Corn flower

Early morning corn flower.

I love the miracle of corn. Each of these beautiful red hairs is the female pollen receptacle. The male flowers are at the top of the corn plant and the heavy pollen blows down to this female flower. Once each 'hair' catches a pollen grain it will then fertilize one kernel of corn.

Part of the beautiful dance that is corn.

This is my Popcorn that I have had for over 12 years.

Honey harvest

Harvest time.

If we harvest before Christmas we can be sure there will not be poisonous Tutin in our honey. This stuff can be eaten straight from the comb.

Passion vine hoppers suck the sap from the Tutin bush and then in turn bees harvest honeydew from the hoppers. This is especially true during hot summers so after Christmas all honey harvested needs to be tested.

As bees categorize nectar as they store it in their hives then Tutin honeydew can be  concentrated  in small areas of the comb. After Christmas comb honey is a no go.

Corn Understory

This year I planted a dense understory of Red Clover under my Kaanga Ma.

Because this is my sandy top garden I also sheet mulched the paths with long grass.

Two types of mulch to cover the soil, hold moisture and mix up the diversity of flora and fauna. I will keep an eye on the 'living mulch' and possibly turn it into sheet mulch as needed.

The edges of this bed are also planted out with beans and squash.

This garden is an isolation garden to keep some of my seed lines separate.