Scientific Name: Zea mays
Family: Poaceae
How to grow: Plant 1-2 inches deep in blocks (rather than rows) around the time of the last spring frost in rich soil. Corn needs about one square foot per plant. If you want to maintain genetic purity, be sure to separate varieties by 1-1.5 miles.
How to save: Leave corn on stalks well into the fall, or harvest and dry it out completely. Once the corn is dry, store it in a freezer to maintain a high germination rate for many years to come. Be prepared to save at least 500 seeds.
Story: Terry Walker of White County, Arkansas enjoys growing open pollinated Hickory Cane Corn.I asked him if this was another name for Hickory King Corn and he said that some seed catalogs call it Hickory King, but “old timers” call it Hickory Cane. Hickory Cane is a yellow dent variety. Terry said the he chooses to grow it so he can make hominy and corn meal, but noted that the variety is also very good for feeding livestock. He explained that the hybrid corn grown today is incredibly hard, which makes it difficult and painful for animals to attempt to eat, but open pollinated yellow dent corn is much easier for them to chew. Terry said that he grows his corn in a “big batch” so he can have enough to last him a couple of years. He likes to rotate his crops and often alternates the varieties that he grows each year.
Tips: Terry recommends fertilizing corn with ammonia nitrate. Once the corn gets to be about 6-12 inches tall, sprinkle ammonia nitrate about four inches from the base and below. Cover up with dirt and “nearly overnight you’ll have corn stalks almost waist high!” Your stalks will begin a pale green/yellow color, but soon turn into a darker green and shoot up anywhere from 10 to 20 ft high.
For protection from worms, Terry suggests brushing the corn with mineral oil. A neighbor friend of Terry’s said that he filled a squirt gun with mineral oil and had his younger son go out and “shoot the corn.”
Natural State Heirlooms 