Lecture / tour / tasting: "Corn - the vegetable of the year".

As every year, the Tropical Greenhouse organizes a themed afternoon on the occasion of the vegetable of the year. We cordially invite you to learn many new things about the vegetable of the year, corn, on Sunday, September 4.
It is more than biogas, animal feed and wallpaper paste - it is an ancient crop that comes in countless varieties. It is the world's most important cereal, ahead of wheat and rice, with over a billion tons produced! In our country, corn is mainly seen as a large-scale monoculture with high pesticide and fertilizer requirements. Around two thirds of corn ends up in the feed trough; in many regions of the world, however, corn is a staple food and part of the daily food supply. The majority of the corn varieties grown here, namely 90%, are so-called "hybrids". You cannot obtain seed from the kernels yourself. We will show you how to produce your own seed and what you need to do to do it.
Corn started its triumphal march around the world from South America in the 16th century. Do you already know the three sisters from the "Milpa"? In this mixed crop from South America, corn, squash and beans thrive together. From an ecological point of view, this is a very advantageous, site-appropriate, sustainable cultivation system. The three species complement each other in soil requirements, space use and in terms of nutrition.
The Association for the Preservation of Crop Diversity (Verein zur Erhaltung der Nutzpflanzenvielfalt e.V. - VEN) is particularly concerned to present the considerable diversity of varieties, which is threatened by mass cultivation, to a wider public. The VEN wants to contribute to the preservation and dissemination of little-known wild species as well as cultivated varieties with special characteristics and lauded the vegetable corn - young cobs harvested at milk maturity - as the vegetable of the years 2021/22.
There will be a lecture "Stroll through the corn variety" from the conservation group of VEN and a hands-on tour in the garden with agricultural engineer and vegetable gardener Cathrin Merx. Here you will learn about the different varieties such as vegetable corn, popcorn corn and starch corn and see a colorful diversity of varieties such as `Bloody Butcher' `Oaxacan Green' and `Painted Mountain'.
In a small tasting we will also introduce you to different vegetable corn varieties in a culinary way.


University of Kassel / Greenhouse for Tropical Crops, Steinstraße 19, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany

Admission 5€. Registration until August 31 at tropengewaechshaus[at]uni-kassel[dot]de or 05542-981231.