Stowell’s Evergreen Heirloom Sweet Corn

Biting into a perfectly ripe ear of sweet corn is a summer rite of passage.  There’s just something about the sweet, juicy flavor of sweet corn that instantly transports me back to my childhood.  When I watch my children enjoying an ear of corn grown in our garden, I know that they are building a memory that will stay with them for years to come.

Stowell’s Evergreen is an heirloom variety that dates back to the mid 1800s.  Nathaniel Stowell lovingly crafted this sweet corn by crossing Menomony Soft Corn and Northern Sugar Corn.  The resulting corn combined the best traits from both.

In 1855, Nathaniel agreed to sell two ears of seed corn to a friend with the understanding that they would only be used in his family garden.  They settled on a price of $4.00.  Unfortunately for Mr. Stowell, his friend promptly sold those two ears to an established seed company for an incredible $20,000!  In 1856, Thoburn and Company Seed offered Stowell’s seed for sale to their customers.

More than 150 years have passed since Nathaniel watched as his beloved sweet corn’s future slipped between his fingers.  Somehow, I feel like I’m helping to right a wrong when I plant these heirloom seeds in our family garden.  I can only imagine that Mr. Stowell hoped that generations of family farmers and gardeners would lovingly grow his corn for their family.  We plant this delicious variety in our Three Sisters Garden every single year. I hope that you will join me in growing Stowell’s Evergreen Heirloom Sweet Corn for your family’ table.

You can shop all of our Heirloom Seed Collections by visiting The 1840 Farm Mercantile Shop on Etsy.  We can’t wait to grow our favorite heirlooms along with you this year!