{"id":85,"date":"2023-06-04T02:46:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-04T02:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/organicjoygarden.com\/?p=85"},"modified":"2025-06-12T15:27:33","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T15:27:33","slug":"%f0%9f%8d%bf-popcorn-gardening-%f0%9f%8c%bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nativejoygarden.com\/?p=85","title":{"rendered":"\ud83c\udf7f Popcorn Gardening \ud83c\udf3d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Trying to decide if growing popcorn is a good idea for you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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CC0 1.0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To popcorn or not?
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Do or do not, there is no try\u201d <\/p>\nYoda<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

When the corn meets the popper<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When I first started researching popcorn growing I ran into a few dead ends. My searches for \u201chow to grow popcorn\u201d and \u201cbackyard popcorn garden\u201d were not exactly clear. I was trying to see if it was possible to pop regular sweet corn\u2026 or how to dry corn to make kernel for popping\u2026? I know my kids and I LOVE eating popcorn, but didn\u2019t really know where to start to add it into my garden.
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Ornamental Corn is Popcorn<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Glass Gem Corn is one of the most recently popular varieties with historic origins. (Photo: ThomasLENNE\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It turns out all you need is ORNAMENTAL CORN to make popcorn! How awesome is that? So once I learned that fact, it was off to the races! Learning about types of native corn, or traditional maize was actually much simpler to navigate once I had the keyword of \u201cornamental corn\u201d.
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The next thing to do was choose a variety of popcorn! Or\u2026 I mean ornamental corn. Since the Cleveland Indians baseball team recently changed their name to the Guardians, I won\u2019t even mention the name of this corn I grew up hearing in Ohio. But literally the indigenous people who lived here used this exact corn! I love that.
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Historic Roots, Today\u2019s World<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For me, gardening with native plants is a way to \u201cbe patriotic\u201d without being presumptuous. Read more about that soon, on my blog post about natives. Some of these heirloom seeds would be extinct or lost for good, without seed savers and people sharing with one another through trade, seed sharing groups, or other generous local gardeners helping a neighbor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To read more about the importance of seed saving, go read this article about glass gem corn, on treehugger.org <\/a> this gorgeous popcorn (traditional colored corn) was saved from extinction by someone honoring their own Cherokee roots. Today, it\u2019s still rare, but went viral in 2019 for a photo that was shared of an especially vibrant-colored ear of corn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So, when I discovered that ornamental corn was actually that, the original pop corn\u2026 It gives such an additional bonus of fascinating history. (Not to mention the tastiness that comes from making popcorn!!! ) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comparing Varieties of Popcorn to Grow<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Types of Ornamental Corn:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n