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Post by 12540dumont on Sept 29, 2011 11:37:37 GMT -5
Here is my review of Texas Gourdseed Corn. This is a tall corn, not as tall as Posole, but still 12' tall at least. I planted this corn on 4/25 on a 65 degree day. I got these seeds from Southern Seed Savers. The package says the corn is 120 days. Attachments:
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Post by 12540dumont on Sept 29, 2011 11:43:20 GMT -5
The Texas Gourdseed is on the right. I harvested this corn over a couple of days this week, between the 25 and 29th. That's 5 months in the bed. The germination was a little spotty. I planted it on 18" centers with mycellium and feather meal. The bed was composted @ 2 inches. Irrigated weekly during the spring and twice a week during the summer. The gopher ate the irrigation in this row and so the corn suffered for a couple of days till I found the leak and replaced it. Attachments:
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Post by 12540dumont on Sept 29, 2011 11:55:03 GMT -5
The gourdseed is a very old corn. This corn traces it's ancestry back to pre-Columbian Mexico. The seeds look like little teeth. Before the Civil War, this was the corn that was grown in the South. The Iroquois grew it in New York, it was widely grown in the Ohio River Valley. It is supposed to be great for cornbread, pound cake and pudding. This variety is regarded as very good for fattening turkeys. Okay, so history aside, it just takes a really really long time. Too long for my garden, this is at the very limit of my GDD's. I'm having summer now in California's central coast. I've had day after day of 90 degrees which has really helped bring on the corn and beans for which I am truly thankful. No corn ear worm. A bit of trouble with the family corvidae, and of course, Leo had to pick this corn as it was 6 feet off the ground. I do have to say that this corn withstood the water issue very well. It's in some of our best soil but I think it would have done very well in our poorest soil...that which has never been touched by compost. The ears are very very plump. So you know what that means. My other corn will be dried and milled before this one is ready to be shelled. Each stalk grew 2 corns. Some are not ready to harvest yet. Attachments:
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Post by 12540dumont on Sept 29, 2011 12:11:28 GMT -5
So, I'm going to save some of this corn to boil with wild rice and sausage to stuff the Thanksgiving Turkey. I don't plan to grow this corn again, not because it didn't do well, it's more or less a real estate issue. I have to save room for Michel's big sexy corn, and more Italian corn, and more sweet corn and anything that Dar Jones may or may not send me. So many corns, so little time. Attachments:
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Post by spacecase0 on Sept 29, 2011 15:36:00 GMT -5
I have wondered how this corn would grow, thank you for the great review. I found a gourd seed corn at the mexican grocery store, I pop it on a cast iron pan in oil, it kind of half pops and half just cooks in the oil, turns out pretty good
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Post by DarJones on Sept 29, 2011 23:20:17 GMT -5
spacecase, that is called "parched corn". There are varieties that have been selected specifically because they parch exceptionally well. Supai Red Parch is an example.
Dumont, I'll swap you for a bit of the gourdseed corn. It does very well here in Alabama.
DarJones
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Post by 12540dumont on Oct 1, 2011 22:08:03 GMT -5
Dar, As soon as it's dry, I'll send you some. I bet it does great there. It did really well here, and I can see why it's so loved. I was so bummed about the irrigation, but it took that in stride.
I love the way it's so easy to shell! If it were dry enough, I'd be eating biscuits.
Warning though, this plot had only 100 plants in it. I wasn't sure that I would have 120 days of corn weather, so I didn't plant as much as I normally would.
So, you better PM me with where to send it, I'm practicing standing on my head for the NZ corn, so my ESP is not working very well
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Post by 12540dumont on Oct 1, 2011 22:11:00 GMT -5
Spacecase, I have about 100 Red Supai seeds left as well, PM if you want them.
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Post by 12540dumont on Dec 9, 2011 20:27:45 GMT -5
Okay, so at the end of corn season, the work really starts. Attachments:
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Post by 12540dumont on Dec 9, 2011 20:31:10 GMT -5
Until you end up with this mound of corn debris that refuses to get smaller or compost itself. Attachments:
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Post by 12540dumont on Dec 9, 2011 20:33:17 GMT -5
Until finally, the end comes. See why people buy tractors? So for those of you wondering, I did not buy a mill, a still or a ph meter with this year's farm income. I bought my spouse a chipper shredder and an electric/anti-pig fence. Sigh. Attachments:
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Dec 9, 2011 21:18:16 GMT -5
Wow Holly. Long live Posole!
I till corn stalks and sunflower stalks in where they grew. It sure helps to have the use of a 55 hp tractor. I attempt it with my troybilt tiller, but the tractor is much easier.
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Post by flowerpower on Dec 13, 2011 7:13:08 GMT -5
That chipper was a great gift.
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Post by oxbowfarm on Dec 13, 2011 7:39:09 GMT -5
I prefer zero petroleum cornstalk reduction. The cows will strip the leaves off the stalks, then eat the stalks from the tassel down to about where the ears grew. Then the rest of the stalk becomes bedding. Cornstalk pith is wonderfully absorbent after they've stomped it a few times to expose the pith. I will admit that breaking up a manure pile with cornstalk bedding in it is a pain to do by hand unless you let it sit for a year or so. I have used a tiller at that point to break it up to haul out. I'd like to try the pig composting system where you punch holes in the manure pack and pour corn in there to encourage your pigs to root the manure up for free, but I don't have pig infrastructure yet.
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Post by davida on Dec 13, 2011 11:14:32 GMT -5
The calf is really adorable. Joel Salatin is really positive on the pig composting system but I have not tried it either but it should work.
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