Corn Glass Gem Vegetable Seeds
‘Glass Gem’ was created by Carl Barnes, a part-Cherokee farmer living in Oklahoma who wanted to reconnect with his native-American heritage. It is a beautiful flint / popcorn variety producing cobs in a kaleidoscope of colours with translucent kernels that shine brilliantly like glass beads. It is a type of ‘flint corn’ which is grown not for eating off the cob, but for making popcorn, or grinding into corn flour. With ‘flint corn’, the corn is left on the plants to dry. The kernels will eventually begin to lose their shine and vibrancy and dry out. The leaves and stems are a good animal forage.
- Harvest when husks are dry and brown, to allow the kaleidoscope of colours to develop.
- Air dry, for a week, before popping or grinding into cornmeal.
- Variety unsuitable for corn cobs because of hard, outer layer.
- Produces 2 – 3 cobs per plant.
- Plants grow up to 3 meters.
Growing Instructions
Plant type: Warm season annual, frost tender
Plant height: 2m high
Sow when: Germinate best at 20 – 35º C soil temp.
Temperate: Spring until January
Subtropical: September – February
Tropical: April – June
Germination: 10 – 14 days
Depth: 2-4 cm deep
Position: Full sun; sow direct; protect seed from rodents & birds
Soil type: Fertile, well drained, pH 5.5 – 7
Rows: 60 – 90 cm apart
Spacing: 20 – 30 cm between plants; min. Block size of 30 plants improves pollination to give well-filled cobs
Details: When roots appear at the 1st node on the stem, hill the plants 25 – 30 cm deep
Harvest: 60 -100 days
