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Hippocrates' Garden
I may be overthinking it, but looking at the previous posts, it is mentioned: “when the corn is ready, the silk is ready”. So I’m assuming that means when it’s dried. For one thing, which kind of corn? “Sweet Corn” is picked in the milk stage of the kernel, and “Dent” or “Popcorn” is picked when it’s dry and hard.
That also brings up, is there any difference between, not so much the specific cultivar, but “type” (Sweet, Dent, Pop…)
Obviously, I’ll have to grow my own, as anything purchased is assumed to have been sprayed. I’ve got everything from Glass Gem (popcorn), and Bloody Butcher (dent) to a stabilized super sweet from Johnny’s among others. (my last spreadsheet had about 400 types of all kinds of seed).
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Joelle
Hey,
That’s a good question! From what I’ve gathered, the corn silk is ready when the sweet corn is ready (in the milk stage when the silks are fresh looking)–not when the corn is dry (and the silks are dry and brown). I have no idea if it matters what category of corn. But I would assume most people use sweet corn so that they can harvest the corn for eating purposes at the same time they get the silks. Growing your own is a great idea to avoid GMO’s and sprays!
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Jill Powelson
Hi all! I saved and dried our own corn silk from sweet corn that we grew this summer, and I just realized that I am unsure how to consume it when needed. The Homegrown Herbalist Book and the lesson slides did not seem to mention this, though I may have missed it. What I believe is that you could consume the dried silk as is, but it may not be very pleasant due to the long dry strands. So you could break them up and put them into a tea or a smoothie, yes? I decided to place the dried silks into a good blender to try to break them down into smaller bits. At first the silks tended to wind around and not break up, but with a little persistence, it worked. The result was not a powder, but more like the consistency of say, dried dill spice. Then I put that into a mason jar and used a jar vacuum sealer that I have to remove the air and help it last longer on the shelf. Just sharing my experience in case it helps anyone, and in case anyone needs to correct me for the next time I do this. Thank you!
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Greg Boggs
Interesting! I wonder if chopping it up before powdering would help it grind down better, like we do when powdering roots?
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Yes, good point – I should have cut the corn silk up before putting it in a blender. Since you mentioned powdering roots, may I ask you … I just tried my first root processing and it did not go very well. The (parsley) roots were woody and my blender could not handle them, so then I tried a mortar & pestle to grind the roots, with mixed results: smaller roots ground down well, larger woodier root pieces broke up into smaller pieces (after substantial “elbow grease”) but nowhere near as fine as powder. Any tips to share? Thank you in advance
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Whenever I harvest roots, the first thing I do is wash them and then chop them up 1-2cm thick. Once I’ve done that, I throw them in my herb dryer to dry out. After that I use my Vitamix to powder them up and it has worked well for me each time. I think the thing that is most helpful is getting them chopped first so the blender has an easier time later
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Debra Andersland
I tinctured my corn silk. I took it from some sweet corn that friends grew that was never sprayed.
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Dr. Patrick Jones
Use corn silk the way you’d use any other herb…tea, tincture, etc…
It is a bit tricky to grind. Greg is right about cutting it up first.
Sweet corn is the most frequently used for medicine. harvest when the cob is mature but hasn’t dried out. If you use dent fcorn, get the silk before the corn dries. Youwan tthe silk smooth, flexible and greenish, not dried out and brown at harvest.
Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.
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