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#1
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saving corn seed
My corn cobs are looking plump but I want to keep some for seeds.
Could I break a cob in half to eat it and save the seeds of the other? It's just that I don't have too many plants and I read somewhere that I need at least 25 to keep up the viability. But I also want to test the product. :-) I will overlook the fact that these 25 plants come from about 2 or 3 corncobs themselves. -- Cheers, Loki [ Brevity is the soul of wit. W.Shakespeare ] |
#2
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saving corn seed
Pat Kiewicz wrote: Loki said: My corn cobs are looking plump but I want to keep some for seeds. Could I break a cob in half to eat it and save the seeds of the other? It's just that I don't have too many plants and I read somewhere that I need at least 25 to keep up the viability. But I also want to test the product. :-) The whole cob needs to mature on the plant until the seeds are dry. At that point, they can be stored for planting or processed for corn meal. And they won't be plump anymore, but dented or wrinkled. I disagree. If Loki wants to eat part of the ear of corn, I am sure that would work. I would open the husks, snap out maybe 2/3 of the ear then use something like a twist tie to reclose the husks. I wouldn't want the birds finding the rest of the cob as the remaining seeds mature. Steve |
#3
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saving corn seed
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#4
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saving corn seed
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#5
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saving corn seed
il Fri, 05 Mar 2004 07:46:09 -0500, Steve ha scritto:
Pat Kiewicz wrote: The whole cob needs to mature on the plant until the seeds are dry. At that point, they can be stored for planting or processed for corn meal. And they won't be plump anymore, but dented or wrinkled. I disagree. If Loki wants to eat part of the ear of corn, I am sure that would work. I would open the husks, snap out maybe 2/3 of the ear then use something like a twist tie to reclose the husks. I wouldn't want the birds finding the rest of the cob as the remaining seeds mature. Steve So it's about keeping the cob on the plant untill dry then? I've often wondered how long seeds need to actually grow before they can be saved and be viable. I mean as soon as a fruit is edible, maybe the seeds are viable, and the same for corn but needing drying as well.? -- Cheers, Loki [ Brevity is the soul of wit. W.Shakespeare ] |
#6
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saving corn seed
il Fri, 05 Mar 2004 07:46:09 -0500, Steve ha scritto:
Pat Kiewicz wrote: The whole cob needs to mature on the plant until the seeds are dry. At that point, they can be stored for planting or processed for corn meal. And they won't be plump anymore, but dented or wrinkled. I disagree. If Loki wants to eat part of the ear of corn, I am sure that would work. I would open the husks, snap out maybe 2/3 of the ear then use something like a twist tie to reclose the husks. I wouldn't want the birds finding the rest of the cob as the remaining seeds mature. Steve So it's about keeping the cob on the plant untill dry then? I've often wondered how long seeds need to actually grow before they can be saved and be viable. I mean as soon as a fruit is edible, maybe the seeds are viable, and the same for corn but needing drying as well.? -- Cheers, Loki [ Brevity is the soul of wit. W.Shakespeare ] |
#7
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saving corn seed
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#8
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saving corn seed
il Fri, 05 Mar 2004 07:46:09 -0500, Steve ha scritto:
Pat Kiewicz wrote: The whole cob needs to mature on the plant until the seeds are dry. At that point, they can be stored for planting or processed for corn meal. And they won't be plump anymore, but dented or wrinkled. I disagree. If Loki wants to eat part of the ear of corn, I am sure that would work. I would open the husks, snap out maybe 2/3 of the ear then use something like a twist tie to reclose the husks. I wouldn't want the birds finding the rest of the cob as the remaining seeds mature. Steve So it's about keeping the cob on the plant untill dry then? I've often wondered how long seeds need to actually grow before they can be saved and be viable. I mean as soon as a fruit is edible, maybe the seeds are viable, and the same for corn but needing drying as well.? -- Cheers, Loki [ Brevity is the soul of wit. W.Shakespeare ] |
#9
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saving corn seed
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#10
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saving corn seed
Steve wrote:
