|
Post by macmex on Dec 26, 2019 7:25:13 GMT -6
Well, here goes. I'm going to delve into the selection of corn, in an effort to improve the Mesquakie Indian Corn I have been growing. I've been reticent about this, as I truly do love the mix it already contains. However, it is not at all the original Mesquakie Corn that the Ketelsen family received in the early 1800s. It's been mixed with Cornbelt dent, to the point that it is more dent than flint.
Here's a link about the original Mesquakie corn, called Tama Flint.
In this photo of Mesquakie Indian Corn, only the darkest red ear comes close to being a true flint. I've been going through my seed, as I shell it (by hand) and picking out true flint, or close to true flint, for the coming year's seed. This will automatically make my seed stock more red, though I'm including other colors, if they're true flint. At this point, I don't think I'll be aiming to reproduce the original Tama Flint, but rather to get back to a true flint, regardless of color. We'll see how it goes!
In order to do this I will need to plant more corn than usual, and that's fine. Every year I find that field corn is a great source of pleasure for me. It's low maintenance, productive and ... we use a lot of it for cornmeal and grits. I struggle to keep up with the weeding, so this coming year I intend to plant a lot of corn and cowpeas, to help preserve the garden space from getting taken over by weeds. Of course, once I get going on sweet potatoes, beans, tomatoes and squash, we won't have so much space to play with!
|
|
|
Post by rdback on Dec 30, 2019 10:06:42 GMT -6
Interesting project George. Curiosity caused me to do a little research on Mesquakie Indian Corn, and I learned about the Corn Mother. In addition to corn seed, she left BEAN seeds and tobacco seeds. I'm not interested in tobacco, even though Virginia is (was?) known for its production. But the sacred BEAN seeds have caught my interest. So far, I haven't found much, but I'll keep looking lol.
I did come across this recent ARTICLE you might find interesting. Preservation of this corn is important to others as well. There's a few "historical farming" tips you might want to consider.
Anyway, good luck with it. I'm off to look for the "sacred bean"!
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Dec 30, 2019 11:54:17 GMT -6
Interesting article. I think whoever did the actual writing got confused between flint and flour corn. Flint is very hard and dense. Flour is soft and not dense. "Tama Flint" would be a flint, not a flour. I'm going to shoot for flint.
The Native American attitude concerning corn is heart warming. I had an Aztec friend who, if not allowed off work the week he wanted to plant his corn (several hours away, at his family home), would simply quit his job. Corn back then was cheap to buy, but to him, the act of planting and growing it for himself was huge.
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Jan 1, 2020 18:28:51 GMT -6
Here's a photo of the original Mesquakie Indian Corn seed I've been growing for 14 years and the selected seed, which I intend to plant this year. You can see how much more red the selection is.
|
|
|
Post by heavyhitterokra on Jan 3, 2020 21:41:07 GMT -6
Nice work, George! Keep it up. That is very encouraging to see the color change in your selections. Best of luck this season. Planting time will be here again before we know it!
|
|
|
Post by snickeringbear on Feb 12, 2020 13:13:29 GMT -6
I noted a relationship between flint phenotype and red color at least 35 years ago. This suggests the gene for red corn may be linked with the gene for flint. I've grown enough white and yellow flint to be sure that it can be broken. Keep in mind that homozygous red is linked with reduced production and small ears.
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Feb 13, 2020 7:00:11 GMT -6
Thanks Darryl,
I believe Carol Deppe made the same observation about corn bred too strongly for red. I'm pretty sure the original Mesquakie corn was red.
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Aug 22, 2020 14:11:34 GMT -6
I shouldn't be surprised, but it was a real adrenaline rush to pick and husk the first few ears from this year's Mesquakie Indian corn crop. It amazes me just how fast selection can change the appearance of a crop! This corn was planted on April 25. We had such bad weather for that time of the year, and the weeds got away from me for a while, that most of this planting didn't make it. I replanted (thickly) on June 19 and that planting came into full tassel last week. It's looking very promising and, so far, the weather has cooperated.
