Frost took the most tender plants over the night of 10/10/16 into the morning of 10/11/16. The rest of the tender vegetation was killed the night of October 25th into the 26th. Only the hardy crops such as kale, beets, and celery remain. The growing season is now over, and all significant harvests here are currently completed. The 2016 growing season was one of our best on record, and does a lot to help make up for the last two years of absolute heartache and devastation. This is despite a season-long D2-D3 drought, which crippled many farmers in the area. However, we were able to irrigate enough to battle this.

As hinted at in the last post, I have been growing and preserving extremely rare corn varieties in the past few years. I am currently a steward of multiple rare varieties of which I most recently grew out four. I have begun a chin-marked selection of Painted Mountain and a mottled/’cow speckled’ selection from a mixed gene pool.

I am willing to distribute or trade some of the seeds I have produced; I already have distributed or promised some of them. Quantities are limited. For educational purposes, colleges, etc. there would be no or low cost for samples in most cases, depending on the project. Please do not be offended if I ask you questions or “vet” you before offering/selling you seed – it is nothing personal. It is simply very important to me that these varieties end up in semi-responsible and informed hands, so that hopefully such hands are helping me ensure that said varieties do not go extinct.

If trading, I am mostly interested in other rare varieties of corn. I have a large collection, but I am happy to consider any rare variety I don’t already have. I will make an even exchange for other rare corns or beans, especially ones from NY or PA. At this point I am NOT interested in obtaining anymore ‘common’ varieties ex. Bloody Butcher, Kentucky Wonder, or the like.