The eye-catching
multicolored kernels of corn that seem to be glass beads belong to a
particularly bred variety, aptly named Glass Gem Corn, and they are
actually grown from seeds. The Glass Gem corn was actually
developed by Carl Barnes, a part-Cherokee farmer living in Oklahoma,
who noticed that every so often, a cob showed signs of unusual coloring
shining through. Carl Barnes collected and saved those seeds, and thanks
to his supernatural knack for corn breeding
and many years of painstaking effort, Glass Gem corn was born.
Carl Barnes bestowed his
precious seed collection to his friend Greg Schoen and also shared with
Schoen actually process of breeding the Glass Gem corn. In 2010 Greg
Schoen decided to move, however he made the
determination of finding someone to store and protect his seed
collection so that it didn’t get lost or ruined in the moving process.
Then he decided to store the seeds with Seeds Trust, (A small seed
company in Arizona), ensuring Carl Barnes magnificent collection
of Glass Gem corn seeds wouldn't face the risk of getting lost when he
relocated, these special seeds with the unusual name of Glass Gems.
Bill McDorman, the owner of Seeds Trust decided to plant a few seeds in
his own garden, and he was amazed at what the
seeds produced. I was ecstatic when I see the corns, because no one had
ever seen corn like this before. These Glass Gem seeds are now
available for sell through its website for $7.95 (£4.90) per packet,
although they are so highly sought-after that they are
frequently sold out. The corn can be used to make flour or popcorn,
even though it is not recommended to eat it straight off the cob.