In the normal course of life I purchased a few cobs of corn with their sheaths intact, ready to use in salads and stir fry meals.  I wondered.  If I was to dry the kernels, would these commercially grown corn cobs have been manipulated genetically or in some other way so that the kernels would not sprout and grow.  I asked a friend who didn’t have an answer.

The easy thing is to try.  So I carved off one end of the cob and have let it age and air dry in my heat-pumped uniform temperature house.

I have now rescued each corn kernel; they are dry and stored.

In pots I will try and germinate some in early October with a view to planting them in the garden late in October.  Others I will plant directly into the ground because I am not sure whether they cope with being transplanted.  All an experiment.  Maybe I am a little mad. Possibly its a waste of effort, but time will tell!