Most people go to the store to buy popcorn. It's cheap, easy, and fast. But growing popcorn at home is very simple, and can be done by anybody provided they have a small garden area for growing popcorn in. Growing popcorn can be an educational project that your children will remember and cherish for a lifetime.
To start, select a mostly sunny garden location for growing popcorn in. Work the soil with a spade, shaking out all the grass, weeds, roots, and big rocks. If you have a well-decomposed leaf pile nearby, now is a good time to work some of that organic matter into the soil. Organic matter enriches the soil with valuable nutrients and also helps alleviate sandy or clay soils.
The most common way to plant corn is in rows. Some Native Americans made little hills and planted corn and squash on top of the hills. Other gardeners just plant it straight into the ground. I don't think it really matters how you plant it.
So where do you get the seed from? This is the fun part. The local grocery store does not realize it sells popcorn seed in bulk quantities. Since unpopped popcorn is not really treated or cooked in any way, it is still good seed and will produce good germination rates provided it has been bought within the last year. Plant the seed about a half inch deep in the ground, cover with soft earth, and water well. Popcorn should be sown after danger of all frost, just like regular corn. An old Native American way of telling when to plant corn as to look for the oak leaves. When the new leaves reach about the size of a mouse's ear, its time to plant. The soil should be warm, as seed tends to rot if planted too early when the nights are still cool. The crop can also be staggered. That basically means planting a couple rows every week. Popcorn takes between two and four months to mature; so I would recommend planting it no later than three months before the first fall frost.
To start, select a mostly sunny garden location for growing popcorn in. Work the soil with a spade, shaking out all the grass, weeds, roots, and big rocks. If you have a well-decomposed leaf pile nearby, now is a good time to work some of that organic matter into the soil. Organic matter enriches the soil with valuable nutrients and also helps alleviate sandy or clay soils.
The most common way to plant corn is in rows. Some Native Americans made little hills and planted corn and squash on top of the hills. Other gardeners just plant it straight into the ground. I don't think it really matters how you plant it.
So where do you get the seed from? This is the fun part. The local grocery store does not realize it sells popcorn seed in bulk quantities. Since unpopped popcorn is not really treated or cooked in any way, it is still good seed and will produce good germination rates provided it has been bought within the last year. Plant the seed about a half inch deep in the ground, cover with soft earth, and water well. Popcorn should be sown after danger of all frost, just like regular corn. An old Native American way of telling when to plant corn as to look for the oak leaves. When the new leaves reach about the size of a mouse's ear, its time to plant. The soil should be warm, as seed tends to rot if planted too early when the nights are still cool. The crop can also be staggered. That basically means planting a couple rows every week. Popcorn takes between two and four months to mature; so I would recommend planting it no later than three months before the first fall frost.
Comments
This sounds like fun. Thanks!
Angie, in reply to wour first issue, I tried it with success. It did germinate. However, you are probably right with the second; as it was a little different. And the popcorn was not a monsanto product, either. There was no "do not propigate" anywhere on the bag. I checked. But getting certified seed is the best because then you know you will get a good crop. However, I still managed to get a good crop with the store-bought seed.
A couple of issues about the recommendations here:
Growing popcorn from the store is a very low-percentage activity. First, many store-bought popcorn is processed prior to eating in such a way that it renders the endosperm unviable. Second, almost all commercial popcorn is hybrid, which means that its seeds do not produce true. The "popcorn" you end up with even if you get it to germinate, it will be nothing like the popcorn from the store. And if the original popcorn was a Monsanto product, it is illegal to grow the seed. It's best to buy certified seed from a seed merchant.
Very interesting! I'm wondering how the taste and fluffiness compares to that of store-bought.
Comments 1 - 4 (of 4)
|
|