The way to make corn is like a rainbow

Glass Gem is the name of a unique type of corn with rainbow colors. It became an Internet phenomenon in 2012 when a sparkling color of corn pictures was posted on Facebook.

As soon as the rainbow-colored corn picture received the attention of many internet users, the company sold this rare seed - Native Seeds / SEARCH began to boost production to meet the high demand of the market. school And the Glass Gem corn story is really remarkable.

The origin of rainbow corn

This corn was discovered by Carl Barnes, a man who always wanted to discover his native Native American roots. The story is told by Greg Schoen in 2012, when corn varieties attracted many people's attention.

The story of Glass Gem started with a farmer in Oklahoma named Carl Barnes. Barnes is a Cherokee native, 80 years old. He started planting old corn varieties in his young years (no one knows exactly when it happened). This is a way for Barnes to reconnect with his father's legacy. Barnes separated the ancestral corn varieties that were lost when Native American tribes moved to Oklahoma in the 1800s. This leads to the exchange of ancient seeds with Barnes people meeting and making friends across the country.

Corn Glass Gem.(Photo: Greg Schoen).

At the same time, Barnes began to select, store and replant seeds from especially colorful corn seeds. Over time, Barnes created rainbow corn.

Greg Schoen, a farmer who met Barnes in 1994 at a local plant meeting in Oklahoma. Schoen was overwhelmed by the rainbow corn that Barnes exhibited. In the following year, Barnes gave Schoen some rainbow corn seeds. After that, Schoen planted them this summer. Schoen and Barnes remained good friends over the years and therefore, Schoen received more seeds.

Initially, Schoen planted only a small amount of these colorful corn seeds in Mexico, where he moved in 1999. In 2005, Schoen started growing a large amount of rainbow corn near Santa Fe along with the maize varieties. system. When rainbow corn mixed with traditional varieties, it created new corn varieties. Each year continue to grow, corn again for more colorful and more vivid patterns.

Glass Gem corn.(Photo: Greg Schoen).

According to the explanation from Schoen, Barnes told him that rainbow corn originated from crossing tiny Pawnee corn with Osage red corn and another corn Osage called "Greyhorse".

Glass Gems is the name Schoen has devised for the peaceful blue corn - green and pink - purple he planted in 2007. This is the first image spread on the Internet in 2012, becoming present. unique varieties of corn varieties.

In 2009, Schoen decided to donate some rainbow seeds to Bill McDorman, owner of a seed company in Arizona, USA, Seed Trust.

McDorman is currently the CEO of Native Seeds / SEARCH, a non-profit conservation organization. Now rainbow corn seeds can be purchased online.

Packaging front and back of corn grain package.(Photo: Greg Schoen).

Schoen, who is not affiliated with the company, lives in New Mexico and continues to work on corn fields in 2013 according to Stephen Thomas, a former development assistant at Native Seeds / SEARCH. On Native Seeds / SEARCH website, a package of rainbow corn seeds is sold for $ 7.95 and instructions are provided behind the seed package.

How to make rainbow corn

Corn does not like frost but can be grown wherever there is warm weather and lots of sunshine. Seeds can be sown on the last frost day at the end of spring.

Corn is sown at a depth of 2.54cm, 15cm apart in an area with at least three rows to help them pollinate well. Usually, each seed packet has about 50 seeds, about 2 - 3 branches per tree. Thus, growers can expect 100 - 150 corn branches per pack, according to Thomas.

Corn Glass Gem types.(Photo: Greg Schoen).

Gardeners who love corn varieties can try to grow certain corn colors by storing seeds from corn varieties that have achieved the desired features and replant them. For example, if you want to grow lavender and kerneled colored corn, you can retain and cultivate purple seed corn seeds.

How does the seven-color corn taste?

Unlike sweet corn, Glass Gem corn cannot be eaten that way. Corn Glass Gem is called flint corn . The name flint originates from the outer hard shell of the grain.

Most people crush them into corn flour and use them to make corn cakes or buckwheat flour because they are rich in starch.

Corn gems.(Photo: Greg Schoen).

Glass Gem is also used to make popcorn even though it does not produce rainbow colors. To do this, corn is harvested when it is dry and brown. Corn seeds need low moisture to burst when heated. You can also dry corn kernels from the inside by peeling corn husks until the corn grains fall out of the cob. For those reasons, Glass Gem corn is more suitable for decoration purposes than to eat.

You can visit the Glass Gem Facebook page to update the latest images from these growers and harvesters of these colorful corns.