sunchokes

took a quick trip out to campus this afternoon...just to check up on things after the rain...like last time the maize was leaning over and had to be hilled back upright ( buffalobird-woman says that beyond productivity issues the maize hills needed to be spaced far enough apart that soil could be pulled up around the base of the plants to support them as they grew...another major difference between traditional and industrial agricultural methods)...beyond that i found plants under a lot less stress after some rain and a bit of a cool-off...the jerusalem artichokes are beginning to blossom in earnest and will do so for the next month or better...in an unscientific census i counted four hundred and twenty four blossoms or buds...time to give them all the water they want...last stage of growth = tubers and a dearth of water inhibits their production...the sunchokes here at home are budding ( remember most of then are rouges culled form the campus garden and running a bit behind the campus )but none have sprouted flowers...more as the display develops