Corn Calico Popcorn - West Coast Seeds

Zea mays

• Beautiful ornamental/edible variety
• Tall plants mature late in the season
• Use as a pollen break for corn
• Matures in 120 days
• Open pollinated seeds

Grow your own popcorn! Tiny kernels dot these 15cm (6”), multi-coloured cobs in yellow, brown, white, purple, red, and blue. Use Calico Popcorn seeds for edible popping corn, or simply as ornaments to mark the harvest season in early fall. Give the tall, slow growing plants as early a start as possible for the most ripe cobs. Expect mixed colours on every stalk. This is not a sweet corn variety, and is not intended for eating as corn on the cob. But the kernels really do pop once they have fully dried.

10g (Approx. 65 Seeds)

Direct sow in late spring. If the soil is not warm enough, seeds often rot before sprouting – especially when not treated with fungicide. Untreated corn seeds should be planted only when the soil has warmed up above 18°C (65°F) – warmer for super-sweet (sh2) types, and even warmer for a good stand. Use a soil thermometer. If spring weather is cold, consider planting in flats or individual pots, indoors with bottom heat, for transplanting. Seeds should germinate in 7-10 days. If it rains after planting and corn does not emerge, just re-plant the area.

Do not soak corn seeds prior to planting. Plant 2-5cm (1-2″) deep (shallower for sh2 seed or in cool soil). Sow seeds around 7.5cm (3″) apart, in rows 60-90cm (24-36″) apart. Because corn is wind pollinated, plant in a dense block of at least 4 rows, rather than in single rows. This increases the chance of corn pollen, which emerges from male flowers at the growing tip, to fall down onto the receptive female silks that extend from each corn cob.

Harvest: When the silks at the end of an ear are a dry brown, the cob seems to start to droop, and the kernels release milky juice when cut.

Harvest Popcorn: Leave the ears of popcorn varieties on the plants to dry as long as possible into late summer and early fall. The husks should turn yellow/brown as they dry and the kernels should harden. Once the plants appear to be completely dry, or if wet weather is in the forecast, harvest the ears and bring them indoors. Remove the husks. Store the ears in mesh bags in a warm, dry, airy location. The ideal humidity level for curing popcorn is 13 to 14%. Curing is the process after drying that allows for long term storage of popcorn kernels. Once a week, remove a few kernels and try popping them. Popcorn that is chewy or kernels that have jagged edges after popping both mean that the kernels are not dry enough. Continue curing and test-popping until the desired texture is reached. Then remove the kernels and store them in an air-tight container.