Bodacious Sweet Corn

Bodacious Sweet Corn is a sugary-enhanced (se) hybrid with golden-yellow kernels. Bodacious has been a staple sweet corn variety for backyard gardeners and small-scale market farmers for many years. It is known for its creamy texture and excellent holding ability. Plants produce two large ears that average 8″ in length and 2″ in diameter. These large ears typically have 18 rows of kernels and ears will maintain sweetness in cold-storage for 10 days after harvest. Stalks average 7′ tall. Bodacious Sweet Corn has a strong disease-resistance package that includes resistance to Stewart’s Wilt, Rust and Dwarf Maize Mosaic Virus. It also has been noted to germinate and grow well in cooler soils for early spring plantings.

Sweet corn should be planted in the spring after the last frost date. Sweet corn can be grown throughout the warmer months up until fall, as long as time is permitted for harvest before first frost. Succession planting is recommended with at least two plantings, one in early spring and one in late summer/early fall. Corn ear worm pressure will be greater in the warmer months, but this can be alleviated by applying spinosad to silks and tassels once they appear.

We recommend planting sweet corn using a walk-behind planter like our Hoss Garden Seeder. Once plants emerge, thin plants to 6-8″ depending on adequate irrigation. If drip irrigation is used, in-row spacing may be as close as 6″. If water is scarce, a wider in-row spacing will be necessary. For pollination purposes, corn should be planted in a square plot with rows on 30-36″ spacing. Planting a few long rows will result in poor germination and absence of kernels on the cobs.

Bodacious Sweet Corn Planting Information

Planting Method: direct seed

When to Plant: after last frost

Planting Depth: 1″

Seed Spacing: 6-8″

Row Spacing: 30-36″

Days to Maturity: 75

Disease Resistance: Maize Dwarf Mosaic Virus, Rust, Stewart’s Wilt