100-110 days. The Blue Hopi variety of corn seeds grow to be between five and six foot tall stalks, which provide large ears of blue corn with a sweet flavor, between eight and nine inches. The Blue Hopi is mature in one hundred days, and can be eaten when harvested, or kept to dry and be used to make flour or tortillas. This heirloom variety has 5-foot stalks that produce 7-inch, very dark blue ears that are highly decorative. The ancients believed that, when eaten before a long journey, the consumer was guaranteed a safe return.
Growing Blue Hopi Corn (se) Garden Seeds
- Latin Name: zea mays
- Other Names:
- Days to Maturity: 100-110 days
- Hardiness Zone: 3-11
- Planting Depth: 1-2"
- Plant Spacing: 4"
- Row Spacing: 30"
- Growth Habit: Upright
- Soil Preference: Moist and well drained, temp of 55 to 65 F, pH 6 to 7
- Temp Preference: Warmer
- Light Preference: Full Sun
- Diseases/pests: Susceptible to corn wireworms, cutworms, and fungal diseases Dark Blue
- Flavor:Sweet
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Seeds Per Package:
- 10 g - Approximately 55 Seeds
- 1 lb - Approximately 2,400 Seeds
- 5 lb - Approximately 12,000 Seeds
- 25 lb - Approximately 60,000 Seeds
Begin by sowing directly outdoors, 1 1/2 inches deep with four inches between seeds and thirty inches between rows. When choosing a site in your garden, keep the sun in mind; these tall stalks have potential to block the sunlight from other plants. While growing, the crops will need one to one and a half inches of water. When the kernels are firm, the ear is ripe. To harvest, firmly pull the ear downwards while twisting. The unhusked ears can be kept in the fridge for up to one week.
Not usually eaten as sweet corn but ground for blue corn meal used for tortillas, corn chips, or blue cornbread. Contains 20% more protein than other varieties of corn. Prepare soil with compost and plant a week after the last frost. Avoid planting near tomatoes but okay to plant near peas, cucumbers, and pole beans. Weed regularly. Consider laying mulch over the top to help control weeds. Wait til stalk and leaves are completely brown before harvesting. Stalk may need to be dried indoor if in a humid area.
Check out this article about the evolution of corn.