Instead of buying overpriced and over processed ballpark food, plant homegrown popcorn, peanuts, and sunflowers seeds.
In this article
Popcorn Up to Bat
Delight children by including them in sowing and harvesting popcorn.
After danger of frost is past, plant popcorn in a sunny, well-composted infield with good drainage.
A soil pH of 6.0 is recommended.
Poke seed 1 inch deep in rows or hills.
Popcorn needs 1 inch of water per week.
Since it requires abundant nitrogen, add composted manure throughout the growing season.
Next year plan to plant popcorn where nitrogen-fixing peanuts have grown.
Popcorn on the Bench
Keep ears on the stalk until kernels are firm and dry.
Kernels may remain on ears until needed for use.
If you remove kernels, store them in a covered container in a cool dry place.
If stored kernels fail to pop, they may be too dry.
Kernels can absorb moisture to reverse dryness.
No matter how colorful on the cob, all kernels pop white.
When you watch the game on TV at home, crunch on garden grown peanuts.
Peanut seeds take 85-100 days to mature so dont expect a popping party until the World Series.
Peanuts prefer sandy soils and a slightly acidic soil with a pH range of 5.8-6.5.
Seeds sprout in 2 weeks.
Yellow flowers appear in 30-40 days.
The entire family will marvel at the unique way peanuts set their pods.
After flowers are fertilized, they start to wither.
The withering flower becomes a stalk-like peg sending its tip down into the soil burying the developing fruit.
Peanuts form and ripen in clusters underground.
In fall dig up one plant to test if the peanuts are mature.
Soft, pale and squishy nuts are not ripe.
As shells ripen, they become dry, dark and hard.
A yellow vine is a sign of ripening.
Once you grow a crop, save some seeds for next years ballpark snacking garden.
The best snacking seeds are from Mammoth Russian, and Peredovik.
These sunflowers will be giants towering 9-10 feet tall with heads a foot or more across.
Sunflowers will grow anywhere in the United States.
Plant seeds 1 inch deep in a sunny location after the last frost.
Maturity takes 85-100 days.
Consider planting giant sunflowers in rows as a fence or along a fence.
Harvest heads in fall before the birds do.
Suspend seed heads in a well-ventilated area to cure for several weeks.
Drying enhances the nutty flavor.
Then rub seeds from heads and store in airtight jars.