Last Spring, the second and third grade students planted blue dent corn, a type of corn which is made into cornmeal. (Think blue corn chips). I got the seeds from Schools for Chiapas, an organization working to help indigenous farmers in Chiapas, Mexico, to preserve their heritage crops. The package said the corn would grow to 15 feet, but I didn't believe it. In fact, the tallest corn plants eventually grew to about 18 feet! After the stalks had dried, we harvested the corn in February, following a beautiful ceremony. Patricia Juarez invoked the four directions in Nahuatl, the language of her grandparents, and English. I learned that blue corn is associated with the direction of the South, and with children! Isela Santana led us in a song about a seed, and Sandra Ferrer burned copal for purification.
After the ceremony, the children eagerly cut the stalks with loppers, and although the plants appeared dry and dead, they oozed water when cut. The stalks appear similar to bamboo, but without the same tensile strength. Julie Eakins built a fence from some of the cornstalks which you may have seen in the garden.
We will grind the corn at the multicultural fair in May. Here are some photos from the ceremony and harvest. Thanks to Bill Boyd for taking photos.
After the ceremony, the children eagerly cut the stalks with loppers, and although the plants appeared dry and dead, they oozed water when cut. The stalks appear similar to bamboo, but without the same tensile strength. Julie Eakins built a fence from some of the cornstalks which you may have seen in the garden.
We will grind the corn at the multicultural fair in May. Here are some photos from the ceremony and harvest. Thanks to Bill Boyd for taking photos.
Invoking the four directions
Participants facing the West
After the ceremony, the children eagerly chopped down the tall stalks
Messages from the children to the corn flutter in the breeze
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