[Gristmillers] Roy's Calais corn, or Abnaki Flint corn

[Mike Rock]

All,
I just received my order from High Mowing Seeds, Wolcott, Vermont.
Twenty pounds of Roy's Calais corn, one of the rarest corn types in the
USA.  $14 per pound, plus UPS.  They have maybe eighty pounds left.

I don't know what the yield will be, not knowing ear size, row numbers
or spacing.  Here is a clip from another website::
> Roy's Calais flint corn is one of Vermont's heirloom corns. It was
> grown by the Abenaki Indians, and was the only corn variety that
> survived the snows of June and hard freezes of July, 1816. It was
> grown by a family in Calais, Vermont since shortly after the Civil
> War, but was nearly lost to the world. A jar of seed that was 10
> years old was found and planted in recent years, and has been widely
> shared. It is suited for cold wet soils in spring and early frosts.
> 
> While modern corn is harvested after 70-85 days, most of the Native
> American varieties take longer, typically over 100 days. But Roy's
> Calais Flint can be harvested in as little as 85 days. It was first
> made commercially available by Vermont's own organic seed company,
> High Mowing Seeds (802-888-1800 or www.highmowingseeds.com).


We'll keep tabs on this crop for the list.  The kernels are round and
short, very translucent and 'flinty'.  Mostly yellow, maybe 5% red.
Some will go on the ridge, some in our valley and some in the freezer!
Just in case.  Now we have to get the horses back in shape and get the
right planter plates for the Reid corn planter.  Even have the wooden
fertilizer box attachments, but will keep that up in the barn.  For the
first time in my life I am going to check a few fields.  Should be a
hoot, kinda like the blind leading the blind.  That will be in the
valley so passing folks can't see it in case we have major malfunctions
of the operator.  It will feel weird planting 42" rows with hills on 42"
drop centers.  Looks like five seeds to the drop with this stuff.  Look
on the bright side, you get to cultivate more acres.

Now, some of Woody Malot's nice white corn is going in some different
fields.  We got wiped out last summer with water and didn't even get a
seed in the ground 'til 15 June.....  :(

Should be a fun summer.

Most respectfully,
Mike Rock