Working with open pollinated corn is fun!
Seed saving
Look at the whole plant to make your selections. Pick out the best performing plants. Select from different locations in the field not just where conditions are perfect. When there is adversity like weed pressure, density, dry or poor soil conditions, you notice the plants that are excelling. That's when faster genetic progress is made. When conditions are perfect it is more difficult to notice the hardier stuff.
Spend the effort to at least save ears from two hundred plants. Even if you’re only growing only a small plot mix your composite sample and pull from there. The reason for saving at least two hundred ears is to maintain the genetic diversity of the variety. What we are trying to avoid here is inbreeding depression. Just like line breeding cattle, you can get away with some similar genetics but you must use caution. Often you will here the old timers say that they would go to the neighbors to get new seed every now and then because their variety had fizzled. We believe this is what has happened to many of the old open pollinated corn varieties out there. If they aren't kept well (large enough gene pool) they will start to go down hill. We believe if you do a varital cross of two open pollinated corn varieties (not of two inbreds which would form a hybrid) and you get some vigor, you had some inbreeding depression occurring in that old open pollinated variety. Bottom-line; take the time to save at least two hundred ears from a population.
One simple way to do a varietal cross, with a four row planter is to put variety A in the two out side planting box and put variety B in the inside two planting box. Plant back and forth. Pull the tassels on variety A. The grain produced from Variety B plants are still variety B. The grain produced from variety A plants will be a successful cross. Now make selections.
Dry your selections on the ear before you shell. Keeping air moving around the ears is important. Relative humidity, moving air, and heat effect drying. One simple method to dry selections is in mesh type onion bags. Do not use woven Polly bags, because they don't breathe. If you hang the mesh bags air can circulate and it makes it a little more difficult for the mice.
In order to rough size your seed, you can break or shell off the ends of the ears and save the middle which would likely be the medium flats. We offer a little hand Sheller that works well for this.
If you have a plate planter and unsized seed, hold your plate up against
something flat. Use the smallest round plate you can get the biggest seed to
drop through. This will probably be a medium or large round plate. You may have
to set your sprockets to a lower setting to account for double drops. Refer to
planting tips guide to quick calibrate your planter.
It's made of Cast aluminum and measures 2 1/8"
high. One end measures 2 7/16" in diameter and the other end
tapers up to - 2 13/16" in diameter. There are 6 rounded
teeth on the inside, which starting from the bottom, taper
up from smooth to 1/4". This is not an antique, so don't be
afraid to use this neat little tool. Just insert an ear of
corn and turn the Sheller. This tool is great for those
saving their own open pollinated con seed and only need a
few bushel. If you need sized seed, you can shell off the
large round kernels at the butt of the ear and the small
kernels at the tip. This tool allows you to gently shell of
the medium flats separately. This way you can shell and
size, your open pollinated corn seed with one inexpensive
tool.
For anyone interested in garden seed saving and breeding other than corn.
Contact Teri Ferrin from Organic Seed Partners at 315-787-2396 or
teri.ferrin@ars.usda.gov
for a FREE Organic Seed Partnerships garden seed saving and breeding
instructional DVD.
