Golden Bantam is a dwarf yellow sweet corn which grows about 1 and a half metres tall and produces 2 15cm long cobs per plant.  It was first sold to home gardeners by the Burpee seed company in 1902. 

Uses

Nothing compares to fresh, homegrown sweet corn, it's so good it can even be eaten raw.  Did you know that within 24 hours of picking, 50% of the sugars in the sweet corn kernels is converted to starches.  This is why shop brought sweet corn will never, ever taste as good as corn grown at home.  Briefly steaming, boiling or barbecuing brings out the delicious flavour of this variety, with or without butter or margarine.  The kernels are also great added to soups, risottos and fried rice.

Cultivation

Due to their rapid speed of growth corn are rather demanding plants, water and fertilise regularly with compost, worm juice, organic fertiliser and/or whatever else you normally use.  Corn is wind pollinated, because of this best pollination is achieved when planting in blocks rather than rows, by placing plants closer together there is more chance the pollen from the male flowers will end up on the silks of the female flowers, increasing the chance of having cobs that are entirely filled out (each kernel is a separate flower, missing kernels are the result of an individual flower not being pollinated).  Run string tied to end posts along either side of the corn stalks in each row of the block to keep them from toppling over in strong winds.   Corn earworm can be controlled by applying an organic Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) treatment to the silks of the cob once as soon as they turn brown, although generally they only eat around the top of the cob so you can easily cut off and dispose of the affected area before cooking.  Corn prefers growing in a full sun aspect.

When to Sow

In the tropics, sow Golden Bantam Sweet Corn seeds any time during the year.  In the subtropics sow from August to March.  In temperate regions sow from October to January.  

How to Sow

Sow corn seeds 2cm deep, covering the area with mesh until the plants have emerged if birds are a problem.  Each corn plant should be spaced about 50cm apart to give it plenty of room to grow.  

Germination

Corn germinates rapidly, especially in warm weather, taking as little as 4 and up to 12 days to emerge. 

Time to Harvest

Expect to harvest cobs between 10 and 12 weeks after sowing.

Young Golden Bantam corn seedling.