Iowne’s True Blue flour corn
$4.00 – $15.00
(Zea mays)
Tall, strong plants easily support beans and produce 1-2 ears. Kernel colour ranges from a slate-grey blue to slightly purple on ears with 8-12 rows of kernels. Easy to grind, and excellent for making hominy too. I got seed for this corn from Hawthorn Farm Organic Seeds; they got it from Rebecca Ivanoff, who received it from Iowne Anderson, a Tuscarora seedkeeper and gardener at Six Nations of the Grand River. Full-season; keep pure by removing all kernels which aren’t blue. 130 days to maturity.
Wait until soil has warmed to 60° F/15º C to plant. Darker coloured seeds usually germinate better in cool soil. Plant 1-2” deep, four seeds to a hill (10” between them), spaced 40” on centre; or plant in rows 24” apart for early varieties, 30-40” apart for main season ones, with row spacing of 8-10” for early varieties and 10-12” for main season. Plants will pollinate for 2-3 weeks after tasseling; separate varieties by at least 500’ or plant successively so they will pollinate at different times. If doing succession plantings, let first variety reach eight-leaf stage before planting the next one. Save seed from at least 100 plants (preferably 200), selecting based on field characteristics of plant, not just on cob size.