A sunflower gets an improvised treatment as astronaut Don Pettit continues his diary of a space zucchini aboard the International Space Station. bit.ly/NGijaf

Help for Sunflower
April 22
Today was the peak of the Lyrid meteor shower. We set up four cameras in the cupola simultaneously taking pictures. Gardener said there were places on Earth that were doing the same and all these pictures taken together will make a very interesting scientific data set. Since I had been placed next to a window, I was living through 16 periods of day-night every 24 hours. Jet-lagged, I could thus stay awake during the night and help in the observations.
May 1
Gardener has been spending a lot of time playing a computer game. His computer is near our grow light so we can watch him. He plays in the morning before works starts and in the evening after work is over. He must find this relaxing. The game he plays is called Catch the Dragon. The best part about this game is that he does not have to put in any quarters.
May 5
Sunflower has brown patch. His leaves are covered with dry, dark blotches. He is not happy. Gardener says it looks like a fungus. I am afraid that if something is not done we are going to lose Sunflower. The crew medical kit is designed for animals not plants so there are no medications for this disease. Gardener is treating Sunflower with a disinfectant wipe that has an antibacterial agent called BZK (Benzalkonium chloride). We do not know if this is going to work. Our spacecraft is designed for animals so life can be a struggle for plants. On the frontier, the answers are not found in the back of the book and sometimes you have to venture into the unknown and improvise.
May 11
The BZK wipes seem to be helping. Gardener pats down Sunflowers leaves every other day. He does this with the healthy new green ones as well. Sunflower is beginning to smile again. Broccoli and I seem resistant to this so he is not treating us.
Don's blog also appears at airspacemag.com

David Cottle

UBB Owner & Administrator