Abenaki Calais Flint Corn "Roy's Calais" (Zea mays) Seeds – Vermont Heirloom, 8-Row Ears in Gold & Maroon, Short-Season, Great for Cornmeal & Hominy

Minimum: 20+ Seeds

A Vermont Heirloom Built for Short Seasons

Vermont summers are short, and the corn that survives there has to be tough and quick. Abenaki Calais Flint Corn, known as Roy's Calais, is that kind of corn, a Vermont heirloom with slender 8-row ears of gold and maroon kernels that ripen in a short season and grind into excellent cornmeal. Its name ties it to the Abenaki people of Vermont and to the town of Calais, and it carries a long northern growing tradition in every ear. This is an open-pollinated, hard-grain flint corn made for the cool-climate kitchen.

Who Grows Abenaki Calais Flint Corn?
The northern and cool-climate gardener needing a dependable short-season grain corn.
The home miller wanting flint corn for cornmeal, johnnycakes, and hominy.
The heirloom gardener preserving an authentic Vermont variety with Abenaki roots.
The seed saver wanting a hardy, open-pollinated corn that breeds true.

What This Vermont Heirloom Flint Corn Actually Is
Zea mays 'Abenaki Calais Flint' (Roy's Calais) is a Vermont heirloom flint corn with eight-row ears of gold and maroon kernels, associated with the Abenaki people and the town of Calais, Vermont. Flint corns have a hard, glassy outer layer, which helps kernels resist rot and insects and store well, and they typically germinate well in cool soil. This variety is a short-season type, bred to mature in the brief growing season of the northern states. Dried kernels grind into flavorful cornmeal, a New England staple for johnnycakes and mush, and can also be processed into hominy. As an open-pollinated heirloom, it breeds true from saved seed. Grown as a warm-season annual, not frost-hardy.

In the Garden & Kitchen

• Cornmeal: Grind dried kernels into coarse, flavorful meal for cornbread and baking.
• Johnnycakes and mush: Cook fresh-ground meal into traditional New England johnnycakes and porridge.
• Hominy: Process hard kernels into hominy using traditional methods.
• Short-season grain crop: Grow where a long season would risk frost before ears mature.
• Decorative ears: Display gold and maroon ears in fall arrangements before shelling.
• Seed saving: Save mature, dried seed to grow the same variety year after year.

Growing Abenaki Calais Flint Corn Seeds

• Start method: Direct sow outdoors after last frost, once soil has warmed.
• Germination: Sprouts in 7 to 10 days in warm soil.
• Soil temperature: Germinates best between 55 and 85°F.
• Spacing: Space plants 8 to 12 inches apart in blocks of at least four rows for reliable pollination.
• Sunlight: Full sun.
• Soil: Fertile, well-drained soil supports the strongest stalks and ear fill.
• Watering: Consistent moisture, especially during tasseling and ear formation.
• Pollination: Wind-pollinated; block planting rather than single rows improves kernel fill.
• Days to maturity: A short-season variety, typically ready in roughly 85 to 100 days from seeding.
• Harvest: Let ears dry fully on the stalk, then harvest and finish drying before shelling.
• Isolation note: Isolate from other corn varieties to keep seed true if saving for replanting.
• Hardiness: Grown as a warm-season annual; killed by frost.

Before You Close This Page
This is corn built for a short northern season, gold and maroon eight-row ears from a Vermont heirloom that ripens fast and grinds into excellent cornmeal. Abenaki Calais Flint Corn carries a real New England growing tradition into the garden, open-pollinated and easy to save seed from. Plant it after the last frost, give it a block and some sun, and let the ears dry on the stalk. Grow the corn that Vermont summers couldn't stop.