Rarámuri Multicolor Corn is a striking open-pollinated variety that brings the high-desert heritage of northern Mexico directly to your garden. Originally collected from a farmer near Creel in Chihuahua's Sierra Madre at nearly 8,000 feet elevation, this corn produces large kernels in a stunning mix of blue, red, white, and red chinmark colors on a single ear. It's a moderate-water crop that thrives in soil with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0, and it needs warm soil (60-75°F) to germinate. This is a frost-tender annual that rewards patience with kernels that capture both the agronomic skill and cultural pride of the Rarámuri people who developed and maintained it.
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Moderate
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Moderate
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The visual spectacle alone makes this corn worth growing. Each ear is a mosaic of large blue, red, white, and distinctively marked red kernels that seem almost hand-painted against one another. Sourced directly from the seed bank collection of Native Seeds/SEARCH, it carries the authenticity of a variety still grown by its original cultivators in the high desert of Mexico, making every harvest a connection to living agricultural tradition rather than a reconstructed historical crop.
Rarámuri Multicolor Corn is primarily a dry corn, ideal for grinding into flour, polenta, and cornmeal. Its large, dense kernels also make it an excellent choice for ornamental corn displays, as the striking color combination of blue, red, white, and chinmark kernels is as much a visual asset as a culinary one. It can be dried and stored for long-term use or used fresh if harvested at the milk stage, though its value truly emerges when allowed to fully mature and dry for grinding, popping, or seed saving.
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Direct sow seeds into warm soil (60-75°F) after all frost danger has passed. Space seeds 12 inches apart with 30 inches between rows. Sow at the depth specified below.
For ornamental and seed-saving purposes, allow ears to fully mature on the stalk until the kernels are hard and dry, typically in fall before the first hard frost. The husks will become papery and brown when ready. For fresh corn use (at the milk stage), harvest when kernels are full but still tender, usually 60-80 days after planting, by snapping ears cleanly from the stalk. Store harvested ears in a cool, dry location to continue drying if not already fully mature.
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“This variety was collected from a farmer at El Ranchito, a community near Creel in Chihuahua, Mexico, situated in the high desert at approximately 7,875 feet elevation. It represents the ongoing work of Native Seeds/SEARCH to document and preserve the agricultural heritage of indigenous and traditional growing communities across the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Rather than existing as a museum piece, Rarámuri Multicolor Corn is an actively grown cultivar maintained through continued cultivation by Rarámuri farmers, making it a living example of seed saving and cultural continuity rather than a rescued heirloom waiting for revival.”