Names of corn varieties for popcorn, their cultivation and storage

Among corn varieties Popping corn is popular. Popularly called simply popcorn, it is loved by both children and adults. This is a healthy, tasty and low-calorie product containing vitamins and microelements.

You can get such products by growing them yourself in your summer cottage. The main thing is to choose the right variety, follow the care conditions, and then heat the grains in a frying pan and eat the popcorn.

What kind of seeds should you use to make popcorn?

Corn seeds can be divided into two varieties - sugar (or maize) and popcorn. In order for grains to burst, they must have a small content of starch, protein and fat, a thin shell resembling a varnished surface, but tightly adjacent to the surface of the seeds.

It bursts when it is heated in a frying pan with the lid closed. Steam begins to be evenly distributed in the grains, which causes the grain to burst and shade. If the grains are ripe and stored correctly, the corn will open perfectly.

Famous varieties for popcorn

To get your favorite popcorn, well-known popular varieties of popping corn are suitable:

1. Volcano. This plant has a height of up to 2 meters. It is a heat-loving crop. The grains are colored yellow. The seeds resemble grains of rice. The cobs have a maximum length of 22 cm. Each cob can yield about 120 grams of grain.
2. Gobble it up. It is distinguished by its small height - about 130 cm. Despite this, the crop produces a large harvest. The ears, colored yellow, have grains up to 250 grams.
3. Zeya. It is considered an early ripening variety. It ripens in 80 days. The grains have a dark red color. On one side they are pointed, on the other they are round.
4. Hotel. Also an early ripening variety. It has a number of advantages over other varieties in that it easily tolerates drought. The cobs are about 20 cm long, the grains are yellow, and the plant grows about 2 meters high.
5. Granddaughter's joy. The variety is early ripening. When ripe, the grains acquire an orange color, the cobs are small - about 12 cm. It grows up to 1.5 meters. The variety is valued for its high yield. But these plants are demanding when it comes to watering and fertilizing and do not tolerate drought.

Among the early varieties there are early ripening plants, the cobs of which are small, 5–10 cm.The height is also small - 120 cm. The name of this variety is Red popcorn. Attracts with excellent yield and taste.

Nurturing

To make popcorn yourself, you first need to choose a variety of corn suitable for popcorn that matches natural conditions, and try to cultivate it in your garden plot.

To understand which variety is needed, the following nuances and features should be taken into account:

1. Corn can be planted on clay, loam, chernozem, and podzolic soils. It does not grow only on sand, this is due to the fact that corn grows high: most varieties reach 2 meters.
2. In order for the plant to stay in the wind, it will need to form powerful roots, but this is impossible on loose soil. It’s bad if the corn falls down, it will affect the harvest.
3. All varieties of corn are heat-loving plants, so it is necessary to plant the seeds when a constant temperature is established and the ground warms up to 12–15 ° C.
4. Growing best occurs in a place well lit by the sun.
5. It is desirable that the area be level.
6. Swampy places are not suitable. Corn does not like stagnant water after watering or rain.
7. It must be remembered: every year it is recommended to change the place where corn is planted, taking into account its predecessors. The location of the beds is suitable if tomatoes, potatoes, carrots and beets grew on it.
8. It is not recommended to plant corn in one row, as the yield will drop sharply. About 3-5 rows should be planted.
9. Before as plant corn grains in open ground, it is recommended to soak them for a day in warm water, having previously treated them with potassium permanganate. Once they swell, it's time to sow.

It is necessary to choose a planting method, maintaining a distance of 50x50.The soil is pre-cultivated with a rake, with the addition of nitrogen fertilizers. You will need to pull out all the weeds, water the holes, then plant 3 grains in each hole, deepening it by 2-3 cm and covering it with soil.

To prevent the soil from drying out, you can cover the holes with plastic caps made from transparent bottles. It is recommended to wait about 12 days for seedlings.

After the popcorn corn grows, the strongest of the three plants is selected, and the rest are removed.

Care

If the weather is favorable, corn is easy to care for, especially if you plant varieties that are tolerant of drought conditions. Such plants will only need water once a week, while moisture-loving plants, such as Granddaughter's Joy, require almost daily watering.

To obtain a large harvest, it is recommended to feed the plants, and for this you need to know which fertilizers are best to apply:

• After the corn sprouts, feed with organic fertilizers 3-4 times a month.
• When “panicles” appear, nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizers will be needed.
• When the formation of cobs begins, it is advisable to apply nitrogen-potassium fertilizers.

Popping corn varieties do not tolerate weed growth, so they must be constantly removed. Pests such as moths, Swedish flies and wireworms can also negatively affect the harvest.

It is important to know: if there is no wind, corn is poorly pollinated, so you will need to shake the stalks yourself so that the pollen on the panicles falls on the embryos of the cobs located in the axils of the leaves.

How to harvest and store crops?

The cobs should be collected only when they are dry; if you collect them raw earlier, the popping ability of the corn when making popcorn will decrease.To speed up ripening, it is recommended to open the cobs during its growth, exposing the grains, but tearing off the “clothes” is not recommended.

After collection, it is important to know how to store it properly. A cool, ventilated room is most suitable for cobs. It is very important that it is dry. Dried cobs are placed in a fabric bag or mesh for storage; it is not recommended to separate the grains.

How to make popcorn at home?

Making popcorn is much easier than cooking any dish. To do this, you need to prepare a frying pan, preferably a cast iron and gas stove.
To make caramel popcorn you will need:

• corn kernels, about 1/4 cup;
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil;
• granulated sugar - 1 tablespoon.

To prepare, take a dry frying pan, pour vegetable oil into it, cover with a lid and heat on the stove. Then pour in the corn kernels, granulated sugar and be sure to cover with a lid.

Once the contents of the frying pan have warmed up well, you can hear the grains begin to open. As soon as everything calms down, it is best to pour the contents of the frying pan into a deep plate so that the caramel does not start to burn.

To get popcorn with powdered sugar, you need to prepare approximately the same amount of popcorn grains, vegetable oil, but cook popcorn without adding sugar. After the popcorn is cooked, pour it into a bowl and sprinkle powdered sugar on top, stirring well. You can also add salt: to suit the taste of the lovers.

Popcorn is considered a nutritious food that promotes satiety. Those who are watching their weight should remember that this is a low-calorie product.It is prepared from special varieties of corn that can be grown in your own garden. There are no particular difficulties in growing grains: the main thing is to let the corn ripen well before harvesting the cobs. Store in a fabric, well-breathable bag.