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An ex commercial variety grown by Neville for 35 years. First saved in 1975, having brought loose maize seed from the local hardware store in Kaiapoi, only 7 seeds germinated, he has since persisted with the descendants of those 7 plants. Maize with very deep gold, large kernels. Strong plants. Prefer rich moist soil & has moderate drought resistance. Rats & mice attack cobs but no other pests. Maize can be ground for porridge & flour.
Volume per packet:
mL
$3.00
Expected viability:
yrs
An ex commercial variety grown by Neville for 35 years. First saved in 1975, having brought loose maize seed from the local hardware store in Kaiapoi, only 7 seeds germinated, he has since persisted with the descendants of those 7 plants. Maize with very deep gold, large kernels. Strong plants. Prefer rich moist soil & has moderate drought resistance. Rats & mice attack cobs but no other pests. Maize can be ground for porridge & flour.
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Copyright © Southern Seed Exchange, 2021
Ross Lill –
Maize is a popular crop for subsistence carbohydrate supply, an easy crop to grow with decent yields. I requested seed of the Sola maize line and was sent 31 seeds and asked to rescue the line. I got 8 plants to grow and produced 605 g of seed. The plants and the seeds were shockingly variable, so I set about selecting the best yielding plants with good cob wrapper, cob fill, seed weight, and low seed variability. This has helped a lot, but the line is by no means consistent. I have grown it in subsequent seasons and haven’t had too much trouble with pests and disease. The local sparrows have worked out how to open the ends of the cobs, and the corn ear worm can damage some seeds at the silk end of the cobs. I just remove these damaged seeds before collecting the good seeds. ‘Threshing’ involves me opening up the cob by levering out some seeds with a screwdriver, then rubbing out the remaining seeds with my hands. If this is too tedious, a more exciting method is to use a drill with a large screw mounted in the chuck. The screw is driven into the stem of the cob and the cob spun as it is pushed past some screws mounted in a piece of plastic pipe. Most of the seeds drop down the pipe into a bucket. Check the interweb.
Using the seed as food requires some significant preparation. We don’t have any milling equipment, so we make it into hominy. This involves cooking it in a weak caustic solution to break down the outer coating of the seed and to gel the starch. After rinsing it well, we free-flow freeze it for storage. It is a colourful addition to soups and casseroles. I have put it through a mincer, which converts it into a useful addition to meusli.
How to make hominy
Hominy is made by processing maize in an alkalline solution in an iron or stainless steel vessel, definitely NOT aluminium.
• To each 1 kg maize add 2 Tbsp calcium hydroxide (slaked lime) and about 3 litres boiling water. Check level from time to time and top up as required.
• Bring to the boil, then remove the heat and allow to stand for 2 hours.
• Bring back to the boil, then simmer just below boiling (85 – 90°C) for 2½ – 3 hours.
• Check to see that the maize grains are evenly cooked by taking a few on a spoon, rinsing them in cold water and biting them. Some will be crunchy (undercooked), some mushy (over cooked) and the bulk cooked.
• When about 80% are cooked, drain the liquor and rinse the maize with cold water to remove the dislodged hulls and mush. When the maize is clean and cool, it can be used directly or stored.
The hominy can be stored in the fridge for a short while or long-term in the freezer. It can be dried and stored dry but would need to be soaked prior to use. Dried hominy can be milled and used to make dough for tortillas.