corn sweat

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'

never trust the rain III

i was out across a couple of counties this morning doing errands and everywhere i went the sky looked threatening,...

there were grey clouds at the bean field behind the big box stores ( i had need of some bamboo...we will get to that )

from the looks of the dead, brown stalks ticking up above the beans and the brown down the rows i'd say the field has been doused with herbicide...glyphosate or s-metolachlor ( the atrazine of the bean world )...the population of "native plants" in the filed has declined since my last visit...a chemical investment in a crop that may be less than remunerative this season...we will be keeping an eye out...

they don't seem to have sprayed the berm however...these herbicides do have a residual effect...it is not permanent though..the "native plants" will reestablish themselves soon enough...barring another dose of herbicide...the filed is still for sale by the way...had been for years...no takers it seems...

after i purchased my bamboo i headed back west to the community garden...where it was...raining...

the cucumbers and banana peppers were alright with that...

so were the cherry tomatoes and their cousins the spuds behind the asparagus which was replete with raindrops...

my maize is looking robust and the largest of them has to be pushing seven feet in height...they like the compost hill...

the largest one is also in full flower and i believe i see the first sign of ears on the way...

and while we are talking ears...i have a teosinte plant with four branches that is developing ears down the stems and which has begin to lean perilously because of the growing weight...

so i put three of the bamboos in around the plant and circled it with some jute twine just to give it enough support to keep it upright...the support is not rigid...i put the bamboo in with the smaller diameter in ground so it will move in the breeze...it will have the added advantage of being a perch for the dragonflies i have been photographing lately...

as a final note, the ears on that spindly rteosinte plant are developing silks...the zea family is working its season towards fruition all over the county.

never trust the rain II

i am part of the watering rotation on saturday so i went out to the garden to be at least somewhat responsible...it was clear by the way the hose was coiled that someone had watered after me yesterday which, as things evolved, was fine...

the sky was a bit threatening...however...

yesterday was a warm and sunny day and, while some of the soil in a few boxes, like the corner boxes which are shaded by trees part of the day and the asparagus bed which is shaded by the asparagus, was adequately moist...

some of the soil in the more exposed beds was not ( as if you can tell by the photos...my hand informed me it was dry )

so i did do some selective watering...

beyond that, today's story is yesterday's...peppers...

tomatoes...

blooming spuds...

cucumbers...

flowering maize that is at least a half-foot taller than the gardener...

and beans vining on the cornstalks...

i was inordinately pleased to find a leaf cutter bee taking a break from her work on the squash blooms...bees and earthworms are always good signs...

as i was leaving it began to rain lightly...if the rain i have received here since i got home is any indication i was not amiss in watering..i am told there is more rain coming...i don't trust it.