By Lena Sixbery
Grow Jackson is currently wrapping up the 2025 harvest season, and I wanted to talk about a special fall crop we planted for the first time this year—an heirloom corn called Glass Gem. The kernels of this corn have an array of colors and a glassy shine, making them look like stained glass windows. It can be used as a decorative plant during the fall season, or you can process it into cornmeal, popcorn, and hominy.
The Glass Gem corn was planted in one of our hoophouses in mid-July to extend our growing season. This allowed us to harvest throughout October and have the corn ready just in time for fall decorations!
Although it extends our season, growing in a hoophouse has its difficulties. One of the largest is the lack of wind. The pollination process for corn is a little different than most crops, and rather than relying on animals or insects, it pollinates using the wind.
At the top of the stalk, we see tassels—this is where the pollen is stored. When the wind blows, the tassels release the pollen, which lands onto the ears of corn. It attaches itself to the silks that come out of the tops of the ears. Each silk accounts for one kernel of corn; if it is not pollinated, it will not produce a full kernel.
Farmers plant corn in bunches or close together to ensure as many ears get pollinated as possible. If you plant them far apart or in a covered area like a hoophouse, the wind will not be able to transport the pollen to the silks. However, in small patches, it is possible to self-pollinate the corn by softly shaking the stalks to simulate wind or removing the tassel and transporting it directly to the silks. It’s what we do for our small patches of corn and the Glass Gem patch we planted this year. When the kernels are pollinated, the silks will start to die back and turn brown—this is when you harvest the corn.
To process it, you first have to dry out the corn. You can do this on the cob, use a dehydrator, or bake it in the oven. I like keeping it on the cob—it allows you to use the corn as a decorative piece in your home and still save it for popping! When it’s dry enough to use, you should see that the kernels are hard and starting to fall off the cob. Popcorn is just dried corn, so all you have to do is remove it from the husk and get to popping. To make it into cornmeal, you blend the dried kernels into a fine powder and store it in an airtight container. Keep the cornmeal in a dark and cool place to extend its shelf life. To make hominy, you take the dried kernels and treat them in a lye or lime solution. This softens the kernels and allows you to remove the hulls. After this process, you can then use the hominy to make grits, corn flour, or masa.
