Black Dakota Corn (popcorn)

Malabar spinach originally comes from the Malabar Coast, India's southwest coast. Eaten like our spinach, it however grows in very different conditions; it loves heat and light as you might expect from its origin. It also has a quite distinct look, climbing up as it grows more and more leaves for us to harvest all summer long. It is both delicious and gorgeous. Malabar spinach can be grown in the ground or in pots. Package: 20 seeds

Antoine D'Avignon was a ancient vegetable lover. A pioneer in Quebec for heirloom seed saving, he grew, harvested and shared the seeds of numerous varieties that would have otherwise been forgotten by now. Notably, Louis-Marie's Crotte d'ours potato, Suzanne Bourgeois's Ice Grow tomato, Huron wheat, and... this corn. In an interview in the late 1990s he reached out for help to the public: the Quebec corn that our grandmas used to cultivate has disappeared. Nobody is growing flour corn anymore. After the interview, a lady called the radio station claiming that she did have seeds of a flour corn that had been grown by her family for ages. This is how she came into contact with Antoine and shared with him her precious treasure. Then, during that summer, Antoine ends up mentioning the corn to a friend, Mrs. France Bouffard. She is really interested and ask for a couple seeds. Reluctant as he as only a few, he ends up giving her 6 seeds. She grew those and multiplied them, enough to make flour for her pancakes. The story could have ended there. Sadly it did not as Antoine died still young and took with him the corn story. More recently, Mrs. Bouffard reached out to me while I was working for Seeds of Diversity. We chatted, and she ended up mentioning the corn. She then sent me some seeds by the mail. We had a good first harvest from those seeds and, thanks to that, we can now share this variety with you. Luckily, Antoine has also gifted a few to another one of his friends, René Paquet, who has since carefully kept the envelope. On it, a name: Anita Fournier, from Nicolet. We are looking for this lady (probably deceased by now) or her offsprings. Please let us know if you know her. Please note that some of the seeds have been sent to Seeds of Diversity for preservation. With the hopes that you might also contribute to writing a chapter of this story. For more information, please visit (in French): Antoine d'Avignon (1948-2003), jardinier de la dernière chance" Please send us pictures of your crops and harvests! We will share them! Package: 40 seeds

There are very ancient mentions of this corn which grew in the region of Gaspé (in Gaspésie, Eastern Quebec) and all over the East coast of Canada. It was originally cultivated by the First Nation Mi'gmaq. History says that Jacques Cartier had observed this crop back in 1534. This small sized corn is a popping corn type. A particularly early crop, its cobs form in no more than 3 months. The cobs measures between 10-12 cm (4-5 inches) and have 8 rows of grains.   Package: Around 35 seeds   If you struggle getting your corn to pop: https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/why-popcorn-sometimes-doesnt-pop/