# Mold on dry corn?



## ajthoma (Oct 31, 2012)

Greetings,
I live in the generally rainy Pacific Northwest. It rains here from October to May with the summers almost completely dry.
I planted 3 rows of dent corn in my garden and harvested the "dry" ears in September. Some of the husks had a black surface mold/streaking on them but the dry kernels underneath looked fine. I shucked all the corn and let it dry in the garage for a couple of weeks. My daughter then shelled all the corn and the few kernels that were or questionable quality thrown out on the compost pile.
I then put all the corn kernels in mason jars.
When I looked at the the corn in the mason jars a month or so later some of the kernels had white filaments going to the neighboring kernels. Not very many though. Nothing was black or dark. I thought it looked like it might be a worm so I have put some DE on the corn. Is the corn safe to grind and eat?? What did I do wrong? Should I have just stored the dried ears and shelled them as I needed them?
Thanks for any advice.


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## tiffanysgallery (Jan 17, 2015)

Hi Ajthoma, 


ajthoma said:


> Some of the husks had a black surface mold/streaking on them but the dry kernels underneath looked fine.


Small amounts of black on a corn husk that's newly picked is fine as long is it passes the smell test.


ajthoma said:


> some of the kernels had white filaments going to the neighboring kernels. Not very many though. Nothing was black or dark. I thought it looked like it might be a worm so I have put some DE on the corn.


No sure w/o a picture but the white filaments might be 'diplodia ear-rot'. Don't eat it. 
If the DE you are putting on the corn is a bug spray.. I won't eat it. 
Sorry, it's probably best to throw it all away and try again next year.
You don't want you or your family to become sick. 
Imo. 
Best to you!


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## ajthoma (Oct 31, 2012)

The DE, was food grade diatomaceous earth. Yeah, I was thinking that I might just have to compost the corn.
Thanks


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## tiffanysgallery (Jan 17, 2015)

You're welcome. 
Sorry for the loss of your corn.


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## arnie (Apr 26, 2012)

its hard to dry , I made the mistake of storeing what I thought was dried enough bread corn in a metal trash can , which molded as well . now we know why old corn cribs were made with lots of ventilation . a mouse proof cage made of 1/4 inch hardware cloth works better for small amounts


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## ajthoma (Oct 31, 2012)

arnie said:


> its hard to dry , I made the mistake of storeing what I thought was dried enough bread corn in a metal trash can , which molded as well . now we know why old corn cribs were made with lots of ventilation . a mouse proof cage made of 1/4 inch hardware cloth works better for small amounts


Thanks Arnie, next year I will toss any suspect cobs and make a hardware cloth crib and then just she'll the corn as I need it.


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

Putting it in the jars sealed in the remaining moisture. It takes corn nearly a year to really dry out. Once it is really dry it will last forever. I have found ears of corn in kivas and cliff dwellings in the mountains of Arizona. I gave them to a University professor in Mesa, they carbon dated at 2500 years old.


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## ajthoma (Oct 31, 2012)

muleskinner2 said:


> Putting it in the jars sealed in the remaining moisture. It takes corn nearly a year to really dry out. Once it is really dry it will last forever. I have found ears of corn in kivas and cliff dwellings in the mountains of Arizona. I gave them to a University professor in Mesa, they carbon dated at 2500 years old.


Thanks for the comment, I didn't realize it took so long to truly dry out corn. Here in the Pacific Northwest, come September / October the humidity goes way up with the rain so drying is difficult. But I suspect with a corn crib in my barn shed the corn will be in a better position to dry slowly.


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## JeepHammer (May 12, 2015)

In wet years with corn, farmers have to heat the corn (an added expense) to kill fungus.
The same method works for you. (Unless it's Pop Corn!  )

Simply run your corn, ears or shelled, through a 250*F oven for about 20-30 minutes.
This reduces the moisture, kills fungus, and usually won't kill the kernel so it will germinate next year.

Moisture is the killer here, below about 10% the corn will stay viable for a LONG time.
Kernel corn NEEDS ventilation because of the way kernels pass moisture to each other.
For instance, the bottom of a grain bin is ventilated, where the air comes in and can be under 10%, while the top can be 20% or more.
The moisture will move UP as it dries, keeping the top 'Wet' until everything under it dries.

The previous comment about well ventilated corn cribs was correct, while moisture moves up, the slats in old time corn cribs were to allow heat from the sun to hit the corn and cause convection drying, while corn cribs of old had gaps in the slats to allow air from below.

The worst thing you can do is stick 'Damp' corn in an air tight container with no ventilation...


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