September 3
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 We had a good, slow rain over Labor Day weekend. We had slightly over
5 inches. That's the most rain we've
had in ages. With the large cracks in the ground there wasn't much
runoff. Our field didn't benefit from this rain because the plants had reached physiological maturity (R9). We just need the
heads and stalks to dry before we can harvest.
 As you can see from the back of this head, the plants continue to mature.
There are a few head moth larvae lesions scattered around the head.
 At this time of year when the seeds are maturing, birds become a major
problem. We saw bird damage a week or so ago, but today we caught a
mourning dove having a mid-morning snack. Our field is loaded with
goldfinches, house sparrows, and doves. I don't know if there will be
any seed left to harvest.
 Sometimes farmers ask, "why are there are so many insect problems in sunflowers
in areas where they haven't been grown commercially?" That's a good
question. Well, sunflowers may
not have been grown previously in an area, but more than likely wild
sunflowers are growing and the insects that damage a farmer's field of
cultivated sunflowers come from the wild sunflowers. These wild sunflowers
have been blooming for a couple weeks and you can be assured they have the same
problems. This is an example of common annual sunflower.
 There are many
different species of sunflower. Some are annuals, which means they grow
from seeds every year and some are perennials, which means they grow back
from their root system and not necessarily from seeds. This is an
example of Jerusalem Artichoke. It is a perennial. Birds like
seeds of wild sunflowers, too.
|
We had a good, slow rain over Labor Day weekend. We had slightly over
5 inches. That's the most rain we've
had in ages. With the large cracks in the ground there wasn't much
runoff. Our field didn't benefit from this rain because the plants had reached physiological maturity (R9). We just need the
heads and stalks to dry before we can harvest.
