hi folks.  I had OK luck with my corn field this year, and have a lot left over - I plan to save quite a bit of dried corn, some will be re-planted, the rest will be taken to local mill and ground into meal.  

But I'd like to experiment with storing a couple of bushels.  Can someone recommend an economical simple way to keep rats out, mold from forming?  Thanks.

5gallon buckets, O2 absorber or 2 depending on size, nitrogen/or/co2/or/dry ice packaging/or/diatomaceous earth, smack down on the lids, store it in the basement or back of shed.

Large trash cans, diatomaceous earth mixed in, stored in the same place.

Sealed large metallized mylar bags, stored in 5gal buckets or trashcans....

Just keep it dry, sealed and out of most bad places, you'll have corn for years.

Is your corn shelled? If it is and a small quantity a new metal trash can would be fine. I store some corn in a 55 gallon steel drum that originally held soy based printers ink. The ink is actually in a plastic bladder and never comes in contact with the drum....I get them from a local printer, very nice band top, openhead drums.

The bulk of my food storage corn is stored in a small metal bin, about 100 bushels worth. I bought it at a farm auction. It is stored outside of course but it's rotated out every year so loss of quality is not a major issue.

can you store unshelled corn in a metal can as well?  leaving it on shell - would that invite mold or other problem?

You can but it just takes up so much room as to make storage of any real quantity a real PITA. In the old days it was often put up in a crib in ear form. Eating or corn saved for seed would often have the husks tied together and be hung from the rafters of a shed or in the basement or attic-kept the vermin away and let it dry properly. There used to also be wire drying "racks" that you would impale the ears on and hang the racks to dry....like these

-http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Primitive-Cast-Iron-Corn-Cob-Seed-Drying-Dryer_W0QQitemZ140084093939QQihZ004QQcategoryZ1217QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

Shell it now if you can. Come Teotwawki you will have plenty to do other than shelling corn! It ain't alot of fun unless you have a sheller...trust me.

I have uniformly good luck storing dry wheat. Corn kept beyond 12 mos., in the same place and conditions, doesnt do well. The outer covering of the individual grains seems to shrink, exposing core which darkens. I think hybred field corn has been altered for other qualities, and long storage wasn't one of them.

How does corn taste after being dried? We've only ever froze it, and it looses a bit of taste then. Does one type (yellow, white?) store better than the other?

I really need to work on my old-time storage skills, my garden would be nearly useless if the SHTF lasted more than one season.

Why would you want to store it , it does nothing for ya ?

Quoted: Why would you want to store it , it does nothing for ya ?

not sure I understand..store it to replant.  or to make meal.  why ask that question

Quoted: Quoted: Why would you want to store it , it does nothing for ya ? not sure I understand..store it to replant.  or to make meal.  why ask that question

Well .... it does nothing for ya , nothing in nutrition at all .

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Why would you want to store it , it does nothing for ya ? not sure I understand..store it to replant.  or to make meal.  why ask that question Well .... it does nothing for ya , nothin g in nutrition at all .

where does this stuff come from?  OK, check out the nutrition in an ear, below:

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 ear, yields (77 g)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 83.2

Calories from Fat 9
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 1g 1%

Saturated Fat 0.2g 1%

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.5g

Monounsaturated Fat 0.3g
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 13.1mg 0%
Potassium 191.7mg 5%
Total Carbohydrate 19.3g 6%

Dietary Fiber 2.2g 8%

Sugars 2.4g
Protein 2.6g
Vitamin A 4%
Vitamin C 8%
Calcium 0%
Iron 2%
Vitamin E 0%
Thiamin 13%
Riboflavin 5%
Niacin 6%
Folate 8%
Phosphorus 7%
Magnesium 6%
Zinc 2%
Vitamin K 0%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:
Calories: 2,000 2,500
Total Fat Less than 65g 80g
   Sat Fat Less than 20g 25g
Cholesterol Less than 300mg 300mg
Sodium Less than 2,400mg 2,400mg
Calories per gram: Fat 9 · Carbohydrate 4 · Protein 4

compare with a cup of green beans...

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 cup (110 g)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 34.1

Calories from Fat 0.9
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0.1g 0%

Saturated Fat 0g 0%

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1g
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 6.6mg 0%
Potassium 229.9mg 6%
Total Carbohydrate 7.9g 2%

Dietary Fiber 3.7g 14%

Sugars 1.5g
Protein 2g
Vitamin A 15%
Vitamin C 29%
Calcium 4%
Iron 6%
Vitamin E 1%
Thiamin 6%
Riboflavin 5%
Niacin 4%
Vitamin B6 5%
Folate 10%
Phosphorus 4%
Magnesium 6%
Zinc 2%
Copper 5%
Vitamin K 19%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:
Calories: 2,000 2,500
Total Fat Less than 65g 80g
   Sat Fat Less than 20g 25g
Cholesterol Less than 300mg 300mg
Sodium Less than 2,400mg 2,400mg
Calories per gram: Fat 9 · Carbohydrate 4 · Protein 4

Quoted: How does corn taste after being dried? We've only ever froze it, and it looses a bit of taste then. Does one type (yellow, white?) store better than the other? I really need to work on my old-time storage skills, my garden would be nearly useless if the SHTF lasted more than one season.

