will yield its own fruit, or kernel. When the ovule at the base of the style is fertilized with pollen from a variety with a gene for a certain color kernel, that color can manifest as a single kernel in the new ear. And where does the pollen come from? Pollen anthers develop at the top of the stalk, in tassels arrayed like luxurious fringe. Each tassel contains from 2 to 5 million pollen grains. An individual's pollen rarely reaches its own silks, so the pollen usually comes from an adjacent plant. And, depending on the neighborhood, all sorts of color combinations can feasibly grow."

interesting , thats a lot that id not really thought about before this thread , id seen colored corn before but generally out west , here in the corn belt it was always yellow , 

[Sedalia Dave]

4 hours ago, watab kid said:

interesting , thats a lot that id not really thought about before this thread , id seen colored corn before but generally out west , here in the corn belt it was always yellow , 

 

When I was a kid one summer job you could get was de-tasseling corn for seed companies. They had a machine that was 4 or 6 rows wide that had seats installed.  IIRC there were 2 seats per row. You sat in the seat and as the machine moved down the rows you cut the tassel off of each stalk and dropped it into a special plastic sack. 

 

This was to prevent the ears from self pollinating or being pollinated by adjacent stalks. Later when the time was right they had another machine that would go down the rows and pollinate each ear with the pollen from another variety of corn. This would create a hybrid that could be harvested and then planted the following year.

 

AFAIK it is still done. However, a lot of seed corn is genetically manipulated in a lab to produce the desired hybrid.

[watab kid]

3 hours ago, Sedalia Dave said:

 

When I was a kid one summer job you could get was de-tasseling corn for seed companies. They had a machine that was 4 or 6 rows wide that had seats installed.  IIRC there were 2 seats per row. You sat in the seat and as the machine moved down the rows you cut the tassel off of each stalk and dropped it into a special plastic sack. 

 

This was to prevent the ears from self pollinating or being pollinated by adjacent stalks. Later when the time was right they had another machine that would go down the rows and pollinate each ear with the pollen from another variety of corn. This would create a hybrid that could be harvested and then planted the following year.

 

AFAIK it is still done. However, a lot of seed corn is genetically manipulated in a lab to produce the desired hybrid.

 

i never did that detassel thing but friends did to make summer money , nobody ever discussed what they did with me , ive learned a bunch here 

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

About… oh… twenty-five years ago or so I got an idea that it might be kinda fun to grow some “Indian Corn” for fall decorations.  A good project to get my kid involved in, along with our annual pumpkin project – usually over a hundred plants.

 

I did some basic research at the library, sent for some seed catalogs (the ‘net wasn’t what it is now), then had an inspiration.  Years earlier I had been sent to Omaha on business trips a few times, and I was impressed to see that there were actually fields of corn inside the city limits.  These folk were into corn!  So, as that memory manifested itself into a meager thought bubble, I got on the phone.  I called the University of Nebraska (Lincoln campus?), and told the nice lady who answered the phone that I wished to talk with someone in their Ag department who knew corn.

 

In short order, I was transferred to some professor who was an acknowledged “corn expert.”  I explained that I was looking for information on “Indian Corn” for a kid project; he made the observation that it was kind of late in the season (late May – early June, as I recall).  I told him that we had plenty of space, very rich soil, a good well, access to lots of composted cow manure, and average summertime temperatures in the area were well over 100°.

 

“Well by golly, THAT oughtta do it!” he proclaimed.  “Gimme your address and I’ll send you a bunch of seed!”  I did, and he did, and the “crop” was gorgeous!  Everyone we knew got plenty of decorative corn that year.  You could eat it - popped, or dried and ground into corn meal, but steamed or boiled was pretty blah.  

 

That said, my buddy and next-door neighbor worked for the Fresno State ag department – which was well-known for their annual crop of really delicious sweet corn, appropriately enough a variety called “Sweetie.”  And Kurt was more than happy to bring me a big ol’ bag of seed!  So, for a few years I would plant sixteen to twenty rows – plant four, wait a week or more then plant four more, and enjoy an extended harvest.  And of course, everyone got corn and the freezer got stocked.    [link below]

 

That stuff was SO good!  It was sooo sweet that you could literally yank an ear off the stalk, husk it, and eat it raw.  Makes my mouth water just remembering it.  

 

Well, we lost Kurt a few years ago.  But the seed is available and not all that expensive.  The Kid and I have already decided we’re planting corn again this year – albeit in our now smaller back yards.

 

                             SWEETIE

 

  

 

Plant to harvest 82 days. Sweetie is two and one-half times as sweet as ordinary yellow corn - even sweeter than the Xtra Sweet varieties. Ears are 6-1/2 to 7 inches long with 14 to 18 rows of crisp tender kernels that retain their flavor long after picking. The 6 to 7 foot stalks have few suckers and are tolerant to rust. Easy to snap from stalks.

Edited October 31 by Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

Did you ever deal with corn borers?

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

6 hours ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

Did you ever deal with corn borers?

 

I have not... I have, however, experienced the pathogenic fungus Mycosarcoma maydis, or "corn smut."  Supposedly edible; even considered a delicacy in Mexico.  Well, they're welcome to mine!  That stuff is UGLY!!