Monday 12 December 2016

Happy With My Dark Purple Corn Harvest.

My first time growing Dark Purple Corn in my garden was in August and I posted about my experience on 16th September, 2016. You can click here to read about it. I was not satisfied with the miserable harvest and I was keen to have another go at growing the corn again. I have some seeds given to me by another friend and I sowed the seeds.
This is one of the 3 seedlings that I planted in big flower pots. The other 2 seedlings went into another pot.
I noticed that this round, the plants look more healthy. I made sure they have enough of water and fertilizer.
The male flowers  or tassels have appeared on the tip of the plants.
Roots of the corn plant.
The first ear of corn appeared and the silk is beige to light brown.
And below the 1st ear of corn, I noticed a another smaller one.
From another plant, I noticed it had purple silk on its ear of corn.
Its neighbour plant also has purple silk on its ear of corn.
I googled to find out when is the right time to harvest the ears of corn. Everyday, I checked on the silk and patiently waited for the right time to harvest.
One day I was choosing a few ears of corn to buy at the supermarket. There was a lady who was collecting only the corn silk. She told me that she will boil the corn silk in water and drink the corn silk tea for its medicinal benefits e.g. treating urinary infection.

I googled and found out that corn silk is used for treating bladder infection, helps reduce inflammation of urinary system and prostate, kidney stones and bed wetting. It is also used for treating congestive heart failure, diabetes (alters sugar level), high blood pressure, fatigue & high cholesterol levels.
I harvested the first fruit from my corn plant.
Instead of purple kernel, I was very surprised to see only a few purple spots. I was expecting to see a dark purple corn!
I was quite happy with the first fruits even though it didn't turn out to be a purple corn and with some of the kernels or fruits missing! I ate this corn raw and it was sweet and fresh!
Here is a closer look at the tassels or male flowers of the corn plant.
My final harvest of 2 big ears of corn and a smaller ear of corn. Altogether I harvested 3 big ears of corn + 1 small ear of corn from 3 corn plants.
This round I can see more purple on the fruits and the rest were deep and light yellow. This time my corn plants were more fruitful and I had a better harvest.
Corns are rich in vitamins and minerals. Corns have high fiber and are claimed to reduce risk of hemorrhoids and colorectal cancer. Eating corn also add bulk to loose stools and help reduce IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and diarrhea.
I chose to steam these for both hubby and I. They may not look good but we like the taste of the steamed corn. At first, hubby thought they were over matured, but they were not. They tasted sweet and slightly glutinous or chewy. We both love to eat corn. I am now encouraged to grow more corn plants in my garden.

Righteous chews on wisdom like a dog on a bone,
rolls virtue around on his tongue.
His heart pumps God's Word like blood through his veins;
his feet are as sure as a cat's.
(Psalm 37:30-31, The Message-MSG)

48 comments:

  1. O milho da nascença até ao prato.
    Um abraço e boa semana.
    Andarilhar

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  2. Congratulations to a happy gardener:) That's a good harvest Nancy...considering you just grew them in pots! Nothing beats the very fresh taste of a homegrown sweet corn:)

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    1. Thank you, Annie. I was very happy since this is my second try in growing corn in pots.

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  3. Interesting post, thank you for sharing :-)

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  4. I didn't know about the root of the corn as usually didn't take notice of it...

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    1. Understandable. It is my first time noticing the corn roots.

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  5. Hello! thx for the comment now i´following your blog
    Amazing plants
    http://retromaggie.blogspot.pt/

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  6. I like to eat corns too. Congrats for reaping the fruits of your labour in growing the dark purple corn.

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  7. Great results of gardening my dear :-)

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  8. ...well I guess that you can grow just about anything in a pot!

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    1. Yes, they will grow in pots but they might not yield big fruits.

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  9. You have a wonderful green thumb Nancy. No doubt the corn was very good. Fresh is always the very best.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

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    1. Thank you, Sandee. The harvest was a pleasant surprise.

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  10. Very well done, Nancy! So pleased this time the corn grew well!

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    1. Thank you, Christine. Very pleased and encouraged to grow again soon!

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  11. You are so fantastic with flowers and plants, Nancy!

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    1. Thank you, Linda. I like to plant and watch them grow!

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  12. I think the purple corn silk is so pretty! And I had no idea of the health benefits! Here, this multi colored corn is called Indian Corn.

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    1. Thank you, Ginny. Thank you for the name of the corn.

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  13. Great post! Happy new week!:)

    xxBasia

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  14. wow Homegrown purple corn!! I am really impressed, Nancy.

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  15. i looks a bit like indian corn. i love corn on the cob, when i do cook it, i only cook it for 3 minutes!!

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    1. Thank you, Debbie. Sometimes I eat it raw or steam it for a few minutes and it is good to eat!

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  16. Those look great. You are a great farmer!!

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  17. cool blog!!

    Come to my blog: http://roxyolsen.blogspot.com/

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  18. That purple colour certainly looks pretty.

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  19. I never seen before purple corn... The photo with the purple silk on its ear of corn looks so pretty.

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  20. Never tasted one but I did seen dark purple corns from other blogs before.

    I guess the taste is the same as the normal yellow corn.

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    1. The taste is almost the same as others but the texture slightly different.

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  21. Nancy, what a good harvest! Even though there is not much purple, it's still good. Fresh corn tastes fantastic raw. I love it.

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    1. Thank you, Phong Hong. I like fresh corn raw too!

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  22. I tried purple corn before and it was very 'glutinous'. Didn't quite like it!

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    1. I know what you mean. I too prefer the sweet juicy ones but I too like these freshly harvested ones because they are sweet.

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  23. Good harvest. Gardening relaxes mind and seeing this type of photos too :)

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