Daryljurassic, what was the variety's name? Most corn, especially sweet corn, on the market is hybrid. But by most commonly accepted use of the term there are some kinds which are not hybrid, they are considered to be open pollinated. I grow some myself, and it is not hard to save seed and replant. "Hybrid" normally refers to seed derived from a first generation cross between two INBRED lines. In the case of corn, those lines can be so inbred as to be really kind of sickly, due to inbreeding depression. But when they are then crossed... bang! You get a LOT of vigor and usually higher production. Also, those two lines may be quite different in characteristics such as plant and ear size and even days to maturity. But the first generation cross will be uniform, not a mix, in how the genes are expressed. It is only in the second generation that a lot of variation will show up. If that corn was sweet corn and you don't know the variety, then I'd recommend that you purchase your seed for this year. But if it was, a kind of non sweet, or if it was a named variety which we can look up, and it turns out not to be hybrid, then you might try planting some for a harvest. Regarding seed on the ends of the ears, it is often not as large or well formed as in the middle. I've planted both and done okay. But many friends of mine, who are REALLY into corn, swear by using just the inside kernels. Below is a link to another discussion on corn. It contains some good info on saving seed. Hope this helps. George Tahlequah, OK Here is a link that might be useful: Corn for meal and grits

John, So what you're trying to do is go seed - bulb - seed over a period of two years, right? Our climates are way different but I think the process is the same. For the first year, you'd start with seed and go through the standard process of creating a large bulb (up here, I have to either start the seed inside in January or order pencil thin plants from Dixondale that I set outside in April). Once the top falls over naturally you'd dig the onion and cure it in the shade for 3 or so weeks and then store it until you replant it in the fall - you could probably also just leave it in the ground if you have the space. Suzanne Ashworth recommends either 32-45 or 77-95 degrees and 60-70% humidity for storage so my guess would be that it's easier for you to store at the high end by just hanging them in a shady part of the carport. The one set of temps you don't want to store them at is around 60-70 degrees since they'll sprout very fast. Then, in the fall - probably in the mid-late October timeframe for you, you'd replant the bulb and let it go through a winter so it really experiences it's second year and in the spring, this bulb will put up the seed stalk, flower and then die (i.e. limited / no bulb formation) and once you've collected the seed, the cycle starts over again. Sooner or later, you have to use seed from a plant that has bolted ... it's seed from the plants that bolt in a single season rather than two years that you don't want to use. It sounds like an interesting experiment and I've only done it a couple of times by missing onions at harvest time. Good luck with it.

Hi Scott, Just wash the seeds off in warm water (Use gloves to handle them if your skin is sensitive to hot peppers). Then dry them off a little with a paper towel. Lay them out flat on a piece of waxed paper for a few days, turning them a few times. Wax paper is good for drying seeds because they come off it real well and dont stick to it as bad as paper when they are dry. To use seeds right away, you can start them in a little seed starter greenhouse thingy you can get cheap at walmart etc. They sprout a lot faster with bottom heat. When the seeds sprout, open the greenhouse (plastic lid) and place in a sunny window and gradually move into more sunlight outside over a week period. You can transplant into little pots when they have two true leaves (leaves other than the ones that first come out of the seed with). Store the seeds you won't use right away, in a cool dark place. I use old film canisters or just an envelope. they should be good for a few years stored this way. ~SJN

Creating your own mix is a lot of fun. I usually collect most of my seed, but still end up purchasing a few odds and ends that I can't grow or collect enough of. There is a wild variety of Lupine! I encourage you to buy and plant many. They do require a well-drained soil that is typically sandy in nature, but as long as it is well-drained you should be just fine. They spread prolifically by ejecting their seeds from the pods. In the future you will be able to collect the dark pods before they pop if you want to choose where you'd like them to go. Mixes do contain a lot of filler plants, so designing your own may be best. Make sure to include some type of grass though. Without grasses your project will turn into a weedy mess in years to come and you will just want to start over. I'd recommend little bluestem since it is pretty tidy and isn't too aggressive. Plus it's short so you'll be able to see your flowers. As for flower recommendations, you can purchase purple coneflower, black-eyed susan, and annual phlox for very little money. Yellow coneflower is also very inexpensive and simple to grow and maintain. I would highly recommend planting some Butterfly Milkweed seed though. "Butterflyweed" is a must in a wildflower garden and I'm sure that if you do a simple Google image search you'll agree. I recently planted another new prairie myself and you may find some inspiration in my project. Here is a link that might be useful: Improved Ecosystems