08/07/2026
Corn is a life-giving plant. It has been a pillar of American agriculture for millennia. It can create a lot of food in a small space. It comes in almost every color imaginable. Through generations of careful seed saving and selection, indigenous peoples of the Americas shaped their own varieties of landrace corn, bred to thrive in local conditions. Whether short, cool summers or long heat and drought, they tapped into the plant’s diverse genome to create a variety that suited their needs.
Although corn is one of the world’s most cultivated crops, extensive monocultures of in**ed plants that rely heavily on synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, constant irrigation, and costly diesel-fueled equipment have replaced localized food systems using a polyculture system with generations of seed saving and local wisdom. In a world with a centralized corporate food system dependent on increasingly fragile supply chains, the future of food security is at risk.
Inspired by Joseph Lofthouse’s book ‘Landrace Gardening,’ I am endeavoring to create landraces of crops like corn and pumpkins that can form the basis of a secure local food system for my family, and be able to share seeds with the community.
Crops that rely heavily on outcrossing/cross pollination are ideal for creating landraces because you can see results in just a few years. Since each kernel can be potentially pollinated by a different plant, corn behaves like a gene swarm. This corn contains the genetics from at least three varieties, including Rio Grande Blue, Bloody Butcher, and Atomic Orange. By growing multiple varieties together under less than ideal conditions and selecting the best, I am creating vigorous hybrids that perform well under those conditions, with minimal resources and intervention.
This is the fourth generation of our landrace corn project, and this is easily the best results so far, with minimal watering or feeding. I will continue to add new varieties to see what useful genetic diversity they contribute. I plan to add Oaxacan Green to the mix next year.
