# Thinking about CORN



## dwight55 (Nov 9, 2012)

Corn is a fairly easy crop to grow, . . . high in carbs, . . . easy to harvest and store.

NOW: beyond corn meal (think corn bread, . . . taco's, . . . corn meal mush, . . . etc.), . . . what else can we make from just plain old field variety corn???

Hominy comes to mind, . . . 

What else, guys? 

Reason i ask, . . . I've got a 55 gallon barrel of the stuff, . . . want to learn how to use it.

May God bless,
Dwight

PS: Nahhh, . . . no white lightning, . . . don't even go there.


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## Auntie (Oct 4, 2014)

15 Delicious Ways to Use Canned Corn

The husks can be dried and used for fire starters and smoking.

We save the cobs after cutting off the corn for canning and make a corn stock by boiling the husks, cobs and garlic. It is great added to stews, soups, or as a base for corn chowder.

This is a staple at our house. You can use canned but the texture isn't the same.
Fresh Corn and Cilantro Salsa

2 ears of corn, kernels removed from cob
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
¼ cup red onion, finely diced
Handful of cilantro, roughly chopped
1 lime, juiced
1 jalapeno, seeds removed and finely diced
Kosher salt
Pepper
Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Add the corn and cook until just tender (2-3 minutes). Drain the corn and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Dry the corn as well as you can and set aside.
In a medium sized bowl, add the red onion, jalapeno, lime juice, and vinegar. Mix in the corn and add salt and pepper to taste.
Place the corn mixture in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to mingle. Stir in the cilantro right before serving.


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## LunaticFringeInc (Nov 20, 2012)

> Corn is a fairly easy crop to grow, . . . high in carbs, . . . easy to harvest and store.


Dont forget to think about how hard it is on the soil as its a nutrient hog or the low production per a acre when you dont have tractors to do all the work for you. Just about every wildlife animal in NA and live stock relishes that corn you got growing as much as you might relish it.


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## Auntie (Oct 4, 2014)

LunaticFringeInc said:


> Dont forget to think about how hard it is on the soil as its a nutrient hog or the low production per a acre when you dont have tractors to do all the work for you. Just about every wildlife animal in NA and live stock relishes that corn you got growing as much as you might relish it.


How silly of me, I forgot corn relish. Thanks for reminding me


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## SDF880 (Mar 28, 2013)

I love corn and have 400 or so cans problem is all of it is GMO corn! I will eat it no problem but I don't like the idea of
all the GMO products out there now and not required to wear that label.

Google Monsanto GMO corn NK603


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

Auntie said:


> We save the cobs after cutting off the corn for canning and make a corn stock by boiling the husks, cobs and garlic. It is great added to stews, soups, or as a base for corn chowder.


I have never heard of doing this before but sounds interesting. I'll give it a try next year. I guess this old dog can still learn a new trick or two.


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

LunaticFringeInc said:


> Dont forget to think about how hard it is on the soil as its a nutrient hog or the low production per a acre when you dont have tractors to do all the work for you.


Field corn, Trucker's Favorite for me, is an integral part of my gardens but especially my prepper stores. Yes, as grown by modern agriculture, corn is a high maintenance crop needing plenty of fertilizer. My SHTF gardening plan is to go back in time & grow it like the native Americans... the 3 sisters garden. In modern terminology, we would call that companion planting. The eldest sister is the corn. Once it gets knee high you can then plant the pole beans next to it. The corn becomes the trellis for the beans & the beans put nitrogen back in the soil for the heavy feeding corn. Then you add winter squash between the rows. The large leaved, viney squash becomes the ground cover to retain soil moisture & to inhibit weeds. All 3 vegetables store very well. There are other sisters that can be added. Some folks add sunflower but my 4th sister is Austrian Winter Peas added after the harvest of the other 3. Down here, those peas stay green all winter & the leaves taste great. As a legume, like the bean, they add more nitrogen in the soil to be used by the next corn crop.



