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Sorghums are in breeding plants which means they are self fertile and self pollinating and do not readily cross. All corn varieties are out crossing plants that are wind pollinated and will cross readily with one another. If you wish to save seed that will be strong for the long haul you need to plant it in large blocks of around 500 plants, save the best 100 cobs and mix the seed from those cobs, from to take next years seed. Hand pollination is possible - see "Seed To Seed" by Suzanne Ashworth for detailed information. In areas where thousands of acres of corn are being grown and the pollen clouds are moving around high with the wind, there would need to be long distances between the varieties to keep them pure however I’ve found that it’s relatively easy in our gardens to keep the seed pure in quite small areas where attention is paid to planting in blocks and collecting seed from the middle of the blocks. CULTIVATION TIPS Corn needs to be planted when the ground temperature reaches 16. If you are growing popcorn, flour corn or polenta corn it is really important to get it in then (usually during October / November). If it's planted later it will struggle to mature while the sun is still hot enough to dry it adequately and then you'll have trouble storing it and stopping moulds and insects getting into it and it won't go through the schucker or grind properly. Sweet corn can be planted as late as January in some areas, as long as you plant a short season variety. Planting the seed into seed trays and transplanting as in Bio intensive gardening, saves losing lots of seed and plants to the birds, snails and any other pests around. If you are growing corn for flour, popcorn or drying, leave it on the plants, in the ground to dry out for as long as possible (usually until the birds get into it) then pick the cobs, pull the husks back tie the husks of two cobs together and hang over a rail in the wind but out of the rain to dry, or throw onto a shelf in the greenhouse. After about a month of further drying it is best shucked and stored inside, for popping or grinding etc. If you're worried about bugs getting into the grain, either freeze it all for a few days to kill any bugs that might already be in there. Traditionally, the leaves of trees, herbs etc. that repel bugs are stored with the grain, i.e. neem leaves, maybe ngaio leaves, garlic, wormwood rue etc.
Cooking with corn - Posole, Tortillas, Porridge I’ve been fascinated with corn for a long time and it’s taken me years to collect the information I always felt I needed to learn how to make it a staple part of my diet. I’ve found some excellent books and recipes. Firstly you’ll probably need a corn grinder. We import them especially for all you corn officionadoes who are keen to learn to make tortillas, cornmeal and posole. We use our corn grinder every morning to grind our Essene Flax seed and pumpkin seeds that we eat with our breakfast, as well as all our dry or wet corn processing. You also need to know that traditionally corn was always cooked with woodash, or lime. This changes the nutrional qualities of the corn and in fact means that a complete range of amino acids is available. "Wild Fermentation" has great information and traditional recipes for corn. POSOLE is basically any kind of dried corn that has been soaked for 24 hours with woodash ( 1 heaped tablespoon of clean woodash per tablespoon per cup of dried corn) and then slowly cooked until the corn is burst right open and fluffy like pop corn, at which point it can be rinsed and used in soup etc, or ground to make tortillas or porridge etc.
Kaanga Ma seed after soaking in wood ash water CORNMEAL PORRIDGE can be made in many ways, two of the most common are:
TORTILLAS are made by making posole first then grinding posole into a bowl. This is called wet grinding because the mixture will be moist. This paste is then moistened a little more by adding water if needed then forming into balls and flattening. I have a mexican flattener ( don’t know what it’s called?) but you can put a banana leaf on a board, put the ball of paste on the leaf, add another leaf and squash with another board and push to flatten. Remove the top leaf, lift up using the second leaf and put onto a hot stove top ( woodstove) or onto a gas heated metal plate. It needs to be very hot, the tortillas cook fast and they can be turned over and finished on the other side.
Corn fritters CORN (Zea Mays) Blue Hopi - Flour Corn OS This corn was developed by the Hopi Indians to be used as flour corn, and is the corn used to make the blue corn chips available commercially. The cobs grow large and the plants are drought tolerant, and when ground they produce high quality flour. Excellent for posole and tortillas and polenta. Tortillas made from Blue Hopi flour corn
Pink Hopi Flour Corn OS This corn has mostly bright pink kernels, some are white - red. These cobs make excellent flour to use for porridge, polenta etc. This is regarded by some as the ultimate reliable ,quality flour corn.
