Popcorn

I planted some popcorn several months ago because it seemed fun. My previous experiments with corn growing were unsuccessful because I didn't plant enough to properly pollinate the ears. For those who don't already know, each of those tiny silk "hairs" is attached to a corn kernel and each one must come in contact with the pollen from the tassels above the plant. You need a lot of corn plants to insure proper pollination. I don't have room for a lot of corn unfortunately.

I planted my popcorn in my earthbox according the earthbox's recommended instructions. This crop also had pollination problems. You can see I probably won't be using these for decorations even though this variety is a lovely pearly blue-gray. The kernels you see were pollinated. The missing kernels were not pollinated.

Now unlike my failed corn crop, this popcorn can still be used. I picked off the dried popcorn and had myself a tasty snack. True this was a lot of trouble for a small amount of popcorn I could have just purchased, but nothing can compare to the experience of growing your own.