Description
Harvested from the gardens at Monticello.
Cocke's Prolific Corn was developed in the early 1800s by General John Hartwell Cocke of Fluvanna County, Virginia. A friend of Thomas Jefferson’s and fellow agriculturist, Cocke selected this dent field corn from the most productive plants to make it "prolific" (between 2-7 ears per stalk). Renowned for its milling quality for cornmeal and grits, it was one of the most widely grown, culturally important field corns of the southeast in the 1800s. Thought to be extinct after the post-World War II spread of modern hybrids, Cocke's Prolific Corn was rediscovered in 2017 on the South Carolina farm of the Farmer family, who have been growing it since the 1930s.
Native Distribution: Central America
Direct sow Cocke's Prolific Corn seeds into a well-draining, fertile soil when the soil temperatures reach at least 65˚F, and the danger of frost has passed. Produces 2-7 ears per stalk; the ears of white corn are long and slender (8-12"). Allow the cobs to dry out on the stalks before harvesting. Approximately 40 seeds per packe
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