Munchkin:

Grow Your Own Heirloom Seeds.

When we first arrived in Belize, one of the first crops we wanted to plant was corn and we found that we had two choices for seed. The first was the kernels purchased from the Mayans from their milpa plantations: the quality of the seeds was quite inconsistent, ranging from small to medium size with a high number of misshapen or shrivelled up kernels.

The second choice was the hybrid seeds available from the Mennonite store which, in comparison to the Mayan corn, when examined, were large, well-formed and pleasing to the eye.

Now, one of the main reasons why we took up farming was to live our philosophy; we want to eat good wholesome food without dependence upon an outside source. The hybrid seeds certainly defeated this purpose as it would mean buying seeds each time we needed to start a corn crop to ensure a high standard and yield of corn.

We were then faced with the challenges of growing “unimproved” Mayan corn and here is where we would like to share with you a system of seed selection which helps improve quality, size and yield of crop, year after year. An additional advantage of this selection procedure is that you will eventually grow a crop which has adapted perfectly to the soil, environment and climate of your own particular farm.

Although in this article corn has been used as the crop, there is no reason why you cannot apply the same principles to any other crops on your farm. With due attention, a new “strain” or “variety” can arise and these “Heirloom seeds” ensure that you will never need to rely on outside sources of seeds and put up with the can of worms which this implies in our modern world.

System for Improving Seed:

1.  Pick 50-100 of the best ears from your corn crib or field. They should be of good form and size, well-filled and well-rounded at both ends and pleasing to the eye and hand.
2. Examine each cob individually under good light and keep discarding ears until only the best 10 remain.
3. Before shelling the grain, pick 10-20 kernels from various parts of each cob, avoiding the two ends. Keep each group of kernels from each cob separate and perform a critical germination test (see below) to observe which has the highest germination rate and grows the quickest and sturdiest.
4. The best cobs, as determined by the germination tests, are then chosen for growing on to “test rows.” The seeds from each ear should be grown in their own row.
5. As plants grow, examine the rows to determine which rows:
   a.  Produce the sturdiest plants.  b. Produce the most multiple-ear plants and the smallest proportion of stalks with only leaves. c. Cut down the individual plants from each row which are undesirable.
6. Destroy all diseased plants.
7. At harvest, time cut and cure all the stalks with the largest number of ears from the BEST row. The best row should exhibit the criteria that you have chosen (in this case, multiple ear plants, highest germination rate and large, sturdy plants).
8. With the cobs from the best row, repeat the same procedure (1-6). The remaining multiple ear stalks from the other rows are also collected and the grain from these ears is used for general planting. Any remaining stalks are NOT used for planting.

The Critical Germination Test:

1. Count out the number of seeds in each batch (eg. 25).
2. Each batch is germinated separately between two sheets of blotting paper kept moist in a warm room.
3. Every day, record how many seeds sprout and how strong they appear. Remove sprouted seeds and discard.
4. Rapidity and uniformity of sprouting indicate strength. Slowness and irregularity of sprouting indicate weakness. Weakness suggests that plants may not grow on open ground.
5. Select the best batches for planting under the system for improving seed.

The germination test also helps to develop uniformity of maturation times for plants which allows harvesting at the same time.

With this selection procedure, you should start seeing noticeable improvements in your crop after 5-6 generations. If you plant corn twice per year, you will start seeing improvements by the beginning of the third year of planting. You can speed up the selection procedure by planting corn four times per year and you will start getting better seed by the beginning of the second year. If you are growing corn mainly for personal consumption, then I would encourage you to take the time to “tweak” your seed to perfection and use the system as a leisurely contemplation into nature and genetics.

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