Amazing Zea-mayz

Some people like to collect old cars, comic books, baseball cards or what-have-you, but my collection is alive, come to life in the summer. After several years of growing your basic "household name" vegetables, it's fun to start growing the crazy stuff, rare, colourful, heirloom and fun. In more recent seasons I've been attracted to growing lots of corn. Its fairly simple to grow, it thrives in the heat of the summer, drought tolerant and you can even grow it in small spaces; including containers.

Displayed below is an ornamental form of corn, looks great with the flowers and can be a great way to sneak some exciting colour into the edible landscape. Be warned though, when you grow multiple kinds of corn together, the seeds will not be viable as they will have been cross-bred by local pollinators.

Gorgeous Japonica Striped Maize, Bamboo, Zinnia,
Tiger Lilies and Ornamental grass.

Corn or Zea Mayz is one of those basic vegetable crops that you can have lots of fun with once you get good at growing it season after season. There is also something magical and special about the heritage of corn in North America. Native peoples from across the continent from Mexico to the St. Laurence river, including the Aztec people who grew corn up to 80,000 years ago.

In Canada, the Iroquois grew corn after becoming more sedentary and developing agricultural techniques instead of hunting, coining the companion planting method known as "The Tree Sisters". They believed that good weather to grow a good corn crop was a gift from the gods or mother-nature and was sacred in their culture. This strong culture link to corn was mirrored across the southwestern states, like Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, and down into Mexico. After centuries of growing corn, many striking varieties of colourful corn have stood the test of time and been passed down.

Iroquoian Corn Husk Doll

This winter I discovered an amazing not for profit seed bank based out of Arizona called Native Seeds. They're mission statement is as follows: Click here to see the mission statement.

I loved this site so much I ordered a few different crops from them this year, and I've got an even longer wishlist for next season. They also have other products and workshops. It's now certainly on my bucket list to attend one of these seed workshops and learn from the passion people down in Patagonia, AZ. From Native Seeds I bought a few types of corn;

Close up of Navajo Robin's Egg Corn, wow!

Mountain Pima Maiz Azul

Navajo Robin's Egg

Tarahumara Rosari

Maricopa

Before finding this site I had already purchased a few "more common" native corns and saved a big pile of "Earthtones Dent Corn" that I grew in the 2013 season.

"Hopi Blue Corn" - The Hopi Indians are from the
Arizona desserts, this corn is bred to withstand drought. 

"Hopi Black" is a close relative to "Hopi Blue".

"Bloody Butcher Corn" - An American Heirloom from Virginia,  a cross-breed between
 local native corns and the settlers white corn.  

"Bloody Butcher" Cobs

"Oaxacan Green Dent Corn" - Grow by the  Zapotec Indians of southern Mexico,
 it was used to make green corn flour tamales.

In April I'll show you my fool-proof corn starting method, it always works. I'll also discuss now to deter pests and everything else you'll need to know about starting and growing your own corn.

It may surprise you but you can actually eat Indian corn. You can grind it into
 flours, or feed it to your chickens, specific corn varieties can be grown
for popping corn and fresh eating (sweet corns). Pictured above is "Seneca Red Walker",
"Hopi Blue", blue corn flour tortillas, and "Mountain Pima Maiz Azul"

"Oaxacan Green" kernels in macro, "Robin's Egg Corn" in a group and the pink cobbed "Hopi Greasy Head" 

Lastly we have "Double Red Sweet" a red sweet corn,
edible after a quick boil or BBQ