Flour Corn, Purple Mountains (Organic)
Zea mays. Flour/Parching. 85-90 days.
The stunning lavender-purple kernels of Purple Mountains Corn are held on 7-9” long, mostly 8 row cobs. Short 4-5′ plants are very early to mature and are surprisingly high yielding for such small plants. We have selected this corn for several seasons after crossing some Mandan Parching Lavender corn into Montana Lavender corn. Montana Lavender was bred by Ed Schultz of Montana, which shares many traits with the renowned Painted Mountain Corn. Our goal is to develop an excellent corn for pozole and masa, while preserving its ability to be a great parching corn. We have been selecting for robust flavor and a uniform purple color without any flinty kernels. With its flour type kernels, Purple Mountains is perfect for making corn bread. If you like Mandan Parching Lavender corn then Purple Mountains should be a good improvement, as it better resists soil-borne diseases such as fusarium. Purple Mountains is a reference to the final musical project of the late great David Berman.
Corn does best when direct sown 1” deep, spaced at 12” centers, but can be planted as close as 8″ apart if given enough fertility. If sowing early in cold soil we recommend soaking seed overnight in water before sowing. Sow once danger of frost has passed. For optimal pollination do not plant a single row, instead plant 3-4 rows in blocks of at least 100 plants. Use row cover to protect emerging seedlings from birds and insects.
Seed Saving
Harvest cobs for grain or seed when stalks are brown and ears are dry. Fold husk back and leave indoors to finish drying completely. Remove kernels by rubbing two cobs together, or by hand. Test for dryness with a hammer; dry kernels shatter. Isolate from other corn by distance –1 mile – or time, two weeks – between sowings.
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