Country Gentleman Sweet Corn
50 Seeds
Country Gentleman is an heirloom variety that was released in 1890 by S.D. Woodruff and Sons. Bred over a period of fourteen years, proprietor Frank Woodruff named the variety Shoe Peg Corn, referencing the long, slender shape of the kernels. The unique corn immediately gained traction and has maintained its popularity ever since. Country Gentleman is an excellent garden variety with eight-foot-tall plants that produce 8 to 9-inch-long ears, densely packed with sweet, white, irregularly spaced kernels. Although not as sweet as modern hybrids, Country Gentleman was one of the sweetest varieties of its time and remains a great variety today. We recommend picking this variety 21 days after pollination when the kernels are at their peak sweetness. It is among our favorites for freezing since the residual starch in the kernels does a great job of soaking up water, leading to a creamy consistency upon thawing. 90 days to harvest. A packet contains a minimum of 50 seeds.
Fun Fact: Research published in 1998 demonstrated that the disorganized, crowded appearance of the kernels in Shoe Peg corn is due to a naturally occurring mutation in the gene indeterminatespikelet1, which occasionally causes extra kernels to be produced by the ear's floral organs. With nowhere to go, the kernels fill out the space they have, leading to a crooked row pattern and narrow, deep-set kernels.
Country Gentleman is an heirloom variety that was released in 1890 by S.D. Woodruff and Sons. Bred over a period of fourteen years, proprietor Frank Woodruff named the variety Shoe Peg Corn, referencing the long, slender shape of the kernels. The unique corn immediately gained traction and has maintained its popularity ever since. Country Gentleman is an excellent garden variety with eight-foot-tall plants that produce 8 to 9-inch-long ears, densely packed with sweet, white, irregularly spaced kernels. Although not as sweet as modern hybrids, Country Gentleman was one of the sweetest varieties of its time and remains a great variety today. We recommend picking this variety 21 days after pollination when the kernels are at their peak sweetness. It is among our favorites for freezing since the residual starch in the kernels does a great job of soaking up water, leading to a creamy consistency upon thawing. 90 days to harvest. A packet contains a minimum of 50 seeds.
Fun Fact: Research published in 1998 demonstrated that the disorganized, crowded appearance of the kernels in Shoe Peg corn is due to a naturally occurring mutation in the gene indeterminatespikelet1, which occasionally causes extra kernels to be produced by the ear's floral organs. With nowhere to go, the kernels fill out the space they have, leading to a crooked row pattern and narrow, deep-set kernels.
