I have grown field corn and sweet corn for years. I was wondering if growing popcorn would be a good idea. Is growing popcorn just a strait forward thing like growing regular sweet corn? Well, the answer is yes and no.
You plant popcorn and grow it like sweet corn, but you really need to be careful about cross pollination and you preserve it differently than sweet corn. This article will explore the interesting idea of growing you own popcorn.
Can any corn be used to grow popcorn?
When you grow sweet corn in your garden at home you can let it grow until it matures and dries out. Those kernels look pretty hard and similar to popcorn kernels. If you grow field corn for feed or seed, it can resemble popcorn kernels as well. The resemblance ends there. If you try to pop sweet corn or field corn you will get a burnt mess.
There is only one variety of corn that will pop. This sounds rather alarming, but there are over 100 strains of that one variety. So there are many choices of popcorn to grow.
Some of the corn will pop in a flowerlike or snowflake shape. Some corn will pop more in the shape of a ball, some will mushroom out. The different varieties have different applications.
Carmel corn uses the more ball or mushroom shape. Movie theater will use the larger flower shaped ones. Most of the popcorn used at home, in movie theaters, and for snacking is the flower shaped variety.
You may want to experiment and try something different. When you decode to grow popcorn you need to be concerned with crosspollination. We’ll address this a little later in this article.
Can I grow popcorn from kernels from the store?
When you look the bottle or bag of popcorn kernels that you bring home from the store they look like pretty good seed to use to grow your own. The results can be a bit sporadic.
You may be able to get some of the seeds to germinate, but not all. Many of the kernels may have been flavored, treated with preservatives, or processed resulting in a lack of germination.
You can try a germination test on your favorite brand of popcorn from the store. What you do is sow about 20 seeds of the popcorn. Wait and see if they germinate. You should start seeing the plants in about a week. If you don’t have germination or spotty germination in 2 weeks the seed isn’t fertile.
Growing your own popcorn
It’s best to obtain popcorn kernels specifically grown for planting. Many varieties of corn are available from nurseries and online. When ordering these seeds make sure you have seeds that have been developed for your growing zone. Once you have obtained the popcorn seed you treat it the same as sweet corn for growing.
Planting popcorn
Wait until the soil gets warm and the chance of a freeze has past. One trick is to soak the seed for about 12 hours before you plant it. This will help the seeds germinate faster.
Plant the popcorn about a half inch deep in the spring. You may need to plant deeper if you sow the seed in the hot summer, up to 2 inches or so. You need to plant the seeds 6 inches apart, and in rows of two or more about 18-36 inches apart.
You should plant 2 seeds in each hole, germination tends to be about 70-80%. Rows of 4 or 5 are preferable to allow for ample pollination. Pollination is essential to have a good yield.
Soil prep for popcorn
Corn is a big nitrogen user. Try to plant corn in soil that has had legumes in it. Legumes like peas, beans, and alfalfa add nitrogen to the soil naturally. It’s not essential that you plant in this kind of soil, it’s just something that you can plan for in your garden.
In any event you want to make sure that the soil has plenty of nitrogen for the corn to flourish. I have an article on garden fertilizer here.
The soil needs to be soft and free of large rocks and debris. You should spade or till the soil 8-12 inches deep. If you have a large enough patch plowing with a tractor will work. Roto-tillers are also great for this kind of project. Using a good old shovel works just fine as well.
If you till, plow, or spade in the fall it will be easy to get the space ready in the spring. Having the soil turned over in the fall will also allow vegetation to decompose through the winter adding nutrients and good fiber to the soil.
Caution needs to be used when growing popcorn
Often different varieties and strains of corn are grown together for the opportunity of crosspollination. You can get some interesting results of the crosspollination.
We have grown two specific varieties of sweet corn next to each other for years with great results. However, when popcorn crosspollinates with sweet corn or another strain of popcorn, it can have less than desirable effects.
When the popcorn cross-pollinates you can get kernels of popcorn intermingled with the sweet corn and vice versa on the ears. It’s an interesting thing to be eating sweet corn on the cob and come onto a hard popcorn kernel right in the middle of your cob.
So be sure to have a barrier, or about 100 feet between popcorn strains and other corn varieties.
Thinning popcorn
Once you have the seedlings coming up you need to thin them. Don’t thin the seedlings until they are 4-6 inches tall. Generally once the seedlings are 4-6 inches tall they will survive. Not all seedlings will survive, so wait until they get a little taller.
When you do thin them, you want to space them 5-12 inches apart. If you are careful, you can transplant the seedlings that you are thinning and not waste that seedling.
Popcorn irrigation
Corn will need watering. If you live in a climate where it rains a lot consider yourself lucky, because the rest of us will need to keep an eye on the soil and make sure that the corn has enough water.
You don’t want to over water. Generally popcorn will need about 2 inches of water a week. This will vary according to the heat, soil drainage, weather, and humidity of your garden.
Popcorn plant fertilization
Depending on your soil you may need to feed, or fertilize your crop throughout the growing season. If you are using a commercial fertilizer one with a 12-12-12 percentage will be a good one to use. Those numbers are usually large and in bold on the front of the fertilizer bag.
- The first time you should fertilize is when the corn is about 16-20 inches tall, and has 8-10 leaves on the plant. You should use about a half pound of fertilizer for 100 square feet.
- The next time to add fertilizer is when you see the silk forming on the ears. Use about the same amount as before.
- If you see the plants are turning yellow or pale after they are growing the silk, you might need to add fertilizer then as well.
For the more organic grower you will want to fertilize at the same growth stages as you would with a commercial fertilizer. You can use nitrogen rich fertilizer such as decomposed manure or rich compost. You need to use caution with animal manure. It can have too much nitrogen in it and can chemically burn the plants. Refer to my fertilizer article for information on this.
