Growing Popcorn Corn

Image Gallery Homemade popcorn is superior to anything you can find in the grocery store. Learn to grow the right varieties of popcorn corn for a delicious and healthy treat. PHOTOS BY ROBERT E. LEE. JR

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"Why buy popcorn," asks Susan Christiansen Feldhake, "when you can grow fresher, tastier, healthier poppin' kernels in your own backyard or homestead garden?"

It'd take a heap of lookin' to find anybody who doesn't like popcorn (which carries the imposing scientific title, Zea mays everta). Whether it's served as a quick snack for drop-in guests, an evening family munch, or a low-cost substitute for missed college dorm meals, a freshly popped pan of corn is a treat that nearly everyone enjoys.

And, although most store—bought popcorn is produced in the Corn Belt states of Iowa and Nebraska, one variety or another of this delicious snack will grow in any climate that'll support sweet corn. Homegrown popcorn has a lot of advantages over the commercial brands, too. It'll pop and taste better, for instance, because it's fresh ... and it won't be contaminated with any sprayed "surprises" (which can be comforting knowledge in these days of chemical farming).

Homegrown popcorn does have one drawback, though: Once you've eaten it you'll never again be satisfied with the store-bought product. You'll just have to plant your own plot of corn every year!

Fortunately, changes in available garden space needn't interfere with continued popcorn production, because the grain can be planted most anywhere. For example, a friend of mine grows her corn in among the flowers on the south side of her house ... and I know another gardener who planted popcorn in his cucumber hills. He was able to pick the ears and leave the row of stalks to serve as a natural trellis for the cukes.

Finding Popcorn Corn Seeds

It can be difficult to find fertile popcorn seeds, however. If you have a favorite commercial brand, be sure to try a germination test before you go to the trouble and expense of a full planting: Sow a row of about 20 seeds, water it, and wait. If most of the corn is up and growin' in a week, you have good seeds. If two weeks pass with little or no growth, though, you'd better look for another source. (Many popcorn producers heat-dry the kernels to kill weevil eggs, and this process sometimes hinders germination. :Besides, some retail popcorn is just too danged old to grow!)

If you can't locate any fertile commercial popcorn—and don't know any growers who might be willing to donate (or swap something for) seeds—you can always buy from a seed company. In states that grow a lot of corn, just contact the farmers who serve as local seed—corn agents. These people often sell popcorn as well as sweet and field corn, and will sometimes even give out free packets of this seed in order to promote their other brands.

Popcorn varieties are available in a range of colors that includes off-white, light gold, deep gold, deep maroon, and black. There are also "calico" varieties, which have two or more colors on each ear. All of these corns have their own distinct tastes and "popped" appearances ... so get a trade arrangement going with your gardener friends: There's bound to be one type of popcorn that's just right for you.

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