I think you are talking about two different animals, he's talking about field corn and your talking about sweet corn.

-JTP

Quoted: Quoted: Why would you want to store it , it does nothing for ya ? not sure I understand..store it to replant.  or to make meal.  why ask that question

Not sure I would want to use it to replant.......the yield will suffer because of not being a "true hybrid".....and will only get worse every year.

As for storing corn.....storing in plastic buckets or trash containers work but just make sure the moisture is at least 13% if storing for more than a year.  Moisture and temperature are your enemies......as well as mold.

If you harvest the corn in a dry year it could have aflotoxin in it.....very poisonous.....have it checked at your local feed mill or elevator.......hope this helps!  

Does nothing for ya? Are you crazy?

Ever heard of Mesa Verde? In the Four Corners region of the US an ENTIRE CULTURE of people fed themselves primarily with corn (and beans) for over a MILLENIUM! Corn, squash and beans....the Three Sisters were a primary staple of every non nomadic Indian people in  North America for centuries before the white man came. Didn't you get to play Pilgrims and Indians in Kindergarden? You know, the Pilgrims who were starving their asses off trying to hunt and grow crops and then the Indians showed them how to grow corn with dead fish for fertilizer?

http://www.earthlypursuits.com/Vegetables/CornCulture1918-2.htm

Corn, wheat, beans and rice should form the backbone of any longterm storage food plan. This is for several reasons-though primary reasons would include the ability to store for long periods of time and retain nutritional value without refrigeration or other elaborate storage methods. In addition in Heirloom varieties the plants can replicate themselves....over and over again. They feed people and livestock. Corn in particular was a popular food grain because it requires almost no tools to grow! That may not be a big deal with the advent of steel implements at every corner store but when you're only choices were wood and rock....it was a pretty dang important factor! You can poke a hole in some roughly tilled land with a stick and plant corn and it will grow! When it comes time to harvest all you do is pull off an ear and you're done, no cutting and threshing etc....

I would recommend these Heirloom seed providers to anyone wanting to grow corn for food, and beans for that matter-

http://www.nativeseeds.org/v2/cat.php?catID=18

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Why would you want to store it , it does nothing for ya ? not sure I understand..store it to replant.  or to make meal.  why ask that question Not sure I would want to use it to replant.......the yield will suffer because of not being a "true hybrid".....and will only get worse every year. As for storing corn.....storing in plastic buckets or trash containers work but just make sure the moisture is at least 13% if storing for more than a year.  Moisture and temperature are your enemies......as well as mold. If you harvest the corn in a dry year it could have aflotoxin in it.....very poisonous.....have it checked at your local feed mill or elevator.......hope this helps!

I should have clarified, I am using corn that has been grown in my community for the last 40 years, seed saved  from year to year by old timers.  about the aflotoxin, good advice thanks.

Good on ya Fordguy. A local Heirloom variety will give you best results. Good luck in your storage efforts.

My kids fight over the cornbread muffins I make....course they fight over most everything....but that's beside the point. Nothing like fresh cornbread you made with flour you ground yourself from corn from your own ground!

Quoted: Nothing like fresh cornbread you made with flour you ground yourself from corn from your own ground!

+200!

Quoted: Maybe a SILO???

Oh, silly me!  I'll just go to wal-mart and get one of those cheap chinese silos on the tractor isle!  Thanks!

edit: we bought this land.  My daddy din't give me anything.  Everything here is because I built it, grew it, drove it here, or other wise "caused" it to be here.  Silos are a major investment, and one guy trying to find a baseline way of living doesn't justify the cost of a silo.  

Like I said I store my bulk shell corn in a small grain bin. I bought it at an auction. It looks alot like a culvert (round body with ribs) except it has metal legs a top and a cone shaped bottom. It holds 100 bushels. It didn't cost a whole lot  and was not too difficult to erect. 100 bushels of corn feeds a whole lot of folks, or livestock. Cheap insurance.

If you where in Iowa I'd store it for you!  We store a little over 50,000 bushels.  
Modern grain bins have vented floors, fans with or without heat force the air up the floor-through the corn and out the top of the bin.  Some bins have stirrators's which auger the bottom corn to the top and inside the pile to the wall and vise versa.
We usually sell and empty the bins by mid summer (fill them in the fall) but we hang on to a few hundred bushels to feed the chickens until fall.
Just an FYI

Also, if you don't keep on eye on things when the temps rise the shit can go bad pretty quick!

reckon i could store it in the shade in a metal trash can still on the cob?