by Kim Brockman

Created on: January 18, 2011

If you love popcorn, experience the many wide varieties that you may never have heard of by growing your own.  It’s easier to grow than sweet corn and makes a great summer project for your children to learn about how things grow. 

 Popcorn is a popular snack today and it can even be a healthy one if prepared with thought.  There are types without hulls, but the hulled varieties provide excellent fiber.  Popcorn has a lot of protein, iron and calcium too.  Just limit the butter and salt and you’ve got a healthy, whole grain snack.

Types of Popcorn

Popcorn is historically the snack of the American Indian.  In fact it is sometimes called “Indian corn.”  The Native Americans had 700 varieties of popcorn in all colors imaginable.  Popcorn was “discovered” by Christopher Columbus when he was in San Salvador.

The popular modern strains are “snowflake” and “mushroom.”  The former is the big and puffy popped product you’ll find in movie theaters and home popcorns.  The latter is preferred by caramel corn makers, as it holds together better.  Snowflake seeds are much easier to find, and have the much more tender popped popcorn.

Growing Popcorn

The optimal growing conditions for popcorn are similar to those for field corn.  It needs full sun and excellent drainage.  It grows well where beans, peas or legumes have grown before.  pH levels should be around 6.0.  It will need some NPK additive.  In other words fertilize popcorn the way you would sweet corn, regularly checking your nitrogen levels.

Plant seeds about two inches deep.  They need to be anywhere from four to ten inches apart, depending on the size of the variety.  Plant in blocks like you would with sweet corn.  Rows of four or more plants, three feet apart, help assure adequate pollination.  Be careful not to plant popcorn near sweet corn as the result of this cross pollination as few, if any, uses.

Popcorn has a rather shallow root system.  This means it often grows well despite poorer soils.  It also means it needs constant watering to keep the roots from drying out.  Frequent weeding will bring best results.

Harvesting Popcorn

Popcorn matures in about 110 days with some varieties coming in closer to 90 days.  It’s harvest time when the popcorn kernels are hard and the husks totally dry.  Remove the ears from the stalks.  Remove the husks from the ears.

The ears need to be dried next.  This can easily be done by putting them in paper bags which breathe easily.  Once a week or so remove some kernels to see if they pop.  When they do it’s time to shell all your kernels and store them in moisture-proof containers.  These should be placed in refrigerators whenever possible to keep insects away.

Now you’re ready to eat and enjoy.  If your popcorn stops popping well it could have become a bit too dry.  Add a tablespoon of water in a quart of popcorn kernels and try again after a few days.  Repeat as necessary until normal popping resumes.

Now you can rent movies for instant delivery and have your own home-grown popcorn to go with them!

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