Maybe gardeners never take vacations in the summer. Nevertheless, we took two weeks to visit the Upper Peninsula of Michigan at the same time that the temps hit the 90s and there was no rain. My daughter and her friend watered the tomatoes and most of the pots on the deck and patio, but the drought took a toll. The thyme, cilantro and probably the sage are lost. The hanging basket of petunias, gone. I can't even bear to post a photo of the back yard, where a big chunk of unshaded lawn is now either dead or dormant. We've been watering and there are glimmers of green here and there. But it probably won't green up until fall or even next spring. Memo to self: Next time you take a summer vacation, program the lawn sprinklers to come on every two or three days.
Meanwhile, the ailanthus tree seedlings, spotting a sign of weakness, moved in with zeal. They are either uprooted or mowed down. Crappy trees, I think, but I guess they are better than nothing on vacant city lots. Too bad they want to take over the world.
We've had a few tomatoes and the cucumbers have some scrawny babies beginning to grow. Like last year, some birds (maybe robins, my neighbor says) have been snipping off my zucchini blossoms before they have a chance to bear fruit. I've hung old CDs close by to frighten birds, but it hasn't worked. Maybe a bright, shiny pinwheel? I'm open to suggestions.
Then last Thursday we get a monsoon. Honestly, it almost looked like a hurricane, the wind and rain were so fierce. We had a bit of tree damage in my neighborhood; a big branch off the neighbor's maple in the front yard and another in the back. Then DTE put up "Live Wire Down" tape across the back yard; it looked like a CSI crime scene. They just took that down this evening.
I'm settling back into the regular routine, so I expect to have the weeds cleaned out and everything on the road to recovery sometime next week.
Update: Cindy, my commenter, is probably right that the loss of zucchini flowers is due to some other cause, not marauding birds. Is there anything you can do about poor pollination? Looks like this will be the second year I've planted zucchini but the plant produced no fruit. Do we need to plant more than one?
are you sure it's birds taking the blossoms off the zucchini ? sometimes the male blossoms just fall off by themselves. or sometimes the female blossoms fall of if not enough pollination or poor weather. just wondering is all.
Posted by: cindy | July 21, 2010 at 05:22 PM
well....i have been known to go outside very early with a q-tip and do the pollination myself. really....i'm not joking. either it worked or nature just did it herself...i'll never know. but i did have zucchini that year. also, i have always planted more than one but i don't know if it's necessary. is it the male showy flowers dropping off or the female ?
Posted by: cindy | July 22, 2010 at 02:14 PM
Yikes. You mean you can tell the difference? I must confess I've never really examined zucchini flowers that closely. One plant bears both sexes, I assume. I'll start looking more closely --- and get my Q-tips ready!
Posted by: Lee Anne | July 22, 2010 at 03:38 PM
yes the plant does bear both sex flowers, but the male will blossom first to make sure there are enough flowers to pollinate the female flower. the male blossom is large and showy on a thin stem. google "how to hand pollinate a zucchini" and also "why do zucchini flowers fall off." happy eating ! i can taste it already with a touch of olive oil and kosher salt on the grill....mmmmmm
Posted by: cindy | July 22, 2010 at 05:38 PM
well....i'm curious.....have you been eating zucchini ?
Posted by: cindy | August 16, 2010 at 04:23 PM