The weather continues dry and beautiful - low humidity, gentle breezes - but it's a deadly beauty. Everything on the farm is gradually showing terrible drought stress. It's been several weeks since we had a truly nuturing rain, critical in this fast-growing spring season. The grass crackles when we walk and the golf cart leaves permanent brown trails.
There are no fungal problems showing, always a delight, but we are still seeing this new kind of damage about the farm, some kind of stem dieback on almost all of the woodies: apples, pears, figs, bush cherries. Some young figs are now dead all the way to the ground. Is it fruit limited? I doubt it (why would it be?), but so many of our plants are edible, it's hard to tell. The ornamental Whitespire pear next door is terribly affected - in fact, it may be the original source of our woes.
Additionally, some new weed that appeared appros of nothing last year is taking over lawn areas. Not that we don't cherish weeds. We do and we have quite a collection in our eclectic, country "turf", but this is a nasty, short "sandspur" type weed. I can't walk across the farm barefoot anymore! The @#$* thing has the sharpest little spiny seeds I've ever encountered and I'm a sandspur hopper from childhood. Why? Why?!
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