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Daymon Morgan's Kentucky Butcher Dent Corn
Zea mays
Gorgeous multicolored ears make delicious cornmeal and grits with a pink hue. One or two large ears grow on sturdy 10-12 ft stalks. This seed was grown for Truelove Seeds by our dear friends Mason and Wiley at Bear Bottom Farm in Virginia. Mason tried nixtamalizing this variety a couple years ago, and fell in love. He got his seed stock from a friend in his mule club named PeeWee, who had been growing it in Maryland, and who had gotten his seed from a grower in Kentucky. Daymon Morgan, who first developed this corn variety, also foraged for wild medicinals and foods in the mountainous forests of Kentucky, and was a strong advocate for environmental justice and against strip mining for coal and mountaintop removal. Southern Exposure Seed Exchange first offered this variety in 2009.
Screenshots from ilovemountains.org YouTube video on Daymon Morgan.
Days to maturity: 110
Seeds per pack: 50
Germination rate: 95% on 02/07/2024
Planting / harvesting notes
Direct seed about an inch deep in moist soil a couple weeks after the last danger of frost. 12"-24" spacing in row, especially if intercropping with beans and/or squash. Needs full sun and ample nitrogen in well-drained soil. Leave ears on the stalks as long as possible to dry before harvesting for popcorn or seed saving. If weather and/or pests prevent a full cure on the stalk, wait until the ear has flopped over, silks toward the ground, making sure the husks are brown and papery.
Seed keeping notes
Corn is wind pollinated and should be isolated by 2-3 miles from other varieties of corn to avoid unwanted cross-pollination. Another option is to separate your corn plantings by 3-4 weeks so they do not flower/tassel at the same time. Allow the husks and cobs to fully dry on the plants before harvesting for seed. If you are concerned about neighbor's corn plots hybridizing yours, consider only harvesting seed from the plants towards the middle of your plot, leaving the outer rows for eating. If necessary, lay out the cobs to do some final drying before removing the husks and seeds.
