The corn capital of Canada is already brining its bounty to dinner tables around Alberta, and one purveyor believes there is ...

Cheema's corn varieties require between 2000 and 2200 heating units to flourish. To compare - many Ontario varieties typically soak up 3000 heating units.

But Berenice Pérez, 35, believes the heirloom corn varieties she grows are healthier, as well as tastier. She left Mexico’s capital three years ago and moved to rural Las Mesas in Tlaxcala.

Conical corn is mainly grown in the Mexican states of Michoacán, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, Veracruz, and Oaxaca. Smaller than many U.S. varieties, they tend to narrow into a cone shape.

Short corn has a dense stature, with decreased space between leaf internodes (where the leaves grow from the stems). This makes silks grow closer together, giving them an easier time taking on pollen ...