Popcorn!!!

In this weeks box you will find popcorn. It is a Japanese Hulless variety that is simply to die for! I call it Tora, Tora, Tora. Anyway, it is not ready to pop yet. It still needs to dry some. So, take some twine and hang it in your garage or pantry and let it dry. Make sure there is good air circulation where ever you dry it so it doesn't mold. By the end of October it should be perfect and ready to pop! You can test pop a few kernels at a time to see if it is ready before then, which it may be. I have a hard time waiting for it to dry so I often run little experiments hoping that it is ready sooner. :-)

To pop it take a dish cloth and wring the cob to take off the kernels. I use this tool to make it easier on my hands. You can find them online for around $8-$12. http://www.jungseed.com/dp3.asp?c=534&sku=54048

Here are a couple of homemade tools:
It is basically metal lath nailed to a board. Metal lath is expanded metal that you use for putting plaster on a wall.I would use the stuff made from steel not aluminum. Another method is to drill a hole in a 1X4 and put nails in it that knock off the kernels.

Like this link shows.http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It...n-Sheller.aspx

Thank you for letting us share our gardens with you this summer! We hope to see you all next year. Also, we will have a refer-a-friend program starting early next year. I'll send an email and a blog post about it when we get back from Italy.