My Nectarine

My youngest DS and I was walking around the property and I saw my Nectarine tree have blossoms. I may not get a very nice size Nectarine this year however, I'm happy because it finally flowered. I bought it from a mailing catalog when we moved here. After 6 long years I can taste it.

Click on the image to see the flowers.

We also bought a almond tree for DH, but he ran it over with the lawn mower and it never grew back the last time he did. He also cut my Nectarine tree once, but I am clever enough to put tomato cage around it. It should be bigger than what it is now and I'm surprise it grew back after he ran it over. I guess it is really for us. We are also looking for apple trees but we can't find the ones we wanted. Hopefully we can find some soon.

I will add the picture later, I still have to go out there and take a picture of it.

Trimming Sweet Basil

Actually, it is best to keep basil from flowering because, as an annual, once the plant flowers and sets seed it will go into decline.

Usually gardeners encourage bushiness by a process called pinching. They begin literally pinching off or trimming off the growing tip(s) of the branches when the plants are quite small. (You can eat the pinchings!) They repeat this several times until the plants are as bushy as desired.

When the plants become quite dense, some gardeners simply trim or shear them regularly and use the shearings in cooking. Other gardeners will cut off a larger proportion of the plant for harvest, especially if they plan to dry or freeze a quantity of basil all at one time. These more drastic harvests can be done just a few times a season as they are stressful on the plants and eventually the plants just "wear out". In either case, the trimming prevents the plant from flowering and it regrows in order to try to flower.

Since your plants are already quite tall, I would suggest cutting them back by about a third. This will give you a nice harvest and allow you to begin pinching as it grows back. When you do this, be sure the plant receives adequate water and nutrients to regenerate itself. Enjoy your basil!

Caterpillars on Tomatoes

It sounds like you're seeing tomato hornworms, which can grow to an alarming size! Like most caterpillars, hornworms can be controlled by using Bt, Bacillis thuringiensis.However, since tomato hornworms can do a lot of damage in a short time, you may want to remove the ones you see by hand. Note: If you see a caterpillar with what looks like grains of rice all over it, relocate it elsewhere in the garden rather than killing it. It has been parasitized by a certain wasp laying its eggs on it. These small wasps are harmless to humans, but will help the hornworm population in check. (The parasitized hornworm will die anyway.)

Tomato Blossom Drop

Tomato blossom drop is usually caused by above 90F or below 50F temperatures. To protect plants against heat, provide shade from the hot afternoon sun. To protect against cold temperatures, cover plants with a floating row cover.

Pruning Herbs

As you're harvesting herbs such as basil, rosemary, and mint, snip off any flowers that form. This will encourage the creation of a bushier plant with more leaves that have better flavor.

We Need to Start

Still wet and cold outside to start my vegetables garden. I wish DH can get the dirt ready but he refuses to do it yet. He told me that we still have about a month before we can actually plant anything. This time of year I wish I live in the warmer part of the world.

Sweet potato and potatoes

I have onion, garlic, sweet potatoes, and regular potatoes growing in the kitchen. No they are not organic, the sad part about it, I bought them from my local grocery store.

Garlic

I am planning about planting some mung beans and herbs this year too. Mung beans are very easy to store for later use. All I have to do is let it dry under the sun.

Onion

BTW, I have a PR2 in this blog. That is nice to know. I will add the images later, DC are using my PC and I am using the laptop right now. All of my pictures are in my PC and I don't an access to them right now. They are not shared and I can't access them.