Harvest Sunflowers

To collect sunflower seeds after the flowers fade cover the head with cheesecloth to keep birds away. When you can rub seeds off with your hand, cut the head, remove the seeds, dry them in a warm, airy indoor location.

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Wormy Pecans

There are two common pecan pests that fit the description -- the pecan weevil and the pecan shuckworm (also called hickory shuckworm). Your pecans may be infested by one or the other, or both. In any case, you can reduce the extent of the problem if you pick up and destroy fallen nuts at the end of the season, since that's where the shuckworm overwinters. It also helps to cultivate the soil under the tree to a depth of about 3 inches during late February or early March. Weevils are more difficult to control. If it's practical, you can shake the adults from the tree. Place tarps under the branches and shake them to dislodge the feeding, breeding weevils, and destroy them. These pests overwinter in the soil at a depth of up to 12 inches, making cultivation impractical and likely to damage tree roots. Fortunately, weevil infestations tend to come in cycles, becoming a problem every two or three years.

Storing Potatoes For Winter Use

For maximum harvest and good keeping quality, potatoes need time to fully mature. Potatoes should be dug 2 to 3 weeks after the tops die down. This will give the skins time to toughen up and become thick enough to protect them during storage. Once dug, potatoes need time to cure before storage. Don't wash them, but gently brush the excess dirt off, then allow them to cure for about 2 weeks at temperatures of about 45F, with good air circulation. Then you can store them all winter in a cool, dark location, with plenty of air circulation.

Update On Philippine Corn

Like what I said with this post here are the pictures of my weird looking corn from Philippines. Have you seen anything like this. Five corns in one thing (what you call it).

There are 6 total corn in corn stalk. That would be some kind of record, is it? I just don't know if they have any kernels. Weird, would you eat it?

Harvesting Blueberries

For best flavor and sugar content, leave blueberries on the bush an extra 2 to 3 days after they turn blue. Remove small, gray, hard, and shriveled berries. These characteristics suggest the presence of mummy berry disease.

Philippine Corn

Finally my Philippine corn fruited. I'm not sure if I will be able to let it matured for next year seeds. This was taken a few weeks ago and even now I don't think they have any kernels yet. One of them have 4 ears in one husk. I will take a picture of it and show you what I am talking about. And by the way this corn is about 12 feet tall.

Protect Basil

Photo Source

To get the best basil crop wait until the soil has warmed to 65F to plant. Basil is very susceptible to chilling; if the weather's too cool, the leaves will brown and the plants wilt.

Cooking with Broccoli Raab and Relatives

There are many variations of these members of the Brassica, or cabbage, family, and various names are sometimes used interchangeably. It can get pretty confusing. The different types may or may not be interchangeable in recipes, depending upon the plant part that's called for in the recipe. You'll have to experiment by growing your own and tasting each in different stages of growth. Broccoli raab is a Brassica, but it is not a true broccoli. It is also known as rapini and rapine, and has a flavor similar to broccoli, but is usually more bitter. Rather than forming a large central head, it is grown for its leaves, shoots, and small florets. There are several different types of rape, another Brassica. Some are grown as a vegetable, including some which are similar to broccoli raab and are called flowering rape. (This may be what you are referring to by Chinese rape.) Some types are grown for their high oil content--the term canola oil is used to describe oil pressed from edible oilseed rape.

Bean Pests

It sounds as though you're dealing with an infestation of Mexican bean beetles. Adults are round beetles with 16 black spots on their wings, and can be mistaken for orange colored ladybugs. They can be formidable foes. Inspect plants frequently; handpick adult beetles from the plants and squish their yellow-orange eggs (found on the undersides of leaves). You may be able to manage the pest population at acceptable level simply by interplanting beans with garlic, nasturtiums, marigolds, or potatoes, which help repel the beetles.

Be sure to clean up bean plant debris right after harvest so adults won't have a place to hide. Plant beans early to avoid attack, and try growing a variety of plants to attract predacious wasps and assassin bugs, both of which eat Mexican bean beetles. Since beans are self-pollinating, you can cover the plants with fabric row cover to create a barrier agains the beetles.

As a last resort, spray plants weekly with an organic pesticide such as neem. Make sure to spray the undersides of leaves as well.

Gourd (Upo)

This is the only thing I can show about my gourd so far. I don't think I'll be posting any fruits this year. But I saw about 3 little ones sprouting today. But I'm not sure if they will bigger or just fall off.

Anyway, this is what gourd (Upo) flowers looks like.