Glass Gem Indian Corn was bred in Oklahoma by a half Cherokee named Carl Barnes. This corn produces diversely colored kernels of translucent corn intermingled on the cob. It was bred from several native varieties, Osage red flour corn and Pawnee miniature corn are two of the cultivars in it parentage.

The effect of glass gem corn can be quite stunning at times, and when you bite into one you almost expect it will taste like candy, jelly beans perhaps. It’s sweet but not as sweet as jelly beans which an ear of glass gem corn sometimes resembles. It’s sweet when eaten at the peak of perfection, but it is not classified as a sweet corn. It is actually used for making pop corn and grinding into into cornmeal, flour and so forth.

The stalks are sturdy and erect and will withstand high winds better than many varieties of similar stature.

Unlike many varieties of sweet corn, it is suitable for use as popcorn and it pops true to color.

A red kernel is red popcorn, a blue kernel blue and so forth. It will probably not meet your expectations of store bought popping corn which is generally made from hybrids bred for that purpose exclusively. The popped kernels are not as big and fluffy, but are still soft like popcorn should be and tasty, don’t forget tasty.

Plant in the northern side of the garden as corn stalks will deny sunlight to the rest of your garden crops ,you also might want to grow some where it will provide shade to plants that can not tolerate full sunlight.

Sowing depth Aprox. 1.5 inches.

Germination 7 to 9 days.

Maturity at 110 – 120 days.

Seed Spacing – 4 to 6 inches apart.

Row spacing – 3 – 3.5 feet

USDA Hardiness Zones 3- 11

Color – Rainbow Mixed

Plant Size 6 – 9 Feet Tall

Ear Size – 3 – 8 Inches Long

Full Sun

Average Yields- Anticipate at least 2 Ears per Stalk Sometimes more as this variety produces side stalks which in turn produce more ears.

Corn has shallow roots, and uses a lot of nitrogen as well as trace elements. To help your crop get off to the best start possible, prepare the soil first with a nitrogen-rich fertilizer. Well rotted manure or compost is also helpful.