LunaticFringeInc said:


> Just about every wildlife animal in NA and live stock relishes that corn you got growing as much as you might relish it.


Most assuredly. The native Americans always planted extra for the wildlife as they lived in harmony with nature and didn't beat it into temporary submission as we do. They also had procedures to protect the main crop from these animals, such as building raised platforms in the fields manned by kids & older folks, to scare off the critters.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Rain makes Corn and Corn makes Whiskey...


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## dwight55 (Nov 9, 2012)

LunaticFringeInc said:


> Dont forget to think about how hard it is on the soil as its a nutrient hog or the low production per a acre when you dont have tractors to do all the work for you. Just about every wildlife animal in NA and live stock relishes that corn you got growing as much as you might relish it.


You ARE correct, . . . but at the same time, . . . you can look at it as though the deer just canned the corn, . . . turning it into venison.

And while I don't relish the thought, . . . I'm thinking corn fritters and fried **** may not be all that bad, . . . beats grubbing for worms.

I tried the three sisters a couple years ago, . . . didn't do too well because of bad instructions, . . . definitively and for sure going to try it next spring, . . . much better prepared.

Got some "fishermen" friends, . . . gonna try to get them to scour me up some smaller carp, . . . try doing like the Indians did, . . . one carp per hill of corn.

May God bless,
Dwight


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

dwight55 said:


> I tried the three sisters a couple years ago, . . . didn't do too well because of bad instructions, . . . definitively and for sure going to try it next spring, . . . much better prepared.


Seems to me, the biggest mistake people make with the 3 sisters is using the wrong corn variety... often trying to use sweet corn. You need to use a strong field corn that is very resistant to lodging. I find Trucker's Favorite & Red Cobb do well. Another mistake is using a bean variety that needs lots of sun. Look for shade tolerant varieties. Hard to go wrong with Genuine Cornfield beans and I really like Rattlesnake beans.



dwight55 said:


> You ARE correct, . . . but at the same time, . . . you can look at it as though the deer just canned the corn, . . . turning it into venison.


I love your way of looking at this issue. I think of it as hunting over a baited field. Pretty much any animal wanting to eat my corn could find itself in a stew pot. My suppressed bolt 22lr make a mighty fine way to harvest the smaller critters.


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## Illini Warrior (Jan 24, 2015)

dent corn is the cheapest grain around to cache - with proper long term storage it has storage longevity of wheat - soybeans are another commodity farm crop that's super cheap ...

you want a Corona type manual grinder for the rough grinding - you can ground finer with your better flour mill if you don't want cornmeal ... have plenty of lime available for nixtamalization - the modern varieties of dent corn have softer shells than the older hybrid "indian" corn - but nixing the corn still provides a better nutritional value ....

a variety of corn that I recently found looks interesting for some early spring planting - and a short growing season - The Painted Mountain Story


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

Illini Warrior said:


> a variety of corn that I recently found looks interesting for some early spring planting - and a short growing season - The Painted Mountain Story


I grew this glass corn just for the novelty of it, but the stuff is very strong & hardy. I now store this seed.


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## TG (Jul 28, 2014)

That's beautiful



******* said:


> I grew this glass corn just for the novelty of it, but the stuff is very strong & hardy. I now store this seed.


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## Auntie (Oct 4, 2014)

dwight55 said:


> You ARE correct, . . . but at the same time, . . . you can look at it as though the deer just canned the corn, . . . turning it into venison.
> 
> And while I don't relish the thought, . . . I'm thinking corn fritters and fried **** may not be all that bad, . . . beats grubbing for worms.
> 
> ...


Fish heads work too.



******* said:


> I grew this glass corn just for the novelty of it, but the stuff is very strong & hardy. I now store this seed.
> ...


