Golden Bantam Sweet Corn
A classic open-pollinated sweet corn variety, chosen by those who value the authentic flavour of old-fashioned corn.
About the variety. Golden Bantam produces attractive, reasonably large ears with golden-orange kernels of sweet, intense flavour when harvested at just the right moment. It is an early to mid-season selection, ideal for those seeking a productive variety with character.
Itinerário técnico
Um guia de cultivo passo a passo, da sementeira à colheita.
Sow direct three to five centimetres deep with the soil above 15 °C. Germination takes seven to ten days. Always sow in a block of at least four rows by four, never in a single row: pollination is by wind and an isolated row gives cobs with missing kernels, which is the commonest mistake with this crop. Sow every three weeks to spread the harvest. This variety reaches 200 centimetres or more in height, so choose a spot sheltered from wind; it needs no stake, earthing up is enough.
It wants deep, fertile soil rich in organic matter, at a pH between 6.0 and 7.0. It is demanding in nitrogen and water. Earth up around the stem once the plant is fifty centimetres tall, to strengthen the brace roots and stop it going over in wind.
It needs warmth and full sun, between 18 °C and 30 °C, and a frost free season. It is sensitive to strong wind, which flattens the plants. In short summer regions, choose early varieties and start in biodegradable pots to gain a fortnight. In Germany and northern France it is grown outdoors without trouble: sow in mid May, after the last frost, and choose the earliest varieties. Do not grow it in a greenhouse: pollination is by wind and needs moving air and room for the block. Inland in Iberia heat above 35 °C during flowering dries the pollen and leaves gappy cobs: sow in April to flower before the summer peak and never let water run short in that phase.
Work two to three kilos of well rotted compost into each square metre before planting and add a handful of wood ash to top up potassium. When the plant reaches knee height, side dress with a nitrogen rich feed such as rotted poultry manure or blood meal, because from then on it uses the most.
Water generously, above all from tasselling through grain fill, which is the critical phase: a shortage then gives small poorly filled cobs. Inland in Iberia it is one of the heaviest summer water users.
Hand weed in the first weeks, while the plant is small and loses every contest for light and water. Once it is established, mulch with five to seven centimetres of straw, dried grass or leaves: it holds weeds back, keeps moisture in and stops rain splashing soil onto the lower leaves, which is how most diseases begin. Always hoe shallowly so you do not cut the roots running just under the surface.
Corn earworm enters at the tip and eats the kernels: apply Bacillus thuringiensis when the silks appear, or put a few drops of vegetable oil on the cob tip. Stem borer tunnels the stalk and weakens the plant. Aphids gather on the tassel and birds go for freshly sown seed and ripe cobs: cover the row at sowing and the cobs with a mesh bag as they ripen.
Rust makes orange pustules on the leaves and corn smut forms whitish galls, later black, on the cobs, which must be removed and destroyed before they burst. Leaf spots appear in damp weather. Choose the airiest spot and do not sow too densely within the block, so the foliage dries quickly after rain. Use a three year rotation and clear all crop debris at the end.
The cob is ready when the silks at the tip are brown and dry and a kernel pierced with a fingernail runs a milky liquid: watery means too early, doughy means too late. Sugar turns to starch within hours of picking, so harvest immediately before cooking. Pull the cob down and twist to snap it off. The reference colour is orange yellow, and that is what tells you it is ready.
