Corn questions...type and storage?

Oct 23, 2023 13:57:32

I grew up in a bubble in Illinois corn fields...detasseled corn every summer but that was yellow dent and who knew there were other colors

I recognize dent corn and not dent corn.

The undented deep yellow ears in my photos are what type?

The red is 'bloody butcher' I think?

And the black?

Should we store on the cob or shell it?

Is the white/pale yellow with some dark kernals a hominy corn?

Harvested in the rain late in the season the same day as the beans. https://permies.com/t/231623/identifying-bean-varieties-select-seed#2025725
Some that I've kept separate had a white mold in the spaces between the kernels.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Oct 23, 2023 14:24:11

I shell corn before storing, because it takes up less space. Shelled corn attracts fewer bugs, and cycles through the freezer easier to kill bugs.

I call the orange cobs "flint".

Oct 23, 2023 16:31:56

Thank you Joseph!

I am only just realizing how much I don't know about beans and corn...time to do some reading (and growing!)

Nov 28, 2023 06:12:30

I've saved the empty cobs to bust up and use in potting soil and now am not sure what's best to do with the few ears with corn kerrnels still on them but mold on the cob and some of the seed...is this ok for chickens if cracked?
I can compost them but thought I might take to some chickens I know

Nov 28, 2023 07:13:28

Corn cobs, including those with modly kernels, make great kindling if you heat with wood. This year we're going to experiment with using the clean cobs to grind up and turn into mushroom substrate.

It looks like some of the colored cobs have some dent genetics but the white corn maybe flour? Orange cobs look like our polenta flint.

Nov 28, 2023 16:33:24

Pretty much agree with Larisa. Looks like very mixed genetics, cross pollination. No way to tell the variety unless you have seed packets, or wherever you got the seed told you what. Lots of different varieties look similar.

The white looks like a flour dent, just a guess. Kernels should be fairly soft if so.
The purple is also a dent.
The yellow is clearly a flint. This is the only one that doesn't look like it cross pollinated much.

In years past I always saved it on the cob until spring when I chose which to save for seed. This year I had lots of weevils, so I shelled it all after drying and put it in the freezer to kill the bugs. Either way works fine depending on your circumstances.

The cobs are useful. I use a lot in the fireplace, and bury a lot in the garden. They break down quickly.

Moldy corn or cobs goes straight into the compost! Do not let it touch good corn. Some corn molds are poisonous, so I am very careful not to eat it and if I had animals I wouldn't feed it to them either.

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