Homegrown Grits

South Carolinians love corn grits, but like most modern Southerners, I grew up eating store-bought instant or quick grits and never considered homegrown grits an option. Then about a decade ago I visited the Hagood Mill Historic Site in Pickens, SC. This renovated 175-year-old water grist mill grinds corn the old-fashioned way into grits and cornmeal on the third Saturday of every month. During that visit, I bought a bag of fresh, stoneground grits, and it changed my view of the Southern staple forever. Several South Carolina mills now offer these hearty grits ground from heirloom corn varieties (mostly a type of corn known as dent corn). If you have never tried fresh, local grits, I encourage you to pick up a bag and give it a try.

As a gardener who likes a challenge, I wondered if I could grow and grind dent corn in my home garden. So in 2019, I planted a local heirloom yellow dent corn called John Haulk Corn (available from Clemson’s Heirloom Seed Collection). This year I’m growing a recently rediscovered white dent corn called Cocke’s Prolific. If you’ve grown sweet corn, then you can grow dent corn. The most significant difference is the height of the plant. These heirloom dent corns grow tall, up to 15 feet, and smaller plantings may blow over more easily in a storm unless spaced a little further apart (2 ft) and hilled with soil. Otherwise, the planting dates, fertility, pests, and other cultural aspects are very similar to sweet corn. For more information, see HGIC 1308, Sweet Corn.

Unlike sweet corn, ears of dent corn for grits should fully mature and dry on the stalk before harvest (from 90 to 120 days after planting for most varieties). Harvest when the husks are dry, brown and papery. Shuck harvested ears and