The Gothic Homesteader

I found seeds!  Walked into  Whole Foods  in Tempe, AZ, and what stands before me in the seed section but a display by  Native Seed/Search !  At last I live where my favorite seed company actually sells in store.  Now mind you certain plants, I am looking for they don't have, and certain seeds from Native Seed/Search I will have to order as not sold in store, like Navajo Blue Corn.  But a lot I can get right near by.  So happy! Why am I so big on Native Seed/Search?  For many reasons, among them the fact that they are gathering and protecting Heritage Seeds, Native to the Southwest.  These seeds are drought hardy, desert tested, and very hard to kill off.    Another reason is as they say @  NativeSeeds.Org , " We are a nonprofit organization working to strengthen food security in the Greater Southwest by conserving our region's unique crop diversity and teaching others to do the same ."  This is something ...

As I have been studying Black, Purple, Blue, and other "dark" Gothic Plants, I would like to introduce you to a personal favorite:  Navajo Blue Corn, also called Hopi Blue,  is a variety of Flour maize grown in northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States, particularly in the states of Arizona and New Mexico.  One of  the “Zea mays” corns  domesticated by Meso-Americans along the Rio Balsas of Mexico by at least 6,700 BC.  Corn is a staple food and has many ritual uses.    In my studies, I have found that Navajo Blue Corn was originally developed by the Hopi, and remains an essential part of Hopi and Navajo dishes.  Blue Corn Kernals are gound to make meal, and has a sweet flavore.  Blue Corn is also a staple of New Mexican Cuisine, where it is also known as Zuni Blue Corn.  The Navajo dry farm this corn below their canyons and mesas (near a flood plain to catch natural monsoon rains), thus making it a nice drought hearty...