strawberry corn seeds Strawberry Corn Seeds, Popping Corn (Zea mays)

strawberry corn seeds Strawberry Corn Seeds, Popping Corn (Zea mays)Strawberry corn is a delicious or decorative, ruby red popcorn. It can be used for the purposes of popping and eating as well as adding a splash of color in dull areas during the Autumn season. Strawberry Corn plants generally grow to a height of about 4 feet tall and spread to a width of about 8 12 inches. What are the Characteristics of the Strawberry Corn Plant? Strawberry Corn will grow on plants that end up being about 4 feet tall and each stalk

Strawberry corn is a delicious or decorative, ruby-red popcorn. It can be used for the purposes of popping and eating as well as adding a splash of color in dull areas during the Autumn season. Strawberry Corn plants generally grow to a height of about 4 feet tall and spread to a width of about 8-12 inches. 

What are the Characteristics of the Strawberry Corn Plant?

Strawberry Corn will grow on plants that end up being about 4 feet tall and each stalk will bear 2-4 small ears of corn. Strawberry Corn will be a ruby-red in color and the seeds will be much more densely packed than on your average ear of traditional white or yellow-colored corn. The estimate is that most of these cobs pack about 800 kernels onto each one. 

What is the color and size of each ear of corn?

Each ear of Corn measures about 3-5 inches in length. You can expect to harvest about 2-4 ears of corn off of each stalk. Strawberry Corn grow to be a dark, ruby-red color.

What are the Uses for Strawberry Corn? 

Strawberry Corn can be used as a decorative piece for fall decorations for your home, business, or other festive activities. The ruby-red color fits the fall theme perfectly and adds a pop of color to any decoration that it is added to.

In addition to festive decorations, the strawberry corn can be a great corn for popping and eating. After the red kernels are harvested they can be used for popcorn. To make the kernels suitable for popcorn grow your Strawberry Corn just like you would any other type of sweet white or yellow corn. However, after the kernels are harvested let them dry for at least one month while they are still on the stalk. Once they are taken off of the stock let them dry for another month before popping them for popcorn. 

What is the History of the Strawberry Corn?

Strawberry Corn is often thought to be an ancient Indian corn but that idea has not been either fully confirmed or denied. Jack was the only certified commercial grower of Strawberry Corn even today, however, you can grow Strawberry Popcorn right in your very own backyard as well. However, Jack has recently retired the company after a 30-year corn-growing career that yielded over 5,000 pounds of Strawberry Corn kernel seeds during every growing season. 

Strawberry Corn was not said to be a big hit among the masters of vegetable garden growers in the Parisian Market Gardeners of the 19th century. Corn was never even mentioned among the crops that the Parisians grew, much let alone a specialty corn like Strawberry Corn. Certainly, if there was no mention of corn among the best vegetable garden growers, there was no popcorn in their times either.  

Many historians suggest that maize or corn is a vegetable that originated in the United States as a regular table vegetable and that many other cultures were not even aware of back in ancient times. There are opinions of Europeans and their thoughts on corn dating back as far as the 16th century. The opinion was stated in The Herball of Generall Historie of Plantes which stated, “the barbarous Indians which know no better, are constrained to make a virtue of necessities, and think it a good food". Essentially, corn was never thought too highly of in Europe and still is not commonly eaten there even today.

Sowing The Seed

Corn isn’t fond of being transplanted, so it is best sown directly in the garden, when the weather is warm and all danger of frost has passed. Begin by tilling the sowing area, removing all unwanted plant life and weeds. Sow the seeds at a depth of 1/2” to 1” under topsoil. Check below for spacing.

Growing Conditions

Corn is a sun loving crop that prefers warmer temperatures of 65F or higher. The plants are picky when it comes to soil conditions, and will grow best in a medium that is nitrogen rich and loamy. You will also need to make sure that the sowing area is well drained. To improve drainage, we always recommend adding a light compost to any areas containing hard, compact soil. Water the seeds daily until germination.

Germination & Growth

Corn will typically take anywhere between 7 to 14 days to germinate, if optimal conditions are met. The plants can grow to a towering, 7 feet tall and can spread about 18 inches wide. Corn can be spaced 12 to 15 inches apart from one another, in rows that are spaced about 30 to 36 inches apart.