Nectarine Fruit Tree Disease

This is one of the 3-in-1 fruit tree (Peach+Nectarine+Plum), I think the nectarine is infected by bacterial spot. On the same tree, only the nectarine and peach have disease problem, the plum fruits seem to be disease resistant. I guess there is no such thing as perfect gardening!
Recipe for less toxic “dormant oil" to suffocate overwintering pests, such as aphids and mites.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoon liquid soap
1 gallon water

Insect Control: Horticultural Oils

Bacterial Spot Info

Bacterial spot of peach factsheet

Peach Bacterial Spot

Peach and Nectarine Disease resistance Varieties

How to Prevent Diseases and Insects that Attack Peaches/Nectarine?
Notes - Chemical sprays for bacterial spot are not practical for the home grower. The best way to control bacterial spot is to select resistant peach varieties. Peeling fruit removes most traces of the disease.
- Spray program with dormant sprays and carry on through the growing season
- Collecting diseased fruit as soon as it appears and removing infected twigs and mummies from the trees will reduce the carry-over of brown rot to the next season.
- If fruit ripening occurs during a period of warm, wet weather, a very rigid spray program is required to control brown rot.
- It is important to begin spraying just before the fruit ripens. Delaying a spray program until rotten fruit is evident will result in very poor control regardless of the effort.
- Controll Peach Scab with chemical sprays applied at the "shuck split" stage and every 14 days for the next four to six weeks
- Never plant a peach tree in an old vegetable garden site. Root-knot nematodes can build up on many vegetables. The safest planting sites are portions of the yard where bermuda or other lawns have been established for years.
- Oak Root Rot disease is caused by a soil borne fungus that attacks and kills peach roots. The fungus will survive for many years in the soil on roots of hardwood trees long since removed. There is no control.
- Do not prune trees in October, November, December and January, wait until mid-February to prune the trees. Pruning in late winter reduces the chance of winter injury and infection by the bacterial canker organism.

Spinach, Spicy Globe Basil (Ocimum Basilicum), Okra

Here are some of the mixed greens planted close to the patio for quick harvest: Spinach in flower pot (almost the last batch), and okra (still small but probably needs to relocate it to the ground). I have been harvesting spicy globe basil every week; it is not really spicy but tastier than regular basil.

Got Mushroom?

I found some wild mushrooms growing on the top of the mulch. These large mushrooms have a strong visual appeal with clusters of brown caps are contrasted against creamy white stems, the caps ranging in size from 3 to 5 inches. I don't think it's edible, possible toxic?

Some mushrooms are growing next to the flowers



Growing Mushrooms
Mushroom Growing Made Easy
Let's Grow Mushrooms

Bird Watching

It is such a surprise to see a big bird (about 1.5 ft tall) standing on the backyard fence. Do you know what is the name of this bird?


Backyard Vacation

~ A beautiful poem by Wanda G. Black

I sit here and gaze at God's blue sky
With white puffy clouds drifting by
And the vibrant green of grass and trees
And the flowers all bowing in the breeze

Then I look out across the peaceful pond
At the woods and the pasture just beyond.
And closer in, flying into view
The finch, the cardinal, and the bluebird, too.

In the redwood swing, I lean back and then
Enjoy the melody of the wren.

The whir of the hummingbird darting by
The sight of the buzzard, floating high.
The robin defending its hidden nest
By chasing away the cowbird pest.

I sit out here and swing along
As I listen with joy to God's nature song.

And as I listen to each trill and peep,
I close my eyes and fall asleep.

Plum, Nectarine, Peach 3-in-1 Multi-budded Fruit Tree

Plum is a close relative of nectarine and peach fruits; it develops over few months period, from late winter to midsummer. For this multi-budded tree, plum is the dominant one; it is bearing 15 fruits, and almost covers half of the tree. Nectarine and Peach only produce 1 fruit for each branch. So, I try to prune down the plum to let nectarine and peach get more sunlight and catch up with normal height. So far, only the plum fruits are ripened and ready for summer harvest. See the progress here...



Nectarine Info
Plum
Peach

Harvest of the Day: Cherry Tomatoes, Berries, Spinach, Romanian Lettuce, Squash

Here are some fresh harvest of the day: I pick some cherry tomatoes, squash, berries, a last few batch of Romanian lettuce and spinach. So, this week I don't have to get vegetables from the grocery store, it's nice to have fresh organic produce straight from the garden. What are you harvest lately?

Berries again
100 Hybrid cherry tomatoes
Baby spinach
Cherry tomatoes

Two-Tone Mauve-Yellow Gladious Blooms

This is the new pink/mauve-yellow Gladious flowers in my garden. I bought a bag of bulbs from Home Depot during last year clearance without knowing the color/ name. I thought it's Iris, but I was wrong! Thanks to AnnF and islandgardener pointing out that it's Gladious. I was just trying my luck, what a great surprise! They turn out to be so beautiful, the brilliant blooms grace sword-shaped foliage topping 3-4 ft stalks, and continuing to bloom for almost 2 weeks.




I plant some of the Irises next to the blackberry, it still blooms without any problem.Daily fresh cut flowers for indoor decoration... feel like a florist :-)

A friend told me that if Iris corms being planted too deeply or lack of sunlight, it will cause the non-blooming problem. Avoid to put the corm down an inch or more. The corm should be on the surface and the roots buried, or the corm should be half buried.

Sweet Potato Custard

I finally received the Down Home Healthy Cookbook from NCI (see previous post), and try the sweet potato recipe.

The first one is a twist - sweet potato tapioca puddingThe second one is sweet potato . I put all in a larger baker - it saves time, but doesn't look as good as the picture in the cookbook.

You can find the recipe here:
Down Home Healthy Cooking: Recipes and Tips for Healthy Cooking

Worth to take a look:
Acrylamide in Food and Cancer Risk

Heterocyclic Amines in Cooked Meats

Yellow Mum Flowers

I bought a small pot of yellow mums from Wal-Mart last Thanksgiving and transferred it to a larger flower pot, it came back this spring with double size. See how fast it grows these few months, the mums usually bloom when summer blooms fade.

Happy Father's Day

Baby Spinach

How to get Popeye’s super power?

• Germinate spinach seeds in a large pot with light moisture soil
  
• Use flower pot to avoid insects from the ground.
• Place it under partial shade
• After 40-50 days, cut spinach leaves from outside of the plant, when it gets mature harvest entire plants before flowering.
• Harvest a patch of home grown spinach for salad, soup, or light cooking.
• Nutrient content is best if eat the spinach straight after picking, remember to wash it in cool water.

100 Spinach Recipes
Can you remember any cartoon characters that inspire kids to eat healthy food?
I guess not a whole lot...

Straight-Necked Summer Yellow Squash (Cucurbita spp)

This is a yellow straight-necked summer squash, about 45 days maturity. Its fruits taper towards the stem end with nice semi glossy smooth yellow color. Now it's about 6" long, I think it will be 8 inches long when it matures. I plan to harvest it earlier so that it is more tender and succulent. See recipe here...
Have a great weekend & happy gardening!

Dwarf / Patio Lime Tree

I bought this small lime tree a year ago from Gurney's Nursery. In order to move it indoor during winter, I have to let it grows in a flower pot. It is such a cute small plant with many tiny fruits, the limes are getting larger, but it's not ready to harvest yet (see previous post #1, #2). I am thinking to get another patio size lemon tree.