rocks

got to campus early this morning...

actually saw the alfalfa before the bees did today...

the asparagus remains upright...

and more of the einkorn wheat seed ears are in full flower...

over in my "official" bed...

the maize appears to have fully recovered from the heat...

the soil under the rock mulch i had on the two plants in the corner retained marginally more mositure than the rest of the bed...

i brought along a bucket of rocks of various sizes and since the mulch seemed effective...

and i mulched the rest of that row of maize with them...i chose light colored rocks since i did not want them to absorb heat and dry the soil...i am wondering if i haven't actually exacerbated the corn sweat when it is warm by choosing rocks that will reflect heat back up to the plants...we are in uncertain territory here and i wil be learning as the summer progresses...i can certainly change the color of the rocks if i find it necessary...we will keep an open mind and monitor events...we have options including abandoning the rock mulch if need be..before i left i soaked the beds with the hose and will be back over the weekend to check on how things are coming along...the forecast is calling for moderately seasonal temperatures over the next week so results may take time to form.