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Post by johninfla on Apr 19, 2012 7:30:54 GMT -5
Just in case anyone is interested..... My Morado has begun to tassel. That is fifty-seven days from planting.
John
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Post by RpR on Apr 19, 2012 13:46:56 GMT -5
Where did you get your seeds?
I have the Garden Seed Directory and what Redwood City seeds call Maize Morado is different from what the book calls it. Now I know they are only using what the seed catalogs say, but the Maize Morado I planted some years ago, from RWC and again this year, was a long 160 day corn.
I got some ears by the grace of God and seventy degrees all the way through Oct. That year Nov. 1st is was as if God hit a switch and turned the heat off.
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Post by johninfla on Apr 19, 2012 13:58:36 GMT -5
I have been growing it for about four years. Originally it came from the local Latin Store (imported from Peru) I have saved seed and augmented my supply with extra ears bought from the store. I had to buy more because we drink a lot of Chicha Morada.
Jim (traab) recently sent me some that he grew out, I am going to add this to my next planting. I figure the wider the gene pool, the better (so long as it's still maiz morada)
John
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Post by davida on Apr 19, 2012 15:46:20 GMT -5
Just in case anyone is interested..... My Morado has begun to tassel. That is fifty-seven days from planting. John Of course, we are interested. Please keep us posted. David
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Post by cortona on Apr 19, 2012 16:32:39 GMT -5
we are really interested!!! are the morado a flint or a flour?of it is a flour i'm more tan interested in a seed swap too!
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Post by johninfla on Apr 19, 2012 18:41:24 GMT -5
In Peru it is sometimes ground for flour, so I guess that means it is a flour corn?? I have been told they are a wax corn. To be honest I don't know. I think that flint corn is really hard and small like popcorn, if so the morado is NOT flint. We use it to make chicha and I have ground it to make grits....they turned out really tasty.....purple grits is strange but kind of fun for the girls John
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Post by blueadzuki on Apr 19, 2012 20:47:56 GMT -5
we are really interested!!! are the morado a flint or a flour?of it is a flour i'm more tan interested in a seed swap too! Depends on which one. As far as I can tell, ANY corn that has a dark purple pericarp can be used for, and can be called "Maiz" mordao (except maybe sweetcorn). From what I have seen, the standard one sold actually is a flint, maybe with a bit of dent thrown in (flint actually covers pretty much all of the hard undimpled corns, the small hard ones usually all popcorns (which are a sort of "super flint) Indian corn, like people hang on their doors, is usually flint). Wax corn is actually sort of soft and sticky. I have a cob of one that is basically a peruvian cancha, which would put it firmly in flour.
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Post by cortona on Apr 20, 2012 11:56:56 GMT -5
as i've posted about on this forum i'm growing to breed a landrace flour corn adapted to my climate so every addittion are more tan welcomed, i will not intentionally add flint gene but in the first selection i've done last year some of the survivors (the ones that produce something in my unirrigated corn patch)show some denting...but i've roughed the kernels that are dented, hope to keep down the number of the plants with this caratteristic, this year i've added seeds recived from grin that are all pure flours and some cancha from equador that a friends give me,this are fantastic, soft andabsolutely floury....so let'see what are the results at the end of the season.
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Post by johninfla on May 22, 2012 11:58:57 GMT -5
My morado is not looking well.....I put it in a new garden without much organic matter. To make it worse it's been a super dry year and my irrigation isn't sufficient. Having said all of that, I think I will at least get enough for some seed and chicha......I was just hoping for a massive harvest I'm thinking of planting a second planting in a couple of weeks when I harvest. This time it will be in one of my older gardens....I'm thinking it will follow the green beans. I've not planted morado this late before BUT if it would make....it would come in the middle of September (about two months before first frost). My big worries are disease and insect pressure......it's really hot and humid here during the summer. I am interested in how many of you grow morada? If you are growing morada would you like to contribute to my morada gene pool by donating some seed? I have some peruvian peppers to trade and aguaymanto as well. Thanks, John
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Post by 12540dumont on May 22, 2012 15:15:07 GMT -5
John, I think I have some left in the seed fridge. I will check next week. I'm pretty sure I used most of it to make posole. Can you post a recipe for making Chicha? Thank you.
Cortona, I am growing an ancient Italian Flour corn this year. It's White and called Rostrato per Dentato. 70 days to silk. Looks very very much like the Texas Gourdseed i grew last year, by the seed alone. I'm going to transplant it this weekend. If I get it, I'll send you some at the end of the season.
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Post by cortona on May 22, 2012 16:10:13 GMT -5
thanks Holly, your help are ever ever really appreciate! i will post some photos about all my garden (and corn) soon after the rainy period end... but my corn plants seems to like the weater...it are selected for drought resistence but i think it are not drought loving aniway!
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Post by johninfla on May 23, 2012 7:04:30 GMT -5
Thanks Holly,
CHICHA MORADA (The famous purple corn drink from Peru)
There are several kinds of chicha spread out throughout Latin America. This one is from Peru and is non-alcoholic. You can get it in supermarkets and restaurants all over the place. They even make a "kool-aide" type of chicha from powder (it's yucky!) Chicha de jora is another drink entirely. It's made from sprouted and dried corn and is alcoholic. It's kind of an acquired taste (I like it). My wife's grandmother used to make various alcoholic drinks she would call chicha de ________ (Like Chicha de Manzana-----hard cider) so I guess chicha can be used as a general word for any fermented beverage. OK, so here follows the recipe for Chicha Morada...it's super easy and super good!
CHICHA MORADA
Take three or four or five ears (depends on size) of maiz morada and boil them in a big pot like you would use to boil spaghetti (maybe three quarts of water). Add two or three sticks of cinnamon and a clove. If you have pineapple, you can put the peel (skin??) of the pineapple in and boil all together for one to two hours. You want the chicha to be good and strong purple.
Pour the chicha into your pitcher and add about a cup of sugar (experiment for your preference) for two quarts of chicha. OK, here is the vital step......without this step the chicha won't turn out well. Squeeze the juice of a lime (or lemon if you don't have a lime) into the chicha. You can drink it warm or put it in the fridge to cool off. I don't know what the lime does but it changes the chicha completely. If you don't believe me, try a little before you put lime juice in......it's amazing the change.
This recipe is just one variation.....and you can usually get two boils out of your corn. The first one is good and strong and the chicha has foam on top (a sign of good chicha). The second boil is less but still good.
This recipe is guaranteed to give you a purple chicha smile (like a milk mustache) across your face! It does for my kids!!!!!!!!
John
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Post by johninfla on May 30, 2012 10:09:37 GMT -5
OK, so I picked six ears of morado yesterday when I got home. It's a little early but I want to avoid worms and in past years the corn has sprouted when it was still in the shuck!
I got a couple of good, full, but short ears and one ear that must have been thirteen inches long!!! It didn't fill out (it was on an outside row) but imagine if it did. I'm thinking to save the few seeds that developed on this ear and plant them separately trying to develop the long ear length. I know it would drastically reduce the depth of the gene pool but could it work???
John
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Post by DarJones on May 30, 2012 10:55:40 GMT -5
Low pressure genetic selection is effective with maize. It just takes a while to achieve results. All you have to do is preferentially save seed from the longest ears for a few years and voila, you will start seeing an increase in long ears. Let them cross with the short eared plants to maintain diversity. After a few years, start to select against short ears by not saving seed from them.
DarJones
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Post by raymondo on May 31, 2012 2:20:46 GMT -5
Just curious, is this drink ever made with any other coloured corn? Or is it strictly a purple potion?
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