[gardeners] bodacious corn
Tom Clothier (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Sun, 12 Jul 1998 20:27:10 -0500
Catherine asked for a report on bodacious, which I tried this year.
Seeds were sown indoors on 4/15 and germinated on 4/20. This is
necessary in the Chicago area in order for pollination to be finished
before the cucumber beetles begin to arrive. Seedlings could not
be planted until 5/12 because it rained every day or every night or
both, and I tend to sink in quicksand.
This corn grows to 5 or 6 feet at tassel-top, and is quite sturdy in
our ferocious windstorms. The stalks bear two ears each, held quite
low to the ground, by comparison to other varieties. In a similar
comparison, I was pleased with how well the tassels and silks
were synchronized. Silks appeared in full on 6/24, so I planned to
harvest on 7/15.
Company arrived on 7/11, and I was prevailed upon to pull several
ears, despite the early date. The kernels are pale yellow and
very uniform, but the fill was almost an inch short of the full length
of the cob. Eaten raw, the kernels have a pleasant milky pop, and
I managed to finish one ear before I got back to the house. Our
standard formula calls for exactly 3 minutes in boiling water. This
corn had everyone raving. For an SE corn, it had all the sugar
of an SH2, and was eaten without seasonings or lubricant.
I pulled the remainder today. Each kernel explodes in the mouth
like an Oscar (fish) chomping on a salmon egg. The kernel shells
are very delicate, and I do not expect to see them again. :-)
I remember when Butterfruit first came out about 7 years ago. I
thought that was pretty good, but Bodacious surpasses it in every
measurable trait, in my opinion.
manytimes,
tom
zone 5a, NE Illinois, -21ºF Min
http://www.anet-chi.com/~manytimes