Gem glass corn | The most beautiful corn in the world

Rainbow coloured corn and the wonderful story behind it.

Gem glass corn

What is gem glass corn ?

Gem glass corn is an amazing vibrant breed of rainbow coloured corn. It is type of "flint corn" which are harvested only when the kernel are as hard as "flint" , from where the name flint comes from. This is a type of corn which is grown not for eating off the cob but rather than this it is use for making popcorn and for preparation of cornflour.

Glass Gem corn, a unique variety of rainbow-colored corn, became an internet sensation in 2012 when a photo of the sparkling cob was posted to Facebook.

Watch... it is real not photoshopped..

This multi-colored corn breed is painstaking efforts of Carl Barnes, a Cherokee farmer living in Oklahoma. Carl Barnes, who died in 2016, isolated types of corn from his Native American ancestors.The history was largely retold by Barnes' protegee, Greg Schoen, in 2012, when the corn gained national attention.According to an account from Schoen, Barnes told him that the rainbow seed originally came from a crossing of "Pawnee miniature popcorns with an Osage red flour corn and also another Osage corn called ‘Greyhorse.’

CARL BARNES

History/origin of gem glass corn!

Like most heritage treasure, glass gem corn also has a origin and a story. It's origin comes back from Carl Barnes a part-Cherokee farmer living in Oklahoma. He had an extraordinary talent of corn breeding, especially hr mastered at selecting and saving seeds from those cobs that exhibit bright and translucent colours

It is still untold that exactly how long Barnes worked on gem glass corn - how man successive seasons he carefully chose, saved and replanted the special seeds. But after many years, his painstaking efforts created a wondrous corn variety that has now attracted thousands of people around the globe

Approaching old age, Barnes handover his precious seed collection to Grey schoen his corn-breeding protege. The important responsibility of protecting this seed was successful done by Schoen. While in process of moving, he find out a place to store a sampling of the collection to ensure its safekeeping. Schoen passed on several unique corn varieties to fellow seedsman Bill McDorman, who is the founder of seedsave. Org

How to grow glass gem corn ?

On the Native Seeds/SEARCH website, one packet of seeds can be purchased for $3.25. Directions are provided on the back of the packet.

Corn is not cultivated in frost as it is killed in frost, so it is a must that you plant it when the frost threat outdoors is over. generally planted after the last frost date in late spring. It is best you wait until the soil is all warmed up to 50°c before you start to germinate the seeds.

Ideally, corn loves sunny and wind-protected space. If you’re fond of planting corn in rows, with glass gem corn, it’s actually better to plant it in blocks, 3 deep by 3 wide. The extra space will give your corn an easier time pollinating.

Make an inch-deep hole in a nitrogen-filled soil and plant 3 seeds together, about a foot apart. The seeds will sprout in 7 to 10 days. There will be poor seedlings to one plant per foot, so remove unnecessary seedlings by cutting them off at soil level. Never uproot them!