# Growing Popcorn **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 1, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-popcorn/617483 "2012-04-01T15:24:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-popcorn/617483/1 "2012-04-01T15:24:28Z")
I want to grow popcorn. Should I plant the unpopped kernels, or pop them first? This was a real important question I pondered as a 6-year-old. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-popcorn/617483/2 "2012-04-01T15:41:43Z")
popcorn is a dangerous crop. in a warm climate after it is ripe then it might pop right on the cob. worse problems occur when you then think it is snow and suffer hypothermia. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-popcorn/617483/3 "2012-04-01T17:44:11Z")
It’s very important to use an heirloom variety. Most popcorn you buy in the store these days isn’t true to seed - you might get candied popcorn, or kettle corn, or even a hybrid peanut/corn mixture. -Popcorn is the new Kernel ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-popcorn/617483/4 "2012-04-01T17:57:02Z")
You also have to watch how much you plant. Otherwise, you could end up with an exploded house, just like at the end of _Real Genius_. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-popcorn/617483/5 "2012-04-01T18:03:07Z")
Before you plant the whole field, you should just plant 2-3 kernals and wait for those to sprout so you know when the ground is ready for the whole batch. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-popcorn/617483/6 "2012-04-01T18:50:48Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > Before you plant the whole field, you should just plant 2-3 kernals and wait for those to sprout so you know when the ground is ready for the whole batch. I think the OP wants to grow a tasty snack, not a bunch of retro 8-bit operating systems. 😉 (Free popcorn for anyone who actually gets this reference…) ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-popcorn/617483/7 "2012-04-01T19:14:45Z")
If you plant microwave popcorn, be sure that the correct side is down. Otherwise, you’re liable to [… ummm…](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2328/is-mexican-vanilla-toxic-plus) ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-popcorn/617483/8 "2012-04-01T19:16:58Z")
It also could be useful to make a deal with a local dairy farmer…one who specializes in butter cows. -Popcorn is the new Kernel ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-popcorn/617483/9 "2012-04-01T19:23:54Z")
Thanks for all the useful advise. I think I may just plant a microwave and hope for the best! ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-popcorn/617483/10 "2012-04-01T19:50:49Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I want to grow popcorn. Should I plant the unpopped kernels, or pop them first? > > This was a real important question I pondered as a 6-year-old. In a similar vein, when I was about that age, I wanted an apple tree in mtpy backyard. I planted a single apple seed in a pot and diligently kept it watered. Every day without a shoot was a disappointment until one day when I discovered a bright red apple pushing up out of the soil in the pot! (I had an uncle with a twisted sense of humor)