Pat Kiewicz wrote: Loki said: My corn cobs are looking plump but I want to keep some for seeds. Could I break a cob in half to eat it and save the seeds of the other? It's just that I don't have too many plants and I read somewhere that I need at least 25 to keep up the viability. But I also want to test the product. :-) The whole cob needs to mature on the plant until the seeds are dry. At that point, they can be stored for planting or processed for corn meal. And they won't be plump anymore, but dented or wrinkled. I disagree. If Loki wants to eat part of the ear of corn, I am sure that would work. I would open the husks, snap out maybe 2/3 of the ear then use something like a twist tie to reclose the husks. I wouldn't want the birds finding the rest of the cob as the remaining seeds mature. Steve I have to disagree with your disagreement ;-). Breaking a portion off a cob will leave the exposed end of the cob portion left on the stalk open to all sorts of molds and/or bacterial infection. A more practical way would be to eat some whole cobs and leave some others on the plant to dry. However, there will still be several caveats, e.g. this will only work with a non-hybrid, open pollinated sweet corn. Plus, since corn is wind pollinated, unless there is no other variety of sweet corn within a minimum of 1 mile of the stuff you want to save, it'll be a crap shoot as to what characteristics the corn from your saved seeds will have. You could easily eat some of the cobs of corn you have grown and find them delicious so you let some cobs remain on the plant to dry for seed. Depending on what pollen fertilized your original cobs, after all your work of saving and planting, you could have altogether different tasting corn. This is particularly true in an area like the one in which I live, where corn is a very popular cash crop and there are thousands of acres of many different varieties grown. At least, if Loki attempts saving his/her own corn seed, it will be an interesting learning experience. Ross |
#11
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saving corn seed
Steve wrote:
Pat Kiewicz wrote: Loki said: My corn cobs are looking plump but I want to keep some for seeds. Could I break a cob in half to eat it and save the seeds of the other? It's just that I don't have too many plants and I read somewhere that I need at least 25 to keep up the viability. But I also want to test the product. :-) The whole cob needs to mature on the plant until the seeds are dry. At that point, they can be stored for planting or processed for corn meal. And they won't be plump anymore, but dented or wrinkled. I disagree. If Loki wants to eat part of the ear of corn, I am sure that would work. I would open the husks, snap out maybe 2/3 of the ear then use something like a twist tie to reclose the husks. I wouldn't want the birds finding the rest of the cob as the remaining seeds mature. Steve I have to disagree with your disagreement ;-). Breaking a portion off a cob will leave the exposed end of the cob portion left on the stalk open to all sorts of molds and/or bacterial infection. A more practical way would be to eat some whole cobs and leave some others on the plant to dry. However, there will still be several caveats, e.g. this will only work with a non-hybrid, open pollinated sweet corn. Plus, since corn is wind pollinated, unless there is no other variety of sweet corn within a minimum of 1 mile of the stuff you want to save, it'll be a crap shoot as to what characteristics the corn from your saved seeds will have. You could easily eat some of the cobs of corn you have grown and find them delicious so you let some cobs remain on the plant to dry for seed. Depending on what pollen fertilized your original cobs, after all your work of saving and planting, you could have altogether different tasting corn. This is particularly true in an area like the one in which I live, where corn is a very popular cash crop and there are thousands of acres of many different varieties grown. At least, if Loki attempts saving his/her own corn seed, it will be an interesting learning experience. Ross |
#12
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saving corn seed
il Fri, 05 Mar 2004 07:46:09 -0500, Steve ha scritto:
Pat Kiewicz wrote: The whole cob needs to mature on the plant until the seeds are dry. At that point, they can be stored for planting or processed for corn meal. And they won't be plump anymore, but dented or wrinkled. I disagree. If Loki wants to eat part of the ear of corn, I am sure that would work. I would open the husks, snap out maybe 2/3 of the ear then use something like a twist tie to reclose the husks. I wouldn't want the birds finding the rest of the cob as the remaining seeds mature. Steve So it's about keeping the cob on the plant untill dry then? I've often wondered how long seeds need to actually grow before they can be saved and be viable. I mean as soon as a fruit is edible, maybe the seeds are viable, and the same for corn but needing drying as well.? -- Cheers, Loki [ Brevity is the soul of wit. W.Shakespeare ] |
#13
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saving corn seed
