Tom Thumb Grows Up … But Not Yet Ready for Prime Time
An ear of Tom Thumb corn. You can see why they call it “Tom Thumb.” Photo by Suzanne Crocker.
We previously posted how Grant Dowdell and Karen Digby were attempting to grow popping corn for Suzanne on Grant’s Island, located about 10 km upstream from Dawson in the Yukon River.
Grant has tried many varieties of corn in the past and the only one consistently successful has been EarliVee sweet corn (See Grant’s Seed Guide) which takes around 70 days to reach maturity.)
This year, however, he agreed to give the Tom Thumb variety of corn a try, since it has a short growing season (only 60 days to maturity). He used seeds from Heritage Harvest Seeds.
Tess at work in the popcorn field. Photo by Suzanne Crocker.
Things looked iffy when a hungry moose visited Grant’s Island and pulled up the crop early in the season but Karen popped them back in the ground and they grew!
Recently Suzanne and family harvested the plants, hoping for a favourite family treat to accompany their movie watching.
Unfortunately, first attempts at popping have been unsuccessful. Suzanne’s not sure if the kernels are not dry enough — or perhaps they’re too dry. She will keep experimenting, but any suggestions are very welcome. If anyone has grown and successfully popped their own popcorn, let us know.
Ears of popping corn hung up to dry. Photo by Suzanne Crocker.
