Oaxacan Green Corn

The corn is so beautiful and on most stalks I got 2-3 ears per plant. I didn't water it as much as I could have but it still developed beautifully. I did have a problem with caterpillars but they only ate the tips of the corn.The corn had a kaleidescope of different shades of green, blue, yellow, gray and even purple. It is sooo beautiful.

This was my first attempt at growing a field corn. With a little help from customer service, to figure out when to stop watering and when to harvest, I was able to harvest 41 cobs from half the package of seeds planted. I have already made green masa for tortillas. This is one plant that gives, the kernels store well, and I will be able to enjoy throughout the year, knowing I grew it organically. It does require lots of water, especially with this year's record heat, but this was worth it. The tall stalks did start to bend over as the cobs got heavier but I manage to stake them until they were dry enough.

I had a bunch of varieties of corn seeds that were 3 years old, so I planted them this year to see if anything came up. I didn't have the time to get good soil added to a newly-tilled area, so these grew in my crappy, clay-and-rock dirt. I called it my "corn Hunger Games", and whichever variety did the best in my harsh conditions would be planted next year. Oaxacan Green was the tallest, healthiest, most prolific, and earliest corn in the patch. I had a lot of my new shoots get eaten by cutworms, but a patch of 5 or so made it together, and I had no problems with pollination even with the small amount of plants. Each stalk had 4 ears on them, and the stalks were about 8' high. The ears are gorgeous! I have not tried eating them, as I grew them for seed for next year.

Easily my favorite corn to date. Great germination, fast growth, loves hot weather, above average yield. Also the high quality of corn meal it produces cant be beat. My go-to polenta cornmeal for sure. I keep trying other varieties in addition to this one. I'm starting to think I'm wasting my time with the others. Oaxacan green dent is a winner all the way.

This year, 2018, the Central Coast of California has been having a very long cool Spring. I planted six packets of Oaxacan Geen Dent corn in three different garden plots at two different times, including early spring no-till beds and mid-spring rototilled beds. EVERY SINGLE SHOOT (about 700 seeds) got eaten by some critter the very next night after the shoot emerged. I think it was slugs or snails. The Glass Gems did great last year and the Atomic Orange corn in a nearby bed is knee-high on day 42 so I can't explain it. But it's time to try a different crop where I'd hoped this corn would grow...