Planting Hybrid Seeds

Hi, I'm confused about hybrid plants. I am thinking of planting corn this year and would like to try Kandy Korn because its a popular variety of sweet corn. However I originally read that you can't save seeds from hybrid plants and replant them because the results will not be consistent from year to year and plant to plant. However this is a very popular variety so it has to be replanted somehow and many seed catalogs offer seeds labeled as hybrids, but I'm sure they aren't just taking a chance every time. Any clarifications would be appreciated!

This message was edited Mar 21, 2016 7:26 PM

The word "hybrid" is used in several ways.
In this case it means that to create Kandy Korn seeds, they carefully cross (every year for more seed to sell) two stable but different strains of corn. The result is the seed they sell you. Gregor Mendel's genetics experiments on peas, often taught in High School biology class give you an idea of the variability of the offspring you might get if you save seed. You can do it, but it might not be great results. If you are planning to save your own seed from year to year, you should probably pick an "open pollinated" strain, as these have been bred to be saved and planted every year. Here is a link to a variety that would likely do well in your area- Hopi Blue Corn!

Oops forgot the link:

http://www.territorialseed.com/product/hopi-blue-corn-seed

Hopi Blue Corn is meant for grinding into corn meal.
There are open pollinated sweet corn. Golden Bantam is a common one.
You get way better sweet corn by planting the hybrids. Ambrosia is a good one most anywhere. Check with your extension for varieties for your area.

Pistil and Country Gardens: Thanks for your reply. I started looking into it because so many seeds sold are hybrid plants that I don't understand why someone would buy/plant them if it wouldn't grow a reliable product. So, I was reading this post and pasted a section below (link to original below quote). It seems like a long term hybrid variety can become similar to an heirloom? Also, thank you for the plant suggestions!

"Many seeds available are hybrids (plants with two or more parent varieties) that bear earlier, produce more, or hold their quality longer in shipping. When you plant the seeds from these hybrids, the new generation will revert back to the parent varieties. These may not have the best flavor, production, or space saving qualities. However, if you save the seed from the best plants each year, you can eventually come up with a brand new variety. Once the offspring continually show the same characteristics of the parents, you have a new variety."

http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/10/can-you-save-seeds-from-hybrid-plants.html

Hoohy.

CountryGardens is quite correct-most people find the hybrid corn varieties are better. They are more uniform, predictable, and generally higher producing. It just depends on what you want- If it is really important to you that you are saving your own seed, probably starting with the hybrid variety is not the best idea, probably you should choose an open pollinated "home-grown" type from your region. But either way, by saving seeds every year from your best corn, you would eventually come up with your own personal variety. I also must apologize about the recommendation about the Hopi Blue Corn-I did not look into that particular variety to notice it is not sweet corn.

mfilipiac, in general I grow hybrid sweet corn for the consistent results. Because I grow corn in less than an ideal area for sweet corn I want some hybrid vigor to help me along. So I select a sweet corn that has the characteristics I want for better results in my home garden. I am not a seed saver (I just don't have the time) and my husband and son want their homegrown sweet corn in the summer for fresh eating and freezing. Also, some varieties are better for freezing than others. It is much easier for me to pour through all the catalogs each winter and figure out which variety I want to grow in the coming summer. What is winter without a massive stack of seed catalogs piled next to the sofa?

Painted Mountain Corn is a sweet corn- and heirloom.

I've grown Country Gentleman, a shoepeg style "sweet corn", on and off for some years. I believe it is considered an heirloom as well. Although it is really a hybrid, it is a very old one.

Thanks for the info. Is Country Gentleman the one that you were referring to when you mentioned sweet corn that's good for freezing? That's my plan as well. I recently relocated from WI to NM so I am trying to acclimate to the new climate. I am really a beginner gardener but the things I could grow I had solid in WI now being just a bit North of ABQ, complicates what I thought would be easy! lol

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll definitely check it out!

mfilipiak:

This is the description for County Gentleman found at Victory Seeds:

Country Gentleman
96 days — 'Country Gentleman' is a very old sweet corn variety that took Frank Woodruff fourteen years of selective breeding to develop. When it was released, it was immediately well received, other seed companies quickly began offering it, and it persisted as one of the most popular white sweet corn varieties, for both home and market growers, for many decades.

The stalks average seven to eight feet tall. The ears reach about seven inches with irregular rows of white, sweet, shoe peg-shaped kernels.

'Country Gentleman' was released in 1890 by Frank C. Woodruff of S. D. Woodruff & Sons, Orange, Connecticut and then the following year by Peter Henderson & Company of New York.[1] A. W. Livingston proclaimed its merits when they listed it as a new variety in their 1893 seed annual.[2] Each ounce is approximately 200 seeds.

I can't guarantee that this sweet corn will be a good choice for your area as I don't know much about NM. But you can always check with your local co-operative extension agent. They are great resources for a beginning gardener. But there is really only one way to find out: prepare you planting bed, plant it, fertilize it, keep the crows from pulling it out once it starts to grow, and keep it watered. If this variety doesn't work as well as you would like, find another and grow that one next year. Sounds kind of crazy but once you've found the variety that works for you--that's half the battle. And, for me, exploring the varieties to see what will happen is fun.

And, yes this variety freezes well.

Good luck and have fun!

Terri

North of Albuquerque! Santa Fe? Pueblo? Taos? Lots of adapting from Wis! Cold desert nights, hot desert days, volcano lava and flash floods! Skies that go up forever with beautiful cumulo nimbus clouds! DO ck with - does NM have County Extension Ofcs? I know they have lots of other types of ofcs, chuckl. My au t lived in Los Lunas when I was a teen and had a great garden.