Unfortunately, we missed sampling any as roasted eating corn this past year, but will be sure to do that this coming season.
We let the ears mature on the stalk, harvested them from our little plot (just 4 rows in a 6' x 9' plot), dried them and this afternoon I finally got around to shelling the corn.
First we selected the nicest ears to save for seed corn. (Those ears are shown on the table above.)
We had purchased a hand sheller so it was time to see if it did an adequate job.
Our ears of corn grew quite a bit longer than the advertised 6-7" length. Some were 10" long! But they were quite skinny (that's what I want to be . . . skinny and taller), and so didn't fit in the sheller as well as a fatter ear would have.
I still didn't have much trouble getting the kernels to pop right off the cob. (And pop they did . . . in the bowl in my lap, onto the floor, clear across the room!)
Our little harvest yielded a pint jar and a half gallon jar full of corn for grinding (on the left in above picture) plus one very full quart to use as seed corn.
I'd call the experiment a success so far. The corn is touted as making a high-nutrition flour so now grinding some and baking with it is next on the list.
Ok, I am SUPER jealous. That is some beautiful looking corn! One day, when we get like a real garden with, like, real dirt, I'd like to try growing corn. Although technically we HAVE grown corn here, albeit it was from the "deer corn" or "chicken corn" that just sprouted up in the midst of the weeds last year. Somebody got to the ears before we could though.
ReplyDeleteCarolyn - We worked for quite a few years making and bringing in soil. Nuthin' here naturally but rock and a little clay . . . which tends to make a not very good garden so I know what you mean about struggling to get good garden soil. But if your volunteer corn grew, that's a good sign, no? Your hot summers should be good corn growing weather.
DeleteThis is now the only corn I grow. We use it as sweet corn before it goes all colorful on us. You harvested some beautiful ears. Where did you get the corn sheller? I just use my hands and it sure makes them sore.
ReplyDeleteodiie - Oh, I'm so glad to hear somebody say it really makes good "sweet" corn. Now I think I'm going to plant a way bigger patch this year for sure.
DeleteWe got our sheller from Nasco. I started doing a bit just with my hands before hubby reminded me that we had the sheller. (Glad I could find it!) With just the little I did, I knew it would quickly make your hands very sore. It went really fast with the sheller . . . although I can feel it in my wrists a little tonight.
Those jars full of corn are beautiful! I would keep one just to display with my other dried stuff (beans, oats, sweet potatoes, etc.).
ReplyDeleteDFW - I know! I still have them sitting out and I can't stop staring at them. What a bonus, huh?
DeleteWhere did you get your sheller? I so need one of those. Your corn look great in the jars. How much flour will you get. The reason I ask is I would love to try planting painted corn next year.
ReplyDeleteMichelle - We ordered the sheller from the Nasco catalog. I wonder if a place like Farm and Fleet would carry them?
DeleteThe first time I grind up some of the kernels for cornmeal, I'll measure how much flour a cup of corn makes. And try to remember to post about it. I'm really curious to see what color the flour will be!
I can't wait to see how it grinds and what you bake with it. I love cornmeal!
ReplyDeleteSparkless - I have a bread recipe or two that calls from some cornmeal so I'll try that. Will it change the color of the bread? We aren't crazy about cornbread but I may just have to bake a pan of it so we can critique the flavor as opposed to regular corn.
DeleteThat corn is beautiful..and I am looking for a sheller if you don't mind sharing the source. Seed corn in our area is going for $25-30 per pound. Sad state of mess that is.
ReplyDeleteSimply Scaife Family - Check out Nasco for the sheller. I'm assuming they still have them. We just got ours last year. How in the world can one afford seed corn at $25-30 a pound? Ouch.
DeleteMama Pea
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to let you know. I am posting your Mushroom soup recipe as my Friday Spot Light Recipe. It's so good.
Michelle - Thanks for the link in your post to my blog! So glad you and your family like the soup.
DeleteOk, now you really have to get to work on making that cornbread! We are all just dying to know how it works out with that beautiful corn you shelled!!
ReplyDeleteMelissa - I am so eager to grind some up to see what color the flour will be! Any guesses?
DeleteThe corn is beautiful!!!! We grew two rows of corn last year, noone would eat it because of the worms LOL! If I did it again I would grow pretty corn like yours ☺
ReplyDeleteKelly - Well, can't say wormy corn is high on my list of tasty dishes either!! Ya know, we all had so much trouble with garden insects last year, I'll bet you could try corn again and have lots better luck. Or at least I sure hope so!
DeleteNice corn,my keyboard is going nuts ,it just asked me if I want to turn on
ReplyDeletesticky keys"My keys are sticking but what are sticky keys ? anyway the best way to show you what is happening on the breast cancer front is to paste my story from Bubblews to your post, k , here goes
Category: Health
That APOBEC3B , (A'-po-becks). was discovered in more than 1/2 of all breast cancers and this is the biggest story to hit the air-waves in a long time about breast cancer!
You all should be standing and rejoicing ,It is a good start to a awful disease that kills our loved ones .Breast cancer took my sisters life and my aunts and my other sister had a mastectomy .Our very good friend suffered terribly from breast cancer .It is not a nice disease. It may not help my husband at this point but they are saying this helps lead them in the right direction . And it was done right here at home ,this is the head line : U of M Discovery May Help Prevent Breast Cancer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They have found a rogue DNA-mutating enzyme that we produce in our bodies may be linked to cancer. They may be able to stop the mutations , while helping researchers come up with more effective treatments.It is called a Breast cancer DNA mutator
A quote from the researcher is "We are confident that our breakthrough will trigger a domino effect of additional research and clinical studies that result in better outcomes for patients with breast cancer ,"from Reuben Harris led a team that discovered a major source of DNA mutations in breast cancer.
Ho ray for Mr.Harris and his wonderful hard working team
judy - Thanks for taking the time to share this info!
DeleteLooks great! What do you use for a grinder? I am trying to decide what I want to get. Prefer a non-electric if I can afford one. They can be so pricey.
ReplyDeleteStephanie - My electric grinder is a Grain Master Whisper Mill. Which is a real joke 'cause it sounds exactly like a 747 taking off! But I LOVE it. I don't think they make the exact model I have anymore; I got mine several years ago.
DeleteWe do have a hand operated grain mill for back-up. It's the Country Mill and does a super job. It's just that as long as I have the option of using electricity, the Whisper Mill is soooo much faster compared to the Country Mill.
My son (who is 9) is a seed collector and he would LOVE to try this. Your corn is beautiful. We may do this next season, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteShannon - A seed collector at nine years of age! I love it. We should encourage him in any way possible. I think this corn is especially nice because each ear does have the different coloration and it's so much more fun than husking ear after ear of yellow corn.
DeleteThat is definitely on my list of homesteading skills to complete. Each year we do more and more. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteKristina - Even after all our years of gardening and homesteading, this variety of corn is a first for us also. And successfully (I guess we won't know that for sure until harvest next fall!) saving corn seed for propagation is a first for us, too.
DeleteGorgeous corn! I would kill for some of that woody feed corn even from the farmers field next to my childhood farmhouse - well maybe not the GMO kind. Corn here is only that tiny early white stuff and if I grow it myself its even worse - spotty pollination! Someday, someday. But I can grow peanuts LOL
ReplyDeleteErin - I know! In Illinois we used to eat some of the field corn (had to get it early enough though, right?), too.
DeleteIn the peanut department . . . you're ever ahead of us. We can't grow peanuts for . . . well, not for beans!