Steve wrote:
Pat Kiewicz wrote: Loki said: My corn cobs are looking plump but I want to keep some for seeds. Could I break a cob in half to eat it and save the seeds of the other? It's just that I don't have too many plants and I read somewhere that I need at least 25 to keep up the viability. But I also want to test the product. :-) The whole cob needs to mature on the plant until the seeds are dry. At that point, they can be stored for planting or processed for corn meal. And they won't be plump anymore, but dented or wrinkled. I disagree. If Loki wants to eat part of the ear of corn, I am sure that would work. I would open the husks, snap out maybe 2/3 of the ear then use something like a twist tie to reclose the husks. I wouldn't want the birds finding the rest of the cob as the remaining seeds mature. Steve I have to disagree with your disagreement ;-). Breaking a portion off a cob will leave the exposed end of the cob portion left on the stalk open to all sorts of molds and/or bacterial infection. A more practical way would be to eat some whole cobs and leave some others on the plant to dry. However, there will still be several caveats, e.g. this will only work with a non-hybrid, open pollinated sweet corn. Plus, since corn is wind pollinated, unless there is no other variety of sweet corn within a minimum of 1 mile of the stuff you want to save, it'll be a crap shoot as to what characteristics the corn from your saved seeds will have. You could easily eat some of the cobs of corn you have grown and find them delicious so you let some cobs remain on the plant to dry for seed. Depending on what pollen fertilized your original cobs, after all your work of saving and planting, you could have altogether different tasting corn. This is particularly true in an area like the one in which I live, where corn is a very popular cash crop and there are thousands of acres of many different varieties grown. At least, if Loki attempts saving his/her own corn seed, it will be an interesting learning experience. Ross |
#14
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saving corn seed
Steve wrote:
Pat Kiewicz wrote: Loki said: My corn cobs are looking plump but I want to keep some for seeds. Could I break a cob in half to eat it and save the seeds of the other? It's just that I don't have too many plants and I read somewhere that I need at least 25 to keep up the viability. But I also want to test the product. :-) The whole cob needs to mature on the plant until the seeds are dry. At that point, they can be stored for planting or processed for corn meal. And they won't be plump anymore, but dented or wrinkled. I disagree. If Loki wants to eat part of the ear of corn, I am sure that would work. I would open the husks, snap out maybe 2/3 of the ear then use something like a twist tie to reclose the husks. I wouldn't want the birds finding the rest of the cob as the remaining seeds mature. Steve I have to disagree with your disagreement ;-). Breaking a portion off a cob will leave the exposed end of the cob portion left on the stalk open to all sorts of molds and/or bacterial infection. A more practical way would be to eat some whole cobs and leave some others on the plant to dry. However, there will still be several caveats, e.g. this will only work with a non-hybrid, open pollinated sweet corn. Plus, since corn is wind pollinated, unless there is no other variety of sweet corn within a minimum of 1 mile of the stuff you want to save, it'll be a crap shoot as to what characteristics the corn from your saved seeds will have. You could easily eat some of the cobs of corn you have grown and find them delicious so you let some cobs remain on the plant to dry for seed. Depending on what pollen fertilized your original cobs, after all your work of saving and planting, you could have altogether different tasting corn. This is particularly true in an area like the one in which I live, where corn is a very popular cash crop and there are thousands of acres of many different varieties grown. At least, if Loki attempts saving his/her own corn seed, it will be an interesting learning experience. Ross |
#15
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saving corn seed
Loki wrote: So it's about keeping the cob on the plant untill dry then? I've often wondered how long seeds need to actually grow before they can be saved and be viable. I mean as soon as a fruit is edible, maybe the seeds are viable, and the same for corn but needing drying as well.? Yeah, you'll have to keep the corn on the cob until the seeds mature. Mature corn seeds are hard and nearly dry. We eat fresh corn at a much earlier stage, when it is still young and tender. Many fruits have mature seeds when the fruit is ripe. Tree fruits and melons come to mind. On the other hand, cucumbers are a fruit that we eat when still green and the seeds are still soft. A fully ripe cucumber isn't something most people would want to eat. Steve |
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