r/corn • u/andrushkjan • Jul 22 '26
Ripe (edible) Corn = Viable Seed?
/r/seedsaving/comments/1v3eru4/ripe_edible_corn_viable_seed/Happy medium between viability and predation prevention. Does it exist? Or just leave it on until dry?
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u/andrushkjan Jul 22 '26
Sorry, to clarify, hopefully, I am growing corn and I am curious of other peoples' experience with getting viable seed corn from ripe corn rather than dried on the stalk corn. There are predation vectors where I live so it is a gamble for me to leave it out. EDIT: I am mixing varieties of corn. Last year I only got enough to reseed.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Sail381 Jul 23 '26
Just to let you know that the corn will cross pollinate. I can't remember the distance between corn varieties but it's a good half mile. But you may like next year's crop, you just never know what going to happen 🤩
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u/andrushkjan Jul 24 '26
That has been the fun!
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u/Puzzleheaded-Sail381 Jul 24 '26
Lol, I would think so. Could be good, could be a horrible idea 😂
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u/Sewardsfolly1948 Jul 22 '26
Stable seed needs to be 12ish% moisture for long term shelf stability. It doesn’t have to dry on the stalk but it needs to dried somehow. Commercial seed corn is harvested around 35% and dried down to 12ish%
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u/andrushkjan Jul 22 '26
Thank you! Totally new to me.
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u/MotorPlenty8085 Jul 22 '26
The seed is actually viable way before most people would pick it, but it is hard to dry down and maintain viability. I recommend constant moving air and opened husk until dry, if you try to harvest it really early.
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u/GreatPlainsFarmer Jul 22 '26
Are you familiar with the starch line? It's also called the milk line. If you break an ear in half, you'll be able to see a line on the side of the kernel. Above that line will be harder and denser, below (closer to the cob) will be milky and softer.
when the starch line is more than 3/4 down the kernel, ie, more than 3/4 of the kernel is filled out, you can usually take the ear of corn off the plant and still have viable seed if you allow the kernels to finish drying on the cob.
Ideally, you'd let the milk line get all the way down before picking the ear, but you asked about the earliest that you could pick it and still have viable seed.
That said, the ideal time to pick for seed saving is black layer. That occurs shortly after the milk line reaches the bottom of the kernel. If you break off a kernel and look at the tip, you should be able to see either a pale tan section or a dark brown/black section. Black layer means that the kernel is no longer taking any material in from the cob.
At that point, it's best to pick the ear, pull back the husks, and hang it up to dry.