[dropcap]S[/dropcap]ince his arrival at the nursery three years ago, David Sargert’s botanical curiosity has led him down some curious paths. Gifts of seeds and casual conversations with some of our Indian customers led him into a world of Indian gooseberries and eggplants, tindori and moringa – which we all now offer for sale at the nursery.
This summer David is keen to share his enthusiasm for two of his other passions: corn, and the mushroom plant.
Before joining the nursery, David was an architect living and working in Taos, New Mexico, and one day he was given a special gift of corn from one of the Pueblo Indians living there. It was rare Hopi blue from the Third Mesa in Arizona.
David set to work, adding plentiful amounts of beneficial fungi (mycorrhizae) to his soil, and managed to produce huge crops for several years.
No surprise then that when he moved to Austin, there were some kernels of Hopi corn in his luggage. Now, three years later, he has added three other varieties to his collection.
‘Glass gems,’ creates kernels like no other – a sort of burnished kaleidoscope of mauves and tawny yellows and browns. Cross pollination with other colorful varieties makes for even more interest. No wonder David refers to them at his ‘jewels.’
‘Popcorn,’ with its smaller kernels is fun to have around, and especially to make it pop on the oven or fire.
‘Sugar buns’ is a tasty sweet corn hybrid.
To grow this crop, give your plants plenty of organic soil and full sun. They don’t do well with limestone, and corn is a little picky when it comes to the subject of wind. Too much, and the crop will not produce fully developed ears. But it needs some light breezes for wind pollination to occur.
Interesting fact: the little hairs that come out from the top of an ear of corn are the female part of the plant. They feel soft to the touch, and are known as silk. Each of these hairs is connected to a single kernel of corn inside the sheaf. For corn to develop and ripen, each of these little hairs has to receive pollen from the ‘tassel,’ the male flower at the top of the plant.
‘It blew my mind when I learned that,’ says David - who admits to secretly helping the pollination process along moving pollen from the flowers to the tassels with a feather.
With the USDA estimating that we have some 97 million acres of farmland devoted to corn, you could be forgiven for wondering if you want to add more ears to an already massive crop.
The answer can be found in the enthusiasm on David’s face. When you chat with him on this subject, he lights up. I now have four ‘glass gems’ growing in my front yard, and am hoping for a tiny crop of wondrous multi-colored corn in a couple of months.
•••
Last year a customer from Russia visited the nursery and spoke to David about a beautiful bushy herb called the mushroom plant that you can add to salads and dishes. On her next visit she gave David the gift of some Rungia klossii seeds, and we now offer these plants for sale.
This fast-growing herb, originally from Papua New Guinea, will flourish in the shady patches of your garden. Apart from tasting like mushrooms, it has health benefits too. The glossy leaves contain large amounts of beta-carotene, vitamin C and iron. Happy gardening everyone!
If you have a question for Chris or Amanda, send it via email to [email protected]. Or mail a postcard to It’s About Thyme11726 Manchaca Road, Austin, TX 78748 www.itsaboutthyme.com