Some gardeners will have ample nutrients and might not need to use additional fertilizer at all. This is where you need to keep an eye on your crops and know your dirt.
How long does it take to grow popcorn?
Popcorn germinates in 5-14 days. The plant will then grow for about 85-120 days to maturity. This depends on the type of seed, the amount of sunlight and nutrients, as well as irrigation.
The growing length will be listed on the package of seed. You do need to plan ahead when to plant your popcorn and consider the length of growing season you have.
Considerations during the growing season
During the growing season you don’t get to just sit back and watch the corn grow. You need to watch out for a few other things like weeds and pests.
Weed control is a battle that all gardeners have to wage. When you battle the weeds be careful of the roots of you popcorn. The roots are delicate and are the supporting structure of the tall stocks.
One your popcorn stalks are 18-24 inches tall, you may want to pack your soil up around the base of the plants to give them support. This has been a great technique to shore up the plants in windy areas. It’s a method that has been used successfully for decades if not centuries.
Pests to be concerned with vary depending on where you live. Crows, magpies, and other birds can be devastating to seedlings. Even your friendly chicken flock can lay waste to tender seedlings in seconds.
Sometimes a mulch layer can hamper the birds. Putting up a scarecrow or two may help. Putting up a tunnel of chicken wire can deter to birds a bit as well.
Another pest that has started to show up all over the place are racoons. Racoons can take out a crop fairly quickly. Some deterrents to racoons are:
- An electric fence
- Putting a radio in the corn patch
- Placing moth balls around your patch
- Placing cups of ammonia around your patch
- Putting a spotlight on your corn patch.
- Planting a cover plant like a pumpkin, winter squash, or cucumber at the base of the corn.
Just realize that racoons are very smart and adapt quickly to many of these different methods. You may need to change your racoon strategy as the season goes on.
Some communities have live traps that you can use an have the racoons relocated. This varies from community to community. If you contact your local animal control they may have options available to help out.
Squirrels love corn and popcorn too. A unique strategy for a squirrel problem is to use empty water bottles. You can cut the top off and put the bottle over the ears of popcorn. You need to punch holes in the bottle allowing airflow. It’s a bit labor intensive, but can save your crop.
Insect control for popcorn
Other pest that may show up are insects such as root borers, corn maggots, wire worms, white grubs, cut worms, fall armyworms, and earworms. You can just squish them and kill them immediately. Keep an eye out, an as you see them you can mash them, or catch them and use them as fish bait.
The squishing method works well if you have a smaller crop and a lot of time. Other methods include pesticides or insecticides. This is where you can purchase a specific insecticide for a specific insect, or go for a more broader approach to attack several species with one blow.
You do need to realize that the insecticide will kill beneficial insects as well. It doesn’t discriminate. Some insecticides have been linked to harmful side effects. Use caution when considering using any pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides.
There is research proving that many insect species are developing resistance to pesticides and insecticides. If you are growing this crop for a profit then you may want to consider an insecticide, but research it well.
Some people have introduced beneficial insects into their gardens with good results. Some of the beneficial insects include:
- Ladybugs
- Praying Mantis
- Green lacewing
- Pirate bugs
- Aphid midges
- Damsel bugs
- Braconid wasp
How do you know when and how to harvest popcorn?
So you’ve battled all the pests and weeds. You have irrigated and fertilized. The popcorn plants have survived and thrived. Now what do you do to bring the crop all the way to the harvest?
Popcorn is different than sweet corn in many ways. Obviously you pick sweet corn when it’s ripe and juicy and super yummy. You do not harvest popcorn when it’s juicy! Try to leave popcorn in the field as long as you can. Hopefully you can let the ears dry on the stalk. When your ears are dry and the leaves are brittle and brown it’s time to pick the ears.
At this time pull off the husks from the ears and put the ears in mesh bags. Store them in a dry warm place to allow the kernels to keep drying. If you don’t have mesh bags you can use any receptacle that allows air in to let things dry. Some have used nylons, milk crates, and cardboard boxes with holes punched in them.
Here is the tricky part. You need to have the ears and kernels dry, but not dry out. If the kernels are too wet, they will not pop and can burn. If the kernels are too dry they won’t pop fully and can leave some kernels unpopped. The magic moisture content number is 13-14%.
A way for the backyarder or hobbyist to test is to see if the kernels feel dry. Put a cob or a few kernels in a bag in the microwave and see if they pop. If they do then the popcorn is good to go.
Some people will shell the kernels off of the cobs. This process is a little rough on bare hands. Many just leave the kernels on the cob. In either method the popcorn needs to be stored in an airtight plastic or glass container. When stored properly popcorn can last a super long time. You don’t have to shell the kernels off of the cob if you don’t want to. Some people will just throw in a whole cob in a paper sack and microwave it having it pop right off of the cob.
If you find that your popcorn is too dry you can try rehydrating it. Put a little water in with the kernels and they might work. Put about a tablespoon of water per quart of popcorn and shake it up until all the water is absorbed. Let it sit for a few days and try to pop it again. It may rehydrate a bit. It sure is worth a try after growing the popcorn all summer long.
Growing Popcorn Summary
Growing popcorn is pretty simple to do. You grow it about the same way as growing sweet corn.
- Plan ahead when and where to plant it
- Plan for enough time for your variety to mature
- Plan to have it not crosspollinate with other corn
- Have enough rows to pollinate itself
- Harvest when the plant dies and dries out
- Dry it and store it properly
It is a really fun crop to grow. The taste of home grown popcorn is outstanding!
