Blue Mountain Flint Corn
Zea mays subsp. mays
Price: $5.17
SKU: 31404751Choose a variant:
Dave has worked on Blue Mountain Flint for 35 years. It is 50% Painted Mountain, and has the same appearance and plant type.
50% of its ancestors come from 20 different New England Flint Corns. The purpose was to create a Flint Corn that was both blue and has a huge amount of genetic diversity in it. Because most of the heirloom corns are tragically inbred, anybody wanting to breed blue into their Flint corn for health purposes will be able to do so while expanding the genetic diversity of their project. I'm motivated to help other people in other places advance their own gene pools.
Most customers will just use it as it is. Flint starch is harder and is preferred for some foods, such as grits and polenta. The soft flour starch, on the other hand, is more useful for most other cooking purposes.
The harder starch of the Flint kernels are more resilient when planted in wet ground, and the kernels on the cob are less vulnerable to molding for people who live in rainy climates. People in the east prefer a Flint Corn, and so do some people on the rainy Oregon and Washington coast.
The cobs are predominantly long, narrow 8 row. This helps them dry fast.
Dave has only planted blue kernels from pure blue cobs for a long time, but occasionally different colors show up because of the diverse background and recessive genes in Indian corn. Some customers want perfection and uniformity of color. The occurrence of occasional color variations is not due to my lack of hard work and trying, but it is a salute to the genetic diversity of the population, which is a major goal in all of Dave's breeding.
People wanting ancient heirloom indigenous varieties need to be educated to the fact that Indian corns have thousands of genes hiding in them, four different colors, and varied shapes. One cannot compete with modern hybrids for uniformity of cob appearance.
Both of Dave's blue lines have a significant percent of kernels, with blue germs, which shoots the antioxidant power through the roof. He is selecting for more of this every year, so expect it to continue to advance every year.
The seed we sell is produced by its developer. Since 1970, Dave Christensen of Big Timber, Montana (Seed We Need®) has been continuously developing and refining this amazingly diverse corn variety. He has made it his life's work. We purchase our seed stock directly from Dave so by purchasing these seeds for your own garden, you are not only helping to support the seed variety preservation work of the Victory Seed Company, you are directly supporting another small, seed preservationist.
50% of its ancestors come from 20 different New England Flint Corns. The purpose was to create a Flint Corn that was both blue and has a huge amount of genetic diversity in it. Because most of the heirloom corns are tragically inbred, anybody wanting to breed blue into their Flint corn for health purposes will be able to do so while expanding the genetic diversity of their project. I'm motivated to help other people in other places advance their own gene pools.
Most customers will just use it as it is. Flint starch is harder and is preferred for some foods, such as grits and polenta. The soft flour starch, on the other hand, is more useful for most other cooking purposes.
The harder starch of the Flint kernels are more resilient when planted in wet ground, and the kernels on the cob are less vulnerable to molding for people who live in rainy climates. People in the east prefer a Flint Corn, and so do some people on the rainy Oregon and Washington coast.
The cobs are predominantly long, narrow 8 row. This helps them dry fast.
Dave has only planted blue kernels from pure blue cobs for a long time, but occasionally different colors show up because of the diverse background and recessive genes in Indian corn. Some customers want perfection and uniformity of color. The occurrence of occasional color variations is not due to my lack of hard work and trying, but it is a salute to the genetic diversity of the population, which is a major goal in all of Dave's breeding.
People wanting ancient heirloom indigenous varieties need to be educated to the fact that Indian corns have thousands of genes hiding in them, four different colors, and varied shapes. One cannot compete with modern hybrids for uniformity of cob appearance.
Both of Dave's blue lines have a significant percent of kernels, with blue germs, which shoots the antioxidant power through the roof. He is selecting for more of this every year, so expect it to continue to advance every year.
The seed we sell is produced by its developer. Since 1970, Dave Christensen of Big Timber, Montana (Seed We Need®) has been continuously developing and refining this amazingly diverse corn variety. He has made it his life's work. We purchase our seed stock directly from Dave so by purchasing these seeds for your own garden, you are not only helping to support the seed variety preservation work of the Victory Seed Company, you are directly supporting another small, seed preservationist.
Genetic Classification: Open Pollinated
Planting Instructions:
'Blue Mountain' is one of the most cold-hardy corns available for early spring planting. Unlike the common practice of waiting until all danger of frost has passed, it was developed to survive planting in the cold, early spring soil. Developed at a 5,000 foot elevation in the mountains of Montana, it is bred to sit in cold, wet soil emerging with amazing vigor when it warms up.
Dave recommends planting by May 15 in the highest elevation where freezes and frost continue into June. In warmer climates plant it earlier.
If you grow without irrigation, it is good to get the corn growing early so that it is well established before mid-summer heat and drought hits. In Harden, Montana we plant on April 15th and harvest it around August 15th as dry grain.
As far as spacing of plants goes, you can do anything with it that you want. There are many ways you can space it, some better than others, but the instructions can get too complicated. The shorter the season the more space it should be given. I would caution that the plants are short and should not be planted where they will be shaded out by taller plants.
I plant my large, dryland acreage with twelve inches between kernels in rows spaced three feet apart. If you irrigate, you can space them closer together. The most common error people make is planting them too closely.
If planting using the "three to four kernels in a hill" method, make sure there is plenty of space between the hills so the plants get water and sunlight. Hill planting has an advantage for survival because you can carry a bucket of water to them. And understand that the kernels are planted on level ground, or in an indentation to catch rain water, and they are only "hilled-up" later in the growing season to lock in the moisture. Do not plant kernels in a mound or hill at the start; the roots will be on top of the ground level. You want the roots to go deep to get water and to support the plant.
All corn varieties need to be planted in a block so that there are neighbors for pollen on all sides. If you plant in a straight row the wind can blow all the pollen away.
Harvest Information:
Pick the ears for dry grain or decoration when the husks are dry and the kernels are hard enough that you cannot make a dent in them with your fingernail. Many people pick the ears too early when kernels are still soft. If this is done they shrivel up and shrink and their beauty is destroyed. They cannot finish maturing once they have been picked.
Even though the ears look dry, there remains moisture deep within the cob. If you were to enclose them in a box, the moisture would cause them to sour and mold. You may let them dry longer on the plants if neither weather nor predators are damaging them. Otherwise hang them up or lay them out in the open until they are completely dry inside.
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