Sweet Corn, Double Red (Organic)
Zea mays. Sweet. 85 days.
A superb addition to the list of cool, purple vegetables. Normal sugary (SU) kernels are sweet and richly flavored, but the real coup of Double Red is the ridiculously dark red color. The kernels are so red that they can turn your fingers purple when eating it. Certainly a culinary necessity for those of us trying to “eat the rainbow.” Red hue varies a little from ear to ear with many so dark red they seem almost black-purple. This rare color in sweet corn comes from the anthocyanin pigments that are also seen in the plant’s leaves. A natural source of anti-oxidants, anthocyanins are also anti-inflammatory. Plants are 5-7′ tall with 1-2 ears per stalk. We have heard that when dried and ground, it makes a delicious purple corn bread, but we eat them all fresh and haven’t tried this yet. Using traditional plant breeding methods, Double Red was bred by Dr. Alan Kapuler of Peace Seeds in Corvallis, Oregon. It is the culmination of 25 years of breeding work by Peace Seeds and 8 years of collaboration with Dylana Kapuler and Mario DiBenedetto of Peace Seedlings.
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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.
katzymom (verified owner) –
Where did you grow this variety? Washington
We got this in the ground late and weren’t sure we were going to get anything. The germination wasn’t great. Only about 70%. About half of them that grew did not get over 4 feet tall. Some were less than 2 feet tall. The short stalks did not produce any viable corn. The tall stalks that did produce gave nice full size ears of corn that were gorgeous to look at, ranging from a dark burgundy cream color mix to an almost black purple. We also got one ear that was cream colored with light brushstroke like hint of purple on it. Shucking the corn left my hands purple. I was afraid my face would get purple eating it. Fortunately, it did not stain my face. When cooked the corn turned a dark purple. It is not a super sweet corn. It was tasty but not quite as sweet as I hoped. I dried some thinking to try seed saving but ended up with way too much so I ground some of the dried corn. I added a small amount to a batch of cornbread and it had beautiful purple flecks in it. It tasted great used as corn meal. I may grow it just for cornmeal in the future. I will try again for fresh corn. I just need to get it in the ground sooner.
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Daniel Pacheco –
Where did you grow this variety? Oregon
2022 was a fantastic! Each stalk produced roughly 2 ears. Cracked it straight off the stalk. Was the sweetest corn. Plants grew roughly 6-7ft. We planted roughly a dozen and a half but nothing made it back into the house (big family) because they were so delicious. The kiddos LOVED it! Corn was purple with some white. As the corn matured, the color deepened and homogenized within the kernel. I am planning to plant ~ 100 seeds this coming year 2023 :). I’m an organic farmer and seemed to have the best results when I had green beans were planted close in proximity and honestly did not organically fertilize other than when planting at the start. Honestly was able to produce cobs nearly identical to the picture shown for this product. I planted the corn ~12-14″ apart.
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Adam (verified owner) –
Where did you grow this variety? Northeastern US
Absolutely stunning plants, but the flavor isn’t there at all. I picked this corn at the proper stage, and it was not sweet at all. Not very “corny” either. Just “meh.” Hardly any stalks yielded 2 ears, either, and the 2nd ears on the ones that did are miniscule. The plants looked very healthy, as they were grown in full sun, with adequate fertilizer and regular water.
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