Corn Tom Thumb Popcorn - Ferme de Sainte Marthe Seeds

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Corn Tom Thumb Popcorn - Ferme de Sainte Marthe Seeds

Zea mays Pop-corn Tom Pouce
Sweet Corn

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This is a seed packet, nothing extraordinary :)

Patricia F., 01/01/2019

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More information

'Tom Thumb' Popcorn is an early-cropping dwarf variety that grows to 50 cm in height. Ideal for growing in pots! Each plant produces 2 ears. The dried kernels are perfect for making popcorn. Sow in May and harvest from August to October. Organic seeds.

Ease of cultivation

Beginner

Height at maturity

50 cm

Spread at maturity

35 cm

Soil moisture

Moist soil

Germination time (days)

7 days

Sowing method

Direct sowing, Sowing under cover, Sowing under cover with heat

Sowing period May

JAN J

FEB F

MAR M

APR A

MAY M

JUN J

JUL J

AUG A

SEP S

OCT O

NOV N

DEC D

Flowering time June to August

JAN J

FEB F

MAR M

APR A

MAY M

JUN J

JUL J

AUG A

SEP S

OCT O

NOV N

DEC D

Harvest time August to October

JAN J

FEB F

MAR M

APR A

MAY M

JUN J

JUL J

AUG A

SEP S

OCT O

NOV N

DEC D

Description

'Tom Thumb' Popcorn is an early-cropping dwarf variety that grows to 50 cm in height. Ideal for growing in pots! Each plant produces 2 ears. The dried kernels are perfect for making popcorn. Sow in May and harvest from August to October.

Corn (Zea mays) or maize belongs to the Gramineae family alongside wheat, barley and rice. It is highly nutritious, containing more protein and five times more fibre than rice. It is also an excellent source of B vitamins, vitamin C, minerals and trace elements. It has a low glycemic index.

Corn likes deep, light, cool soil that is rich in organic matter. It is a heat-loving plant that needs plenty of sunshine to grow. It can be used to create attractive borders around your vegetable garden and individual plots whilst providing valuable shade for vegetables such as lettuces or cabbages.

Harvesting: Corn is harvested about 3 months after sowing depending on the amount of sunshine and water it has received. The ears are ready to be picked when the silks start to turn brown and the kernels are well developed. Check for ripeness by piercing a kernel with your fingernail – it should be tender and milky.

Storing: after harvesting, remove the green husk that is wrapped around the ear. Use quickly, the fresher the better! Corn can also be cooked and frozen or preserved in jars for later use.

Good to know: Traditionally, maize crops were grown alongside squash and bean plants in Central and South America in a system known as Milpa agriculture. Beans would enrich the soil with nitrogen, squash plants would act as ground cover and maize plants would provide support for the beans to scramble up. Start out by sowing your maize plants. When they are about 10 cm tall, sow 2 bean seeds and 2 squash seeds around each young plant.

NB. Organic seeds (in French "AB" for "Agriculture Biologique") are produced from plants that aren't treated with phytosanitary products (insecticides, weed killers). The seeds do not undergo post-harvest treatment. They carry the AB label and are approved by Ecocert, an independent structure.

Harvest

Harvest time August to October

Type of vegetable Seed and pod vegetable

Vegetable colour yellow

Size of vegetable Medium

Interest Productive

Flavour Sweet

Use Cooking

Plant habit

Height at maturity 50 cm

Spread at maturity 35 cm

Growth rate normal

Foliage

Foliage persistence Deciduous

Foliage colour medium green

Botanical data

Genus

Zea

Species

mays

Cultivar

Pop-corn Tom Pouce

Family

Poaceae

Other common names

Sweet Corn

Origin

Cultivar or hybrid

Annual / Perennial

Annual

Product reference • 32441

Planting and care

Corn Sowing:

Sow corn in full sun after soaking the seeds in warm water for 12 hours. In the garden, sow in May in well-warmed soil (at least 12°C). You can install a tunnel over early sowings until the temperatures warm up enough. You can start sowing in pots, indoors, as early as April, and plant them in May-June in the garden. Only sow one variety at a time, or two varieties with staggered flowering: corn hybridizes very easily and you would not harvest the sown variety. If your garden is less than 200 m from a cornfield, you will need to protect your crop during flowering.

To sow in rows, dig furrows 3 cm deep, spaced 70 cm apart. Sow thinly. After germination, thin to 25-30 cm on the row. If you only sow a small number of plants, sow them in a square rather than in one or two long rows, pollination will be better ensured.

To sow indoors, place 2-3 seeds per pot in seed compost, mixed with a little compost. Then plant the strongest seedling.

Corn Cultivation:

Corn likes rich soils: add manure or compost when preparing the soil, in the previous autumn, to enrich the area intended for sowing. The roots are shallow, so hoeing should be very superficial. To promote anchoring, hill up the corn when it reaches 20 cm, and then 40 cm in height. Water regularly if it doesn't rain (once a week), and cover the soil with mulch to retain moisture (grass clippings, straw...).

To facilitate pollination, when the female flowers (located two-thirds up the stem) turn beige, shake the plant. This way, the pollen from the male flower (located at the top of the stem) will fall onto the female flowers.

The corn borer caterpillar, a destructive moth of corn, sometimes burrows into the stems, causing them to break. As a preventive measure, grind up crop residues before using them (compost or mulch). Practice good crop rotation by not growing corn in the same plot for 3 or 4 years. In case of severe infestation, you can spray a solution of Bacillus thuringiensis.