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Aug 23, 2020 5:01:33 GMT -6
I sent you seed of the original mix as well as my first selection (what produced this recent photo). If you planted more yellow seed you'll get more yellow ears. The mix is quite sensitive to selection. Having said that, most corn is also very prone to crossing, and a cross may be visible in the seed itself, even before getting grown out. I can't remember the name of the variety, but Sandhill Preservation Center listed a new, open pollinated, non GMO corn, which is genetically bred to REJECT pollen which is not from itself. This would enable a person to easily grow and maintain a healthy, reproducible corn, even if planting in an environment where there is foreign pollen floating around!
|
|
|
Post by heavyhitterokra on Aug 23, 2020 22:34:15 GMT -6
I've been hand pollinating a lot this summer, due to Three Sisters Corn that is spread too far apart to do its own thing ... I'll just have to wait and see what happens.This one is freshly hand-pollinated, using a goose feather and a tassel from a nearby stalk a few feet away.These sunflowers are so determined to find their way out of this persistent maze of corn, they almost seem to be pushing the corn to one side. This one looks like it's using a lower blossom as a right arm to shove it away.Sometimes, plants seem to have an almost innate intelligence in their posture and motion. This bean is seeking a loftier leaf to latch on to, in order to make its way above the canopy. It reminds me of a tiny periscope, peering over a sea of green foliage.
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Aug 24, 2020 7:08:33 GMT -6
Yes, there is just something about planting three sisters' style. I consider the sunflower to fit very well with it. It simply makes me feel happy to see cornfield beans "mugging" the plants around them!
|
|
|
Post by heavyhitterokra on Aug 24, 2020 11:10:33 GMT -6
The beans don't seem to hurt the sunflowers any, but they tend to choke the field corn tassels before they get a chance to unfurl. The sunflowers can really take a lot of weight and still prosper. Cucumber vines love them for support. Pickling varieties of cucumber would probably do better in that situation than the straight 8" types, as the longer ones tend to get pretty heavy, pretty fast.Field corn tassel getting choked before the leaves had a chance to unfurl. Old Timey Cornfield pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and sunflowers = no weeds. Very happy pole beans ... Not sure I can say the same about this poor old corn.
The sunflowers carry the burden better. In the foreground to the right, another corn tassel being choked before the leaves unfurled. Just a closeup of the beans climbing corn. These pods are ready to harvest Whippoorwill Peas in the snap pea stage. These a really good for stir fry when they are only about as big as match sticks in diameter and about 3" inches long. It will be interesting to see what these girdled ears of corn look like when they are mature.
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Aug 30, 2020 5:07:52 GMT -6
I'll post more pictures soon as I can. The website, here is giving me fits this morning. Not responding.
|
|
raf
New Member
Posts: 42
|
Post by raf on Dec 20, 2020 9:31:32 GMT -6
Reading old posts & the corn you mentioned is Rebellion (Cycle 0) I can't remember the mechanism but it requires a specific type of pollen to reproduce. In the case of Rebellion it's "key" is popcorn pollen, it will readily cross with popcorn but not other types.
Lofthouse & others have worked with TPS (true potato seed) to reverse the same mechanism. Apparently generations of propagating potatoes by tuber has caused their flower/pollen to have some sterility/incompatibility or (polyploidy?) issues. I believe the sudden in rush of new potato varieties is a product of that reversal & allowing the potatoes to sexually reproduce. Pulling the handle on the genetic lottery I suppose.
I only have a high level awareness of the mechanism so I'm probably not explaining it correctly but potato breeding is interesting reading.
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Dec 20, 2020 19:57:12 GMT -6
I'll try to do some research on that. I think I've heard of it, but even more than you, I'm not sure I understand it. I do know that Sandhill Preservation Center offers a new corn which resists cross pollination.
|
|