It’s worth growing for its looks alone, however the relatively inexpensive corn grinders we have make grinding easy and so there’s no reason not to be eating corn porridge for breakfast next winter. We grind our flour coarsely, at night then lightly toast it, then grind it fine and make the porridge in the morning. I love it with stewed apple and raisins and honey. Pollen on Pink Hopi Corn Kaanga Ma Flour Corn NZ
Traditional Maori corn from Ruatoria sent to us by a Koro of the area. Extremely rare now, used to make fermented corn and other traditional recipes. Can also be used as a flour corn. I regard this seed as one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen or held. The Wairua of this seed is very strong. It is amazing how everybody who sees the huge cobs puts out their hands to touch them. Large pearl coloured kernels. We ate this corn as sweet corn this year and it’s excellent. It also makes great polenta albeit somewhat pale! This seems to be the ultimate all purpose corn! I have learned recently that it is corn very similar to this that is the most popular old type of corn in South America and it is also the most popular posole corn the USA. We may have the only non contaminated strains left in the world. Hokianga Red Corn - Flintcorn NZ This variety has come from the Hokianga. Very strong growing full cobs with dark red kernels. Traditionally used for Kaanga Pirau (fermented corn). Like Blue Hopi, it could be eaten as sweetcorn when very young. Once it is hard and coloured it needs to be fermented or ground. An excellent variety for chook/duck food (less trouble with shield bugs on this variety.
Hokianga Red/Yellow Flint/Dent NZ
This is outstanding corn in colour and in Wairua. Gifted to us by Joseph Land and family, gifted to them from previous gardeners in the Hokianga it carries to us the memories and the spirit of people whose lives and health literally depended on these seeds. They carry the gift of beauty, joy and continuity. I’ve never seen the colours this corn holds, in corn before. I’ve never ever seen or heard of corn that contains two colours but the colours do not show both on the same cob. Usually when corn has more than one colour they are mixed on each cob. This corn throws 20% red cobs and 80% yellow, however the yellow cobs have a vibrant depth to them and in that depth you can sense the red; and the red cobs have a rich vibrant depth to them and in that depth you can sense the yellow. This corn is worth growing solely to remind us that life is wonderful! With a flour centre and a hard outside it is called Dent corn The corn can be used in many ways, as sweet corn when very young, or ground and used for polenta when dried. I’ve enjoyed roughly grinding it, toasting it, then grinding finely. Manaia Maize NZ This is the old yellow maize remembered by many especially older Maori who often ate it fermented. This corn was kept alive by Koro on the Coromandel and we’ve been bulking it up again to pass back to his family. It has also been passed to us It is the only New Zealand heirloom pure yellow maize I know of , and over the years I’v e had many requests for it. Thanks Koro! Country Gentleman OS – Sweet Corn A rare old fashioned white kernelled sweet corn that produces many tillers and coibs if well fed. I had a plant here years ago that produced nine cobs.Tastes great with a rich corn flavour and beautiful red tassles which is prbabaly why it’s called Country Gentleman Black Navajo – Sweetcorn OS A very black sweetcorn. Beautiful chewy nutty flavour. Cobs not as large as Rainbow Inca but very nutritious. This is our favourite sweetcorn, requiring a little longer to cook than more modern varieties. This corn makes excellent posole and also tortillas! Miniature Black Popping OS
This corn is worth growing for it’s ornamental value alone. The 4-6cm cobs are pearly blue black and every one who comes in here walks straight to this corn. A great crop for the kids to grow as it is also great popcorn.
SORGHUM (Sorghum bicolour)
Broom Corn OS Very ornamental, grows to 2 meters with sprays of beautiful broom like tops containing red seeds. Great as a dried flower or several stalks tied together with seeds removed make a good broom. Excellent carbon crop for compost. Mennonite OS A syrup variety from the Mennonite community in the USA. We pressed the syrup from our own stalks this summer and boiled it down to a thick syrup and it’s very special. It grows in similar fashion to corn with beautiful seed heads. Stems are like sugarcane to suck on fresh. 2m2 of raised bed produced litre of thick syrup. The large seeds are an excellent grain cooked whole or popped, a staple in many parts of Africa and the southern states of the USA.
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Traditional African grain crop. Taken with Negro slaves to southern states of USA where sorghum syrup is part of the culture. “Every fall southern sorghum farmers strip their sorghum stalks of leaves and press the green juice into a large pot over an open fire. Cooked down just like maple syrup, sorghum is an old - fashioned pleasure finally being rediscovered.” There are grain varieties, broom varieties and syrup varieties. 
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