The Story of Glass Gem Corn
Like
many heirloom treasures, Glass Gem corn has a name, a place, and a
story. Its origin traces back to Carl Barnes, a part-Cherokee farmer
living in Oklahoma. Barnes had an uncanny knack for corn breeding. More
specifically, he excelled at selecting and saving seed from those cobs
that exhibited vivid, translucent colors. Exactly how long Barnes worked
on Glass Gem-how many successive seasons he carefully chose, saved, and
replanted these special seeds-is unknown. But after many years, his
painstaking efforts created a wondrous corn cultivar that has now
captivated thousands of people around the world.
Approaching
the end of his life, Barnes bestowed his precious seed collection to
Greg Schoen, his corn-breeding protégé. The weighty responsibility of
protecting these seeds was not lost on Schoen. While in the process of
moving in 2010, he sought out a place to store a sampling of the
collection to ensure its safekeeping. Schoen passed on several unique
corn varieties to fellow seedsman Bill McDorman, who was owner at the
time of Seeds Trust, a small family seed company then located in central
Arizona. (Today, Bill McDorman is Executive Director of Native
Seeds/SEARCH.) Curious about the oddly named Glass Gems, he planted a
handful of seeds in his garden. The spectacular plants that emerged took
him by surprise. "I was blown away," McDorman recalls. "No one had ever
seen corn like this before."
All Glass Gem Corn photos shown here are copyrighted by Greg
Schoen and used with his gracious permission.
Spring is finally here, and we're busier than ever before with a season
opening that took us by storm (and by surprise!) Our idea of offering
"Pre-Orders" before the 
Persian Cukes