I had never seen or heard of this. Something new for me to plant


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

Auntie said:


> I had never seen or heard of this. Something new for me to plant


Glass Gem Corn | Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

Been trying to think of other practical uses for field corn. As a prepper and southerner, it of course would mainly be used for corn meal, for daily use in corn bread, hushpuppies & batter for the fried grain fed catfish from the pond. Otherwise, the main use would be animal feed. So if you don't have chickens, get you some & watch that corn turn into fresh, healthy eggs.

I also have used it to feed the deer. If you want to really see the BIG bucks, set up a feeder & put up a game camera. Just watch & see what comes out in the dark of the night. The young bucks & deer are like cattle around here & you can't go a day without seeing some. The big boys, on the other hand, stay hidden.


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

Gem corn makes pretty good popcorn. I grew some 2 seasons ago. And its great for fall decorations.


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

******* said:


> Been trying to think of other practical uses for field corn. As a prepper and southerner, it of course would mainly be used for corn meal, for daily use in corn bread, hushpuppies & batter for the fried grain fed catfish from the pond. Otherwise, the main use would be animal feed. So if you don't have chickens, get you some & watch that corn turn into fresh, healthy eggs.


Yes chickens love (cracked corn) but a diet too rich in corn will make the chickens too fat and shut down the egg production.


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

hawgrider said:


> Yes chickens love (cracked corn) but a diet too rich in corn will make the chickens too fat and shut down the egg production.


So true. My gals spend all day free ranging in my apple orchard. They would rather eat the bugs more than anything else... including cracked corn or oilseed sunflower seed. I like to give them corn as a snack before they go in to roost, especially on cold nights.


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## Auntie (Oct 4, 2014)

hawgrider said:


> Yes chickens love (cracked corn) but a diet too rich in corn will make the chickens too fat and shut down the egg production.


I learned this the hard way.


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

******* said:


> So true. My gals spend all day free ranging in my apple orchard. They would rather eat the bugs more than anything else... including cracked corn or oilseed sunflower seed. * I like to give them corm as a snack before they go in to roost, especially on cold nights*.


Yes excellent trick.
we give ours scratch grains as a treat or to call them back to the coop. But you are correct in your statement the grains when its really cold out raises their body temp so we use it the same way on cold nights.
Another downfall to too many grains in the summer time is it works the same way and raises body temp. I blame this on making a couple of my hens going broody more often than they should. So we limit even more in the super hot weather.


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## Auntie (Oct 4, 2014)

I know I spoil my chickens, they get sprouted sunflower seeds when it is really cold and they don't want to go out.


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

Auntie said:


> I know I spoil my chickens, they get sprouted sunflower seeds when it is really cold and they don't want to go out.


My wife spoils them terribly I have to yell at her all the time... its natural for her to feed everyone to death LOL


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

Auntie said:


> I know I spoil my chickens, they get sprouted sunflower seeds when it is really cold and they don't want to go out.


Only treat my girls go bonkers over is raisins. For that they will drive you crazy. Other stuff like bananas or melons from the garden get some attention. But I do give the sunflower seed with their scratch, which they like. Rarely gets very cold here, so they head out to scratch around the apple trees soon as the coop door opens. That orchard is around 1 1/2 acres & they walk it from one end to the other hunting bugs. I can't hardly get them to eat layer feed.


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

Back to the corn. Does anybody here make corn masa flour?


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## Boss Dog (Feb 8, 2013)

I'm not a farmer & can't contribute squat but, I'm listening hard.


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## admin (Apr 28, 2016)

******* said:


> I grew this glass corn just for the novelty of it, but the stuff is very strong & hardy. I now store this seed.


WOW! The kernels almost look like beads!


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

Cricket said:


> WOW! The kernels almost look like beads!


Yep. This is a very easy to grow corn, as is from what I understand all Indian corn. It was just too pretty to eat so we used if for decoration at home & church for holiday celebrations/dinners. Looks great on the tables. Didn't grow it this year, as I was testing out amaranth, but will grow another plot next year. Gonna put some beans on it to see how strong the stalks are.


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