Today we harvested the bulk of our Oaxacan Green Dent and Two-Inch Strawberry Popcorn! If corn kernels were as hardy as minerals, we wouldn't have to mine at all to have a plentiful supply of colorful, iridescent gems for our jewelry-makers.
We planted our Strawberry Popcorn from seed we saved last year from our mini-field in the parking-lot median (that, in turn, was planted from seed I grew in my own garden at home). Though planted in a smaller area, this year's harvest was even better! This was probably due largely to better soil, more timely planting, and plenty of rain. The ears were larger and we didn't see any huitlacoche, which claimed several ears last time (though that was a treat in itself - or at least a worthwhile experience, depending on who you ask).
Though we planted late enough last year to avoid cross-pollination, this year our corn was tasseling around the same time as the Oaxacan Green (I think we missed the window for crossing with the conventional field corn around the library). That, or a recessive gene, or who-knows-what-in-the-mysterious-history-of-this-variety-of-corn may have contributed to the exciting finding we had: four ears of white corn! They looked like albino versions of the normally red ears, except that one of them had a single yellow kernel. Maybe that yellow kernel came from a few years ago, when I planted the ancestors of these seeds at home near a plot of Tom Thumb Popcorn (I don't recall if they tasseled at the same time).
We've sent off photos to our friends at the Seed Savers Exchange (the original seed came from them), and we may try to grow these seeds out and stabilize the unusual trait. Backyard genetics for the curious gardener!