Product Description
‘Canadien Blanc’ Corn
3,70 $
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
148 in stock
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BOTANICAL INFORMATION
Latin name : Zea mays (possibly a Northern Flint, but similar to Narragansett Indian Flint Corn from the east of the U.S.)
Common names : ‘Canadien Blanc’ Corn (Canadian White Corn)
French : Maïs à farine, blé d’Inde
Family : Poaceae
DESCRIPTIVE INFORMATION
Plant type : Annual
Habit : Erect
Height : 1.5 m
Width : 30 cm
CULTURAL INFORMATION
Days to maturity : 85 to 95 days
Sowing : Direct sowing, after the last frost
Depth : 2.5 cm
Germination : 5 to 10 days
Soil : Rich
Exposure : Sunny
Plant spacing : 25 cm
Row spacing : 40 cm
Watering : No special need
Care and other considerations : Rare, please share!
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