Colorado Bob's Hopi Blue Corn Experiment: The Last Seeds

Thursday, May 28, 2009

The Last Seeds

I bought 1/2 lb of seed to do this , and today I sent out the last of it. The last letters went to Santa Rosa, Calif. and Corbett, Ore. on the shoulder of Mount Hood. So I suppose I'll try and count exactly how many of these 15 seed things I gave away. It's now up to you folks to post here, and tell us all about where your seeds ended up. Please accept the author invites, and post right here, no need to email me. If you have questions about working the thing ask, I'll be happy to help.

Well I just did the math and it came to 40 plots, 7 here locally and 33 on the Google map.
They really went to some cool places , thanks again for doing this with me.

The summer is still ahead of us.

I've tossed all these bottles in the ocean they're all still at sea ..... tell us about their trip.

1 comment:

rezdog said...: any truth to the old adage, "knee high by the 4th of July"?; May 28, 2009 at 10:41 AM

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Blue Corn: Found primarily in the Southwest, blue corn has been a staple food of Native Americans - including the Hopi, Pueblo, Navajo & Zuni tribes - for hundreds of years. Coronado found blue corn & other flour corns during his 1540 expedition into the Southwest.

Blue flour corn, made of primarily soft starches, is used for blue corn flour & cornmeal, and for making blue corn tortillas and blue corn chips. Itís a bit coarser than yellow or white meal, but is somewhat sweeter & nuttier in flavor. It also contains about 20% more protein & up to 50% more iron than other varieties of corn.

Blue Corn & Hopi Indians: Hopi blue corn varieties can range in color from nearly black to a powdery gray color. There are three varieties of the blue corn: "standard" blue (sakwaqa'o), hard blue (huruskwapu), and gray-blue (maasiqa'o). Because of its hard kernels, huruskwapu is most resistant to storage pests and traditionally was the preferred variety for storing. When the grinding was all done by hand, women preferred using maasiqa'o because it is soft and easier to grind but the color was not as vibrant as that of the sakwaqa'o or huruskwapu.

Besides being the backbone of their diet, blue corn represents an essential part of the Hopi culture. It represents the Eastern rising sun, the beginning of life, wisdom & understanding. The Hopi of Arizona use blue corn in the naming ceremonies of infants, who might not receive their name for 6-to-8 months. They believe that blue corn represents a long life; Hopi men ate blue corn before undertaking long journeys because they believe it gives them great strength. To this day, the Hopi believe in the power of blue corn, as demonstrated by their story of creation.

As the Hopi moved from the third to the fourth way of life, Maasawu, the Creator, presented the gift of corn to all those who emerged. The other peoples took the largest ears of corn and Hopis were left with the small blue ear. The Hopis knew that their fourth way of life would be would not be easy, but that overcoming hardships would make them strong. The themes of humility, cooperation and respect became the lifeway of all Hopis.

Kokopelli's Kitchen

Colorado Bob's Hopi Blue Corn Experiment

Thursday, May 28, 2009

The Last Seeds

1 comment:

Hopi Women Grinding Corn in Arizona

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