Beautiful Corn : a great way of life to pass an afternoon
As you all have it off by now , I ’m a book junkie . I run to read for at least 2 - 3 hours a mean solar day , and much of what I read is non - fiction .
Over the year , I ’ve packed so much gardening cognition into my header that it has become hard and harder to see a book on plants that surprises me or makes me think other than .
This volume does .
Over the last few years , I ’ve have rather obsessed with corn . I eff it ’s the Great Big Evil Monoculture RoundUp - Ready Gen - Mod High - Fructose Devil Grass From Hell , but that ’s not really corn ’s fault . That ’s our geological fault for letting scientists , corporations and politician gain ascendancy of the nutrient supplying .
As a tyke , I once plant popcorn kernels and was amazed to see the corn plants that resulted . As an grownup , I skipped right on over mellifluous corn and buy Hickory King dent corn to try in my Tennessee garden . The huge stalks , amazing ear and incredible grits that lead cement my love for this versatile grain . This year , I grow four dissimilar form in four different fix .
Beautiful Corn: a great way to spend an afternoon
Anthony Boutard catch the same fever over a 10 ago when he grew his first patch of heirloom corn on his constitutional farm . Beautiful Cornis a look at his experiences , plus a lot on the history and cultivation of this most precious of New World grains . Boutard delves into Indian corn varieties , the rise of mechanization and the loss of America ’s once - great seed - saving heritage . For those interested in history and USDA , this book hits the spot.Amazon.com doodad
Yet , beyond that , this is also a book on growing corn . As the subtitle proclaims , Boutard share how corn can be direct “ from seeded player to plate ” through the process of planting , growing , culling , harvest home , shuck , store , crush , milling and preparation .
An interesting sub - plot on the intersection of Mexican and US culture flows throughBeautiful Corn . Boutard ’s farm workers are mostly immigrants from south of the border , and he shares their insight and experiments with corn throughout .
A surgical incision I found quite interesting was his overview of Zea mays everta and flint corn in chapter 6 , followed by dent edible corn and flour corn in chapter 7 .
( Confession : Chapter 14 , “ Onto the Plate , ” mostly covers recipe … so I skipped it . )
Overall , this is an engaging and entertaining book . Portions flee overhead into the realm of operose science … other portion delve into the crude write up of the uneducated farmer and gardeners who saved semen and bred corn varieties through tryout and error .
The only mar on this otherwise excellent book is Boutard ’s use of the universal she / her at degree , steer into the boundary of SJW territory and breaking the otherwise splendid prose .
The final verdict ? This is a good book for those rainy afternoons or sizzling summertime days when you ca n’t make it out to work your patch of land . Boutard ’s beloved for corn whisky is infectious – readBeautiful Cornand you ’ll in all probability regain yourself impulse buying some heirloom corn for next yr ’s garden .
( Buy a copy ofBeautiful Cornhereand you ’ll station a few pennies to Florida Survival Gardening ! )
Rating : 4.5 Spuds !
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