05/24/2026
With the 250th Anniversary of the USA coming up, thought it was high time to dust off the Really Old Corn Project.
Started quite a few years ago as a quest to find the corn our family might have brought to Iowa in 1835 when they first settled. However, that was a fools errand as back then open pollinated corn seed was saved back by each farmer for planting the following year. No single varieties existed. We pivoted and found historically significant corn to grow instead. New England Eight Row was likely one of the oldest, pre-dating European settlers. Virginia Gordseed was another variety that pre-dated settlement in the Americas. They are both in the mix here.
Interesting side note, the cross of those two varieties was the ancestor of nearly all the yellow dent corn grown today!
Todays planting included the New England 8-row, Virginia Gordseed, Bloody Butcher, and white corn - Hickory King and Hickory Cane.
Updates to come!
