Colorado Bob's Hopi Blue Corn Experiment: From Ganeen, Another Share Cropper with Shere

Monday, June 1, 2009

From Ganeen, Another Share Cropper with Shere

Larry and I went out and tested our “natural home remedies” to see what appears to work and we will go out and check our test areas in the morning.

1) I sprayed with weed killer (full strength Listerine) – on a few weeds on the west outside the garden area to see if it really kills them.
(Listerine is also supposed to be good to keep mosquitoes away from the human gardeners and I know that works, because I use it when I walk around the neighborhood and when I have cookouts)

2) I sprayed some of the spinach and some beans with a mixture of Ivory dish soap and water – I tied white strings where I sprayed but did not spray the whole row, just about 6 feet in.

3) I sprayed some of the beans, tomatoes & okra with the Garlic/Fish emulsion/Mineral Oil mixture – I tied purple strings where I sprayed but did not spray the whole row, just about 6 feet in as with the other stuff.

The garden is looking wonderful. I saw some big squash blossoms this morning. It was still too muddy to walk around much, but I looked it over pretty good and I think it’s doing very well.

Blessings, Ganeen

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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