I planted popcorn a couple of weeks ago and it is starting to emerge. Obviously Mr. O.R.'s popcorn is not sterile. We had popcorn one night a couple of weeks ago and a few of the kernels did not make the popper. So when cleaning up instead of sweeping them into the trash they went into an empty pot that had soil. I don't think the manufacturer had this in mind when he sold me his product but you sort of loose control of your product when it enters the retail market. I remember learning in the 4th grade that Native Americans would put fish heads in with the corn when planting. I did not have any fish heads, does anyone have a recommendation? Is it the calcium the plant needs? It will be interesting to see if I can grow a popcorn plant indoors much less get it to tassel. I can see this is going to be an interesting winter project. Jerry
Jerry, this is important--remove the corn ear from the plant, and remove the kernels from the cob before popping! The fish heads were for nitrogen, I think, so any high-nitrogen fertilizer should do. I've never known anyone to grow popcorn in a pot, so please post pictures of your popcorn progress.
All this technical stuff....add nitrogen.......watch stalks grow...lets hope they do not grow as high as an elephants eye..... assuming the plants tassel, let tassels touch each other.....let ears dry on stalk.....remove ears from stalk....remove kernels from ear....pop according to directions on package..... oh ya!! take pictures. Winter project #1 is up and running!! Jerry
Oh, darn, I was hoping no one but me remembered those But I do hope you have more luck than I did Jerry.
It takes two to Tango. So far there are two popcorn plants on the dance floor. There are however some backup candidates in the wings just in case the two prima-donnas fall flat on their faces. At some point I will have to transplant the seedlings as they are in the "nearest pot available" and it is only an inch deep. I have a pot in which the plant is doing poorly, so it will become the "pot of choice." I wonder when I should transplant the seedlings. Has anyone ever transplanted corn? Poo: I have seen farmer Brown (yes, the one with the dairy herd) and a wagon of cow poo going into a corn field and nitrogen is needed for a strong healthy stalk sooooo. I have a bag of poo from this summer which I did not finish. Next I need an elephant.....but first I will prepare the Pot of Choice Jerry O.K. now a picture: ( photo / image / picture from Jerry Sullivan's Garden )