clover and two different kinds of pods

the new zealnd white clover is coming into bloom in more places around the beds ( top three photos )...which , at least technically, holds out the promise of seed...if the weather holds...i have expressed some doubts about the suitability of this perennial nitrogen setting legume for use in four by eight foot beds because of the size it has attained...in a more open space of wider rows i could see its usefulness as a perpetual green manure...but, like the cow peas i was using in the pgp, it is taking up too much space and i think a different approach is in order...the only remaining unharmed ear of maize is...you guessed it...pod corn ( bottom photo )...and a bean has turned to a seed pod on the vine that chose the maize as a trellis..coincidence or some sort of affinity? coincidence probably plays a greater role in human events than our meaning seeking species will allow ( let me plug the book "cosmos" by witold gombrowicz here )...but planned or not, there they are.

pod corn = zea

this pod corn plant ( top photo ) was in the community garden until about an hour ago ( i brought it home because i had no real way to clean off the root system and i didn't have a photo graphic scale either )...like every other maize plant in the garden it had been nailed by squirrels...it was broken in half and the eat is literally chewed up ( second photo )...evolutionary mutant or not it is still recognizably a member of the zea family...not only by the morphology of its leaves and the production of thickly husked ears ( like corn rather than the fragile husks teosinte produces ) but by the mass of support roots ( third photo ) it uses to give the stalk stability...every zea plant i have ever seen from maize to dense yellow #2 to teosinte has these structures and they are here in abundance...the bottom photo is of the root system with a scale to give an idea of depth...as an annual the roots are a bit shallower than a perennial...no need to go below the frost line to winter over...there will be more plants removed in the next few weekends as we prepare the garden for winter.

the maize of late august

the apache red in the top photo is beginning to "red" ( like hopi blue "blues" ) which i discovered when i found a critter gnawed ear...one plant down the bed i spotted another one i though the squirrels had been at...but no! the husk of a stunted and malformed ear had split open to reveal an ear about as done as it was going to get...a pineaplley sort of affair with kernels only on one side but, perhaps, the only mature ear that we will harvest this season...it is safely residing on my desk at the moment and on close examination it resembles popcorn more than a flint corn...could it be that the dakota black crossed with the apache red? could be...corn is wind pollinated and they were in fairly close proximity...i will be letting the little one dry for now...all community members have visitation rights...let me know when you're up for it...the bottom photo is of a pod corn ear coming along well...will the critters assault it? don't know...plan to find out.

pounding

recent rains have been fairly heavy ( with a total of 11.22 inches of rain in august...well above normal ) and some plants have fared better than others...the maize in the community garden laid down in a storm earlier this season without serious impact...i simply hilled it back upright and away it went...it is genetically akin to teosinte which lays down all the time without sustaining any real damage..the pod corn in the top photo is also part of the zea family , and while it has been knocked down by the rains it is still fully functional and flowering with the intent of producing ears ( second photo )...there is water standing everywhere, including in the pots with extra drainage holes drilled in them ( bottom photo )...the ground is saturated and more rain is forecast...is this anomalous or a new norm?

a bit of zea morphology

the top photo is of a maize plant's emerging flower that i took on july tenth...the next two are northern tepehuan teosinte plants beginning to flower in my back yard ( and which have me geeked at the prospect of producing seed ears again this year...the second photo is of a flower on a teosinte plant grown from seed my plants produced last year...the only one to survive and prosper out of a batch of about a dozen that germinated...i'm geeked even if it doesn't produce...more so if it does )...the bottom photo is of an emergent pod corn flower on the south side of my house...the appearance of these will all change and the ones that closely resemble one another now may not end up so well matched...there will be more posts as the pod corn and teosinte mature...i already have multiple photos of maize flowers to act as a comparison with the other two zea varieties...they are all cousins...with all the similarities and differences cousins can evince...i'm up for a look.

one for fern

another of the pod corn plants grown from seed the garden's friend fern sent from out west has come into full flower and there are two plainly visible ears on the two flowering plants...will the squirrels find them as delectable as the other members of the zea family in the garden? stay tuned...i am not a bee sort of guy but i am thinking that the pollinator in the last photo isn't an apinae family member..but what do i know? fern's the pro...whatever it is it is serving a valuable purpose in the garden.

pod corn and more beans

one of the pod corn plants we grew from seed the garden's good friend fern sent us is in full flower today ( top photo )and there is a nascent ear forming out of an axillary bud ( second photo )...the eared maize is being ravaged by squirrels and it will be instructive to see if they are as hungry for the much more intractable pod corn ears...even if the ears are being trashed the stalks of the maize are still effective trellises for the pole beans and they are doing well...lots of beans in the bed right next door people...harvest them please so the plants continue producing..we want to share the produce and we want the plants to produce more.

pod corn, a corn flower, and a couple of bugs

fern's pod corn seed has turned into robust plants and they are beginning to catch up to the maize height wise...some of it anyway...some of the maize plants are getting deep into the season and are almost in full flower...we will be seeing ears soon enough..a bug's life int he garden? well the maize is harboring something of a population...like the aphid eating lady bug in the third photo and a healthy looking mosquito hunter in the dragon fly on the bottom...i saw a honey bee but it eluded my camera...and i avoided the wasps.

touring the yard II

the winter rye and the spring wheat ( first and second photos respectively ) are beginning to show signs of advancing ripeness...the wheat is being grown for decorative purposes for the crafty people here but i will be hoarding the winter rye as seed for autumn cover crops in the gardens...( i will be sharing too..this will produce more than i can use )...fern's pod corn is looking hale today and , while there is no three sister's' guild in my yard because of predatory squirrels, there is a brace of squash plants out by the cucumber hills...crowded but thriving.

knee high before summer...

...much less july...the maize in the garden is past my left knee...a folk measure of crop health that we have passed after only thirty-one days...a few days ago there was only one squash plant in leaf and another just breaking the surface of the soil...today there are eleven up along the three sister's bed ( second photo )...the pole bean plant in the third photo is extending its vine and will ( perhaps with a little help ) soon find the maize behind it for support...fern's pod corn is enjoying the warmth and moisture and using it to its own purposes...we have had a season going on for some time, move and all...that season is going through an irruption with the plant population now up to two hundred and twenty-seven individuals from sixteen varieties of food plants...it is more impressive in person...stop by sometime...you might happen on a gardener.

pod corn for fern

all the beds in the garden are making good progress...i picked out one from the photos i took eight days ago and took another this evening just to provide some contrast and show what eight days means out there...the bottom two photos are of some pod corn that has popped up from seeds my friend fern has sent to us...they are doing well and will expand the midwest pod corn population..thanks fern!! you are a sweetie!