Why I Stopped Buying Popcorn: Growing Glass Gem at Home

Growing popcorn at home is unbelievably easy — and this year Glass Gem popcorn has completely replaced our store-bought popcorn. In this video we share how we grow, harvest, and preserve popcorn for long-term pantry storage right on our farm in southeastern Pennsylvania. We started growing a few dozen Glass Gem popcorn plants two years ago from Baker's Creek heirloom, non-GMO, open-pollinated seeds. After a very large harvest, we dry the cobs at the end of the season, remove the kernels, and use our two-step cleaning method — a good shake in a bowl, then handfuls at a time through a standard kitchen colander to remove debris — before storing the clean kernels in mason jars with a vacuum sealer that sucks the air out for a tight, long-lasting seal. Every kernel is a different shade of blue, pink, purple, yellow and orange, and it's gorgeous on the pantry shelf — and fun to pop and eat! Whether you want to grow popcorn for self-sufficiency, food security, or just for fun, this is a simple way to build your pantry little by little. What's your favorite way to store dry goods — vacuum seal, mylar, or something else? Share in the comments! CHAPTERS: 00:00 Welcome back to Whitetail Acres Homemade 00:30 Why we grow popcorn for food security 01:30 Glass Gem popcorn — why we chose it 04:30 Growing plants & harvesting cobs 06:00 Cleaning kernels 07:30 Vacuum sealing mason jars for long-term storage 08:00 Does it actually pop 08:45 Tell us how you store yours #growingpopcorn #glassgempopcorn #foodpreservation #homesteading #pantrystaples #heirloomseeds #bakerscreek #growyourownfood #whitetailacresfarm We are not sponsored by Baker's Creek — just sharing the heirloom, non-GMO seeds we prefer and have had great success with.