Homestead Hero Flour Corn
Homestead Hero Flour Corn
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This is a new flour corn developed by Dave Christensen, Seed We Need® and released in January 2024.
Balanced protein builds muscle. Nutrient dense grain staple. Fast maturing. Strong-stalked plants stand well. Survives both drought and cold stress.
The soft starch makes fluffy cornbread and also binds well for Johnnycakes and tortillas. The protein type gives it a rich amazing flavor. You will really enjoy boiling it for a high protein breakfast cereal!
Balanced, high-quality protein. It predominantly contains the rare Floury 2 gene that gives it high levels of the essential amino acids (proteins) that are deficient in other grains. It contains significant levels of lysine, tryptophan, and methionine. With other grains people must supplement their grain with legumes to get complete protein.
This is not a hybrid. This is an open pollinated population developed by natural breeding only. It has many ancestors from experiment stations in North Dakota, Canada, Poland and Romania. The genetic diversity makes it so customers can keep the seed that adapts to their area. It can be maintained forever.
The modern type plants have strong high-lignin stalks and roots that stand strong for machine harvest, unlike fast maturing Native lines. Most have single stalks; often no suckers. High placed ears. Cob appearances vary. Most have 10-14 rows of yellow grain.
Dave spent 30 years creating a nutrient-dense grain that is fast maturing under harsh conditions so people can feed themselves. These are the survivors of years of drought in dry land northern Montana.
Created for climate change. For tomorrow's necessary generation of homesteaders, and people around the world trying to achieve Victory over drought. Created to be your first choice for a high nutrition grain food staple. A wise foundation for your family's food security seed bank.
The high digestibility makes it an outstanding food for people and livestock. The high methionine makes it the first choice for chickens.
Dry grain in 115 days. Harvest when husks are dry and kernels are hard.
The seed we sell is produced and sold to us 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 seed preservationist.
Homestead Hero was named by Jon Whitinger of Victory Seed Company. Dave and I work together sharing the urgency of creating foods to provide for the coming challenges. Victory Seed, probably more than any company is looking ahead with the independent homesteader in mind.
Each packet contains 1 ounce, which is approximately 130 seeds.
Planting Instructions:
'Homstead Hero' 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 past, 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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