Title basically says it all, looks like I will have alot of extra time on my hands this summer and am planning on a garden. If you grow your own popcorn what variety are you using? Do the "pretty" varieties grow and pop as good as the plain looking ones?

I have grown stawberry popcorn before , I haven't grown it for awhile.

My uncle has, he tried the hullless it turned out pretty good but when he got done with it, he said it was easier to buy it, he said it was to hard to shell.

I've grown the white popcorn a while back. But like Bob said, I thought my garden space was better used for other things.

As a kid I shelled a lot of it that my parents grew. It'll give you a few good calluses after the blisters heal. lol

I grew just a few plants a couple years back. I don’t remember the variety, but I think it came from Johnnys seeds.


Had fun popping it with my kids. Wouldn’t mind growing it again, but it’s more of a novelty item for us

Garden space is a non issue, we have a huge garden at the farm.

anyone ever discover a good way to shell it?

Best way to remove the kernels is with a corn sheller.
Next best way is to walk on it while it's on a hard surface, such as concrete.

Must shuck 'em with the first method.
No need with the second.

https://www.cornmachine.com/hand-crank-corn-sheller.html

https://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/how-to-dry-corn-zmaz75sozgoe

https://pleasanthillgrain.com/maximizer-hand-corn-sheller-manual-walnut-maize-dehuller

If you can find an old hand sheller for ear corn it probably would work good here is a picture of what I’m talking about, they work great on walnuts too.

Easy to shell, just rub two cobs against each other with ends reversed. One always will be tougher than the other and will shell the second. Grab a second ear and repeat. We do not like the large kernel yellow varieties to eat, whether we grow or buy.

I did twice and in our area near the lake it was hard to get it really good and dry before shelling. I used leather gloves and I could do 30-40 ears pretty quickly. The issue for me was in the popping. High percentage of duds and small popped kernels with a soft not a crisp bite or texture. I don't plan to do it again. I am sure that in drier areas the success may be better.

Bryce

D'S
I've grown it for a few years, I search every year for variety's . I get a old variety that hasn't been modified I use it for popcorn, deceration and grind it w/ a coffee grinder for cornmeal it's awesome for cornbread and to batter channel cat fish.

You really need a corn sheller, like others have said.

Haven't raised popping corn but if you can find one of these counter size corn sheller they work great and can shell a lot in a hurry.

One of my neighbors has an old sheller, think its a john deere, think ide rather deal with the blisters than deal with that neighbor though. I'll look around for a sheller. Thanks guys, garden is about the only thing to look forward to this summer now.

What are you carving on behind the sheller there Snowy?

No need to get blisters if you do as I suggested. I suspect lots of those giving advice here have never shelled popcorn. I have, lots.

Cohunt is right abt shelling with two cobbs, you can also use one corn COBB already shelled.
I helped my grandfather shell a many a bucket of corn.

Were is popcorn grown commercially and is it combined or picked?

Try a couple of varieties and see which you like best. With a hot dry fall we have shelled it and it was ready to go. With a wet cool fall you will need to dry it. I put the kernels in a roaster pan, on a rack and set it on the wood stove. I stir it a few times and test it by popping some of it until it does what you want. We just set the bucket in the freezer and get it out as we want it. A sheller is nice but rubbing the ears together works well also. Once you shell it set up a fan outside and pour it from one bucket to another in front of the fan. This works to blow out the silk and dust.

You can buy decent kernels cheaper and easier than you can grow it, but thats not any fun.

I have never grown it, but when I was a kid a farmer right across the road from our house grew a, probably, 40 acre field. When we hunted the field for pheasants we would pick up the corn the picker missed.
We shelled it and we had lots and lots of popcorn. It did not pop very well at all. What we found out, with experimentation was, that the moisture content of the popcorn kernels greatly effected the way they popped. I remember my dad, who was a research chemist by trade, had all these little samples of popcorn that he was adjusting the moisture content of. He was either adding water or drying out, the different samples. When he found the right humidity/moisture level, the stuff popped very nicely. If the popcorn was too dry, or too wet, it would not pop properly. Once he figured out the right moisture level in his little samples I remember him adjusting the moisture level in the big containers of popcorn.
My mom would peel apples and dad would pop popcorn and we would watch TV and eat popcorn and apples. Mom, bless her heart, would peel enough apples for a family of six. She peeled them with a paring knife, and when she was done with an apple the peel would be in one continuous piece, looking like a cork screw.