Weather change and #zucchini again.

 I didn't get a chance to check the garden yesterday due to taking that wonderful trip up to Julian. It's been overcast in the mornings and doesn't clear out until late afternoon and then it gets a little overcast again, rinse and repeat. That is usually the early summer weather pattern we call 'June Gloom' or 'May Gray' depending on when we get it. This is post monsoon summer weather so it clears out around 10 am or so and it's hot and muggy the rest of the day.

Anyway back to the garden, so I was prepared to go out and water today since I didn't water yesterday and didn't have to. The ground was still adequately moist on all sides especially the zucchini which has grown some interesting fungus on the soil. These are tiny fungus maybe 1/4 inch across on their caps on the biggest ones and maybe 1/2 tall.

Fungus among us!

 

Now most people would panic and run to the nearest garden center worrying about it 'infecting' their plant or soil. Just hold your horses Betsy and back off Jack! 

Fungus is not necessarily a bad thing in this sort of situation but it also indicates a few things. 

Here's the who, what, where, when and especially why of fungus caps in the soil.

Everything organic in the garden likely has spores on it, from microscopic mycorrhizae in the soil, to larger lawn mushrooms. 'Mushrooms' are actually the 'flowering' or reproductive part of the fungus and only appears when the soil conditions are right, which are:

Abundant nutrient base, not fertilizer (though that can be also a factor) which for fungus is decomposing organic material, i.e. compost or tree roots under a lawn or dead leaves, twigs or what have you. What did I put in there before I planted? Rich organic compost with mycorrhizae and other beneficial ingredients. Bingo!

The next component is moisture. Yep, that is under the canopy leaves of the zucchini near the stem so it stays nice and evenly moist right there and for this particular variety, it's right where it likes to be.

The third component is heat. Not excessive dry hot sun but warm soil and air which is. humid conditions usually found in late summer or fall. You got it, exactly what I am getting right now. Fall is usually the time of year when mushrooms start sprouting due to those three conditions all converging in a matter of days or weeks.

So, am I going to worry about that? Nope, not a bit, it is breaking down the compost in the soil and recycling nutrients which the plants need.

Now on to another issue I'm having that I only just researched to be more educated on growing zucchini. As I've said before, zucchini and other melons and cucurbits (squash, cucumbers etc) have male and female flowers. Short answer is, males first, females second. The male flowers are bit and beautiful and inviting to pollinators.

 

So the idea is for the male flowers to attract pollinators and get them used to coming to the plant so when the female flowers show up:

I get fruit!

Now those two tiny ones may or may not grow to full size, still kind of iffy on that but at least I have one that seems to be properly pollinated which means the males did their job. This is a normal cycle for these types of plants (apparenly, which I didn't know until now) and the advice is, wait and watch. It also might help if I cut some of the leaves that are covering the flowers so more pollinators will come. Also might plant some alyssum (sigh) which is a big pollinator attractor. Oh, hot weather also has something to do with more male flowers, which guess what, we have been getting. It's now getting cooler for half the day so crossing fingers on more fruit.

Now then, something else I discovered inspecting the plants is signs of previously sighted invaders.

So, leafminer on the left plus that little orange thing. Poop from grassopper which is eating the flowers on the right. Some of the leaves were also chewed but still not concerned.

So yes, I have pests in the garden, my plants aren't perfect neither is nature so just leave it for a while. Summer is slowing down now and by the time the pests really cause an issue, this will be pushing out fruit.

Leafminers are from microscopic flies that lay their eggs on the surface of the leaf or inserts just under the skin, hence 'leaf miner' that causes those tracks. The only way to kill the larva 100% is using systemics. Well, as good as they are and as much as I recommend them to people who are desperate, not going to use them on plants that will be done in two months. 

Warning: Spiders are coming.

Another late summer/fall sign is an increase in spider webs and spider sightings. At the nursery we had to walk with our hands up or something in front of us because of the orb weavers stretching their webs across aisles. Yes, five foot spans with a wonderful web in the middle. Another spider that people fear (and rightfully so) but only if you tend to dig in wood piles, under patio furniture or hard to see places. Black Widows.

 

 

Given the size and coloring, it's a male. Harmless, and since it was in a spot that is not frequented by people in our complex, I left it alone. Besides there are birds in the area that would love a tasty spider snack. Know your bugs and birds! 

I understand most people have arachniphobia, I don't like them if they're crawling on me or in my house but outside, leave them alone. Their colorings and webs are a wonder of nature and are doing a good job of catching gnats, flies, moths and mosquitoes. Having an app on your phone to identify what you are seeing or just googling a description will bring up more information than you could possibly imagine. 

I don't know how many times I have had to look things up for customers when they have the same ability on their own. It's. Right. There! Especially when a big store has the ability to search for products that are IN the store. People just do a google and it comes up listed by HD and they automatically (and very incorrectly) assume oh it must be in the store because it says you carry it right?

Okay that was a side rant, but everyone has the ability to take pictures on their phone and do a search, most people don't have the intelligence to use it.

Sorry another rant.

Back to gardening.

I looked up what was my issue with the zucchini and it turned out my information from years ago was wrong. I am taking dozens of pictures a week of my garden and posting here as a form of garden journal. I am not writing down time of day, temperature and humidity and all that.. but I am writing here and can reference it later to know what happened and how to prepare for it in the future.

It gives me something to do and think about instead of realizing I'm just talking to myself on the internet.