i was on campus at the archives today and after i was finished visiting with steve and jimbo i wandered across 35th avenue from the library to the garden...as i wandered up it looked...well...like the garden...
and, at first glance the maize was looking about like it should this time of the season...beginning to die back a bit from the bottom as it begins to focus on ears...
this one on the end of the bed has two ears under construction...
and a tiller that has begun to flower...whether there will be an ear is open to question...the tiller itself marks it out as an heirloom and, probably, a flint...
besides the two ears on the end plant i found thirteen others in various stages of maturity...including three on this plant...which also marks it out as an heirloom...
then my attention shifted to leaves and i began to find the curl that indicates the stomata on the leaves are opening to allow water through to evaporate and cool the plant...there are more on the bottoms of the leaves than on the tops...they all open however the larger number on the underside cause the leaves to curl up...the plants are signaling that they are using a lot of water and need more...it has been dry here recently and temperatures are on the way up...and there seems to be more heat and little rain in the forecast...
the maize plants are not the only ones showing signs of water stress...unfortunately it was pretty much the wrong time of day to water when i was there...there is no immediate danger i don't think and i will be back tomorrow morning to water barring unforeseen disruptions in the flow of life...mine or the plants'
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