A Seed Saver's Garden

[Pulsegleaner]

Yes, I was thinking about getting blue corn this year for similar nutritional reasons. I'll have to try that one next year!

There isn't much blue sweetcorn around. Red is a pericarp (skin) color, and shows up a lot earlier than aleurone color. By the time most colored sweetcorns "color up", they're no longer all that sweet.

The only pure blue sweetcorn I've ever heard of is Bellinham Blue, and I've never found that one for sale.

I suppose you could try Triple Play, plant only blue kernels, and hope the genes stacked over time.

Hooker's might be blue (or purple, can't remember which)

And there are some full rainbow around; Painted Hills (bred to color up quick, I think), Rainbow Inca (may not be totally stable; still throws non-sweet kernels from time to time,) Astronomy Dominae, Paiute, Cocopah, etc.

 

[flowerbug]

Double Red is a sweet corn for fresh eating, developed by Alan Kapuler. High in antioxidants, which makes me feel better about growing corn because that species doesn't have a great nutritional profile, lol.

sadly RIP, but with a nickname like Mushroom i was always hoping i'd get a chance to say hi to him at some point also because someone said he might have had some of Robert Lobitz's records... now i just have to make up stories in my own head.

 

[heirloomgal]

There isn't much blue sweetcorn around. Red is a pericarp (skin) color, and shows up a lot earlier than aleurone color. By the time most colored sweetcorns "color up", they're no longer all that sweet.

The only pure blue sweetcorn I've ever heard of is Bellinham Blue, and I've never found that one for sale.

I suppose you could try Triple Play, plant only blue kernels, and hope the genes stacked over time.

Hooker's might be blue (or purple, can't remember which)

And there are some full rainbow around; Painted Hills (bred to color up quick, I think), Rainbow Inca (may not be totally stable; still throws non-sweet kernels from time to time,) Astronomy Dominae, Paiute, Cocopah, etc.

I have 2 packets of Hooker's, maybe I'll grow it next year! I do love the colored sweet corns. I also really really want to grow Lofthouse's Astronomy Domine (spelling?). The seeds I bought for it were cruds. I have grown one sorta blue corn, kinda purple-blue I guess, called Blue Jade.

 

[heirloomgal]

sadly RIP, but with a nickname like Mushroom i was always hoping i'd get a chance to say hi to him at some point also because someone said he might have had some of Robert Lobitz's records... now i just have to make up stories in my own head.

The man did some seriously fine breeding work. Amazing stuff. I'm a huge fan too.

 

[heirloomgal]

Went to the garden centre yesterday...bad idea! Wound up with more lovely plants I felt I couldn't walk away from - a bunch of celeriac, some pretty petunias, (I'm capping myself at 2 large baskets and one small one, the deadheading just gets too much if I go over that) & a parsley since I didn't start any from seed. I also got, on a whim, a 'Ballerina Purple' angel's trumpet. Haven't grown datura in such a long time, and I only ever grew a simple white one with a single bloom.

It's amazing how reliably exhilarating it is seeing the perennial plants poke out of the soil, especially now that I've gotten rid of all that I didn't truly love. I see only a few more that will need to come out; the last shasta daisies, the liatris patch, phlox patch, a purple sedum. I did get a little saxatile alyssum plant, for a dry spot. Not sure if I'll like it or not, time will tell. I'm eager to see how well my 2025 planted delphinium starts will perform this year, they seem to develop quickly for a perennial.

I also found a packet of seeds for red orach, maybe I'll try it. I made sure it isn't the same species as magenta spreen! It sure looks pretty. And even though its in the amaranth family, it won't cross with my terracotta celosia. It might do well as a decorative edible, if the pictures are real, it's remarkable how deeply pigmented the plants are. Might make a nice contrast for all the green foliage in the edible landscape space. The plants either look purplish or reddish, not sure which one is truly representative.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I have 2 packets of Hooker's, maybe I'll grow it next year! I do love the colored sweet corns. I also really really want to grow Lofthouse's Astronomy Domine (spelling?). The seeds I bought for it were cruds. I have grown one sorta blue corn, kinda purple-blue I guess, called Blue Jade.
View attachment 81155

Forgot that one

I assume it's "Dominae", because that's a real (Latin) word.

 

[Decoy1]

There isn't much blue sweetcorn around. Red is a pericarp (skin) color, and shows up a lot earlier than aleurone color. By the time most colored sweetcorns "color up", they're no longer all that sweet.

The only pure blue sweetcorn I've ever heard of is Bellinham Blue, and I've never found that one for sale.

I suppose you could try Triple Play, plant only blue kernels, and hope the genes stacked over time.

Hooker's might be blue (or purple, can't remember which)

And there are some full rainbow around; Painted Hills (bred to color up quick, I think), Rainbow Inca (may not be totally stable; still throws non-sweet kernels from time to time,) Astronomy Dominae, Paiute, Cocopah, etc.

Hookers is a kind of slightly dirty blue I’d say, not a bright azure!

But Double Red is also sweeter and more tender if eaten before it fully colours red so perhaps the greater nutritional value is negligible. Or are the antioxidants present before the colour emerges? My understanding is completely lacking here!

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Hookers is a kind of slightly dirty blue I’d say, not a bright azure!

But Double Red is also sweeter and more tender if eaten before it fully colours red so perhaps the greater nutritional value is negligible. Or are the antioxidants present before the colour emerges? My understanding is completely lacking here!

Well, bright azure isn't easy even with non-sweet corn. I doubt we'll get that until someone can create a sweetcorn with Glass Gem's palette (Earth Tones fills the dent slot, and Paint Box (my name for what I'm trying this year,) is sort of the flour, so there's a space for a sweet.

I think Bellingham is a greyish turquoise, like Hopi Blue popcorn.

In terms of antioxidants, I suppose the ideal would be a sweetcorn with the purple endosperm gene, but FINDING enough to start breeding would be a challenge.

 

[Rillowen]

There isn't much blue sweetcorn around. Red is a pericarp (skin) color, and shows up a lot earlier than aleurone color. By the time most colored sweetcorns "color up", they're no longer all that sweet.

The only pure blue sweetcorn I've ever heard of is Bellinham Blue, and I've never found that one for sale.

I suppose you could try Triple Play, plant only blue kernels, and hope the genes stacked over time.

Hooker's might be blue (or purple, can't remember which)

And there are some full rainbow around; Painted Hills (bred to color up quick, I think), Rainbow Inca (may not be totally stable; still throws non-sweet kernels from time to time,) Astronomy Dominae, Paiute, Cocopah, etc.

Oh yes, I meant the not sweet one, for corn meal. I ultimately definitely not to become we love sweet corn and I was worried about cross pollination. But my son is color blind, so I was very interested in getting a blue variety, since he can only see blues and Yellows. some of those varieties you mentioned sound interesting. Next to find room in my very strict garden budget!
For this year I have peaches and cream from a friend planted, not colors he can see, but should be